Fielding Graduate University, founded in 1974, offers distributed graduate education and research programs in three social science areas: psychology, human and organizational development, and educational leadership. All three schools affirm a commitment to social change and social justice. The Educational Leadership and Change (ELC) doctoral program was developed in 1996 as a way to influence educational reform and to make doctoral education accessible to working adults, especially those from underserved communities. During its development, the program struggled and faltered as it tried to establish its identity and work toward its goals. After an abrupt change in leadership, two women emerged to form a co-dean leadership team: Susan Tiara, Ph.D. and Judy Witt, Ph.D. Looking for a model that emphasized relationships and a more global outlook, they adopted Total Transformational Management Process (Mink, Esterhuysen, Mink, & Owen, 1993) as the conceptual framework for ELC's governance. Based on action research processes, TTMP utilizes an inclusive model for change that emphasizes the system, "paying special attention to the human side” (p. 11). TTMP was instrumental in developing ELC’s way of simultaneously working at the individual, group, and organizational levels and in seeing participatory action research (Park, 1992, 1993) as “transformation concomitant with intense learning” (Mink, et al., 1993, p. 11). Considering the complexity of Fielding’s dispersed learning environment, such a transformational priority in leadership, communication, and decision-making became a critical priority for both Fielding and ELC.