Co-founder, Praxsys Leadership
Max Freund is co-founder of Praxsys Leadership, a coaching and organizational development firm committed to reflective action in human systems so that all people can exercise their inherent capacity for leadership, acting together with dignity, belonging, and purpose.
Max shares his passion for collaboration and systems-level changemaking with clients spanning sectors and industries, including construction, public health, philanthropy, and community power-building. Engagements have included executive coaching, leadership team development, organizational assessment, and strategic planning.
He specializes in creating transformative learning experiences for teams to develop shared leadership. By applying practices that are equal parts human-centered and evidence-based, he engages teams in building shared identity, direction, alignment, and action for shared impact.
Before co-founding Praxsys Leadership, he was a consultant with The Alford Group, served as Assistant Director of World Service at YMCA of the USA, and managed a youth leadership program in Cape Town, South Africa.
Max is strongly committed to deepening awareness of status and power dynamics, and re centering the experience and voices of people marginalized by those systems so that all people can live more fully in their own truth and in authentic relationship with others. He acts on this commitment through his volunteer leadership in the Intercultural Advocacy (DEIJB) initiative of ManKind Project USA, where he is also a CoLeader Candidate leading transformational men’s trainings.
Max is certified as an Integral Coach by New Ventures West, where he is co-designer and faculty for the school’s Integral Team Coaching course. He earned an MA in Organizational Behavior from Claremont Graduate University, where he completed Ph.D. coursework and preliminary qualifying requirements. He also holds a Master’s in Intercultural & International Management from SIT Graduate Institute.
Having lived in India, South Africa, and Central America — and being married to a Mexican woman — Max loves bridging cultural boundaries, both internationally and across the multicultural musical and culinary landscape of California. He is a dedicated practitioner of self-development, including 24 years in the ManKind Project and 14 years in the Diamond Approach. He can often be found road cycling in the San Gabriel foothills east of Los Angeles and exploring the wine country around Paso Robles on California’s Central Coast.