I study the conditions where creativity thrives. Then I help leaders build them.

I’m Christa Heydt-Hernandez,

founder of IdeaAlchemy.co, Strategic Innovation Advisor, and Creativity Steward™.

My work sits at the intersection of creativity research, leadership development, and systems thinking. I help organizations close the gap between their leadership strategy and the day-to-day conditions that determine whether people think creatively, collaborate well, and adapt under pressure.

I spent 20+ years in a Fortune 50 company designing and delivering large-scale learning and development programs. That experience shaped my conviction that the environment matters as much as the curriculum.

In May 2026, I completed a Master of Science in Creativity and Change Leadership at Buffalo State University’s Center for Applied Imagination. My master’s project introduced three original contributions: The Long Game of Leadership Development, the Creativity Steward™ framework, and the Creative Climate for Leadership Development Lab. That framework is the foundation of everything IdeaAlchemy.co does today.

The Creativity Steward™ Framework A Creativity Steward™ is anyone in a position of influence who takes responsibility for intentionally designing the conditions in which creative thinking, systems thinking, and human-centered design can thrive, in themselves and in others.

The framework organizes 11 skills across three domains, Creative Thinking, Systems Thinking, and Human-Centered Design, and proposes that the highest-leverage skills are best introduced across childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, long before the workplace. For most organizations, the urgent work is retroactively building these capacities in leaders who never had the opportunity.

• MS, Creativity and Change Leadership, Buffalo State University · Center for Applied Imagination, May 2026
• Creativity Steward™ Framework, Original Research Contribution, 2026
• FourSight® Certified Practitioner, authorized to administer and facilitate the FourSight® Thinking Profile assessment (FourSight® is a registered trademark of FourSight LLC.)
• Prosci Certified Change Practitioner
• 20+ years at a Fortune 50 company, in global L&D, OD, and facilitation leadership

I’m based in Northeastern Pennsylvania, in the Pocono Mountains. I work with organizations across North America, and I bring the same curiosity, rigor, and care to every engagement that I bring to my research.