Building the Human Skills That Matter Most
Duncan Tree Ventures is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit delivering the In The Middle (ITM) workshop program — a 5-week emotional intelligence and leadership development experience grounded in iPEC’s Energy Leadership Index (ELI) Assessment and Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory.
In a landscape where AI can simulate emotional intelligence, we workshop the irreducible human skills — attunement, discernment, presence — that make professionals irreplaceable.
Our Framework
Everything we do is organized around our Four Pillars of Wholeness: Physical, Emotional, Spiritual/Mindfulness, and Financial. Like a four-legged chair, remove any pillar and the whole structure becomes unstable. The case for wholeness isn’t aspirational — it’s practical. Research consistently links emotional and social wellbeing to measurable outcomes: reduced burnout, stronger retention, and the adaptive capacity that no technical training alone can build.
We don’t just teach concepts. We build capacity through evidence-based methodology, intergenerational collaboration, and authentic relationships.