ERNESTO YTURRALDE

Senior Consultant, Facilitator, Speaker

Ernesto is Ecuadorian and he recognizes himself as a global citizen. He has developed his international career as a Facilitator, Lecturer / Speaker, Coach & Mentor since March 1985.

CEO of Ernesto Yturralde Worldwide Inc. is passionate about the Experiential Learning methodology in training and transformation processes and a promoter of Intrategy. He works as Senior Consultant in the area of Organizational Development and Facilitator for several institutions, commercial, industrial and service companies in 21 countries and in various projects among them, United Nations Agencies, Microsoft, Unilever, Concorde Group, Merck, Epson, Halliburton, DELL, among other large, medium and small companies. He designed the ACP Values Program Design | Panama Canal Authority for the period 2014 - 2018.

ERNESTO YTURRALDE

“At school we learn the lesson and then we are put to the test; in life, we are first put to the test and then, only if we are vigilant, do we learn the lesson.”

Professional Guilds

Founder & Former President of IFS | Sociedad Internacional de Facilitadores, Member AEE | Association for Experiential Education, ICF | International Coach Federation, ACCT | Association for Challenge Course Technology, IMA | International Mentoring Association, TWCC | The World Café Community, The Foundation for Critical Thinking, member of Wikinamics Community.

Development Focus

Certificate in Open Cards methodology with OpenMind, Horse Assisted Leadership - EGE Equine Guided Education with Pacagua Argentina, Certificate in Coaching-PlayColombia, Certificate in POY "Points Of You" at Points Of You Academy in Ecuador; Certificate in the Trainer of Trainers registry of SETEC Ecuador, participant in the Critical Thinking Training for Trainers and Advance Academy in Bentonville, AK - Foundation for Critical Thinking.

Professional Contributions

He is the creator of the OTC Outdoor Training Certification and the Online program: MASTERCLASS LIVE, Training of Trainers. Creator of the Debriefing Cards ® and Debriefing Balls ® system to enhance processing in processes of learning. Author of the “Vademecum of the Facilitator” and “Inspiring Leaders: The New GEFE: Manager of Happiness”. Author of the Yturralde Matrix on Excellence in Service.

International Projection of the Debriefing 4 Model

The international projection of Debriefing 4 - Yturralde’s Debriefing Model / The 4 Elements Model - was consolidated through its presentation in prominent international settings connected with experiential education, facilitation, adventure-based programs, challenge courses, and human development. This series of conferences marked a milestone in the expansion of a Latin American perspective on the power of structured reflection as a bridge between lived experience, meaningful learning, and transfer into action.

One of the key moments in this journey took place in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, during the 39th Annual Conference of AEE | Association for Experiential Education, held under the theme “Crossing, Building, Being Bridges”. At this international gathering, which brought together experiential educators, facilitators, researchers, and leaders of active learning programs, Ernesto Yturralde presented his methodological approach aimed at strengthening Debriefing processes as transformational conversations. His proposal connected with the essence of experiential education: turning experience into learning, and learning into observable change.

Later, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, he participated as a speaker at the international meeting of ACCT | Association for Challenge Course Technology, held at the Westin Boston Waterfront. This event brought together professionals connected with challenge courses, ropes courses, canopy tours, zip lines, experiential facilitation, safety, and risk management in adventure-based programs. Before this specialized community, he presented Debriefing 4, contributing a practical methodology to enrich reflection after the experience and enhance the transfer of learning into organizational, educational, and experiential training contexts.

This same momentum expanded into Latin America. In Medellín, Colombia, Ernesto Yturralde shared his model with the Latin American experiential education community, in a regional gathering connected to the movement accompanied by AEE | Association for Experiential Education. This event brought together facilitators and experiential educators from different countries, creating a close dialogue around the cultural, human, and pedagogical dimensions of facilitation in the region. There, Debriefing 4 was presented as a tool capable of organizing reflection, provoking discoveries, and connecting experience with learning applicable to life, teams, and organizations.

The journey continued in Guanajuato, Mexico, during the CELF | Latin American Meeting of Facilitators, held before ALFA | Asociación Latinoamericana de Facilitadores, under the motto “Caminando Juntos por Latinoamérica”. This gathering convened facilitators from different countries to exchange knowledge, experiences, and methodological proposals oriented toward the art, science, and technology of facilitating synergistic group processes. In this setting, Ernesto Yturralde presented Debriefing 4: The 4 Elements Model as a Latin American contribution to the field of facilitation, integrating reflection, learning, connection, and transfer as pillars of a transformational practice.

Together, these encounters consolidate an international trajectory in which Debriefing 4 was shared with specialized professional communities in the United States and Latin America. More than a series of conferences, this journey represents the expansion of a methodological proposal born from practice, refined in the field, and projected onto global stages. Its central contribution has been to position Debriefing not as a simple conversation after an activity, but as a structured, natural, and fluid process that allows experience to gain deeper meaning, learning to become conscious, and transformation to find its path into action.

Professional Encounters with Global Experiential Learning Leaders

As part of the journey that has shaped Debriefing 4 - Yturralde’s Debriefing Model / The 4 Elements Model -, Ernesto Yturralde has shared professional spaces with distinguished Experiential Learning leaders in the United States, including Dr. Thomas E. Smith, creator of Raccoon Circles and honored by the AEE | Association for Experiential Education with the Kurt Hahn Award; Karl Rohnke, a pioneer in experiential and adventure education, co-founder of Project Adventure and High 5 Adventure Learning Center; and Dr. Jim Cain, author of well-known works on Adventure-Based Team Building, creator of methodological resources for facilitators, and former Executive Director of the ACCT | Association for Challenge Course Technology. These encounters have enriched his methodological perspective and strengthened the connection of Debriefing 4 with the roots, evolution, and contemporary practices of Experiential Learning at an international level.

Recognitions

He has received from the IFS the "Platinum Triskel 2019" Award in Bogota, Colombia; "International Speaker Of The Year" by CIC | International Chamber of Speakers in Lima, Peru; "EMAR Emeritus | High Performance Mental Strategist" in Puebla, Mexico; "Ambassador" and "Master Speaker" by the CIC in Quito, Ecuador; the "Recognition of the trajectory in the field of Experiential Learning" in CUMLAF | Latin American Summit of Facilitators in Cusco, Peru and the "Recognition of Experience" by Coaching-Play in Cartagena, Colombia; among other mentions as "International Speaker of the Year" in 2013 and 2015.

He is a Trainer of Trainers, Mentor / Executive Coach, Facilitator and International Speaker of topics related to Soft Skills for the installation and development of labor competencies: Leadership, Teamwork, Communication, Coaching, Organizational Development, Capital Development and Human Talent, Conflict Management, Excellence in Customer Service and Sales. He interacts virtually and in person with his conferences, seminars and workshops in 21 countries at universities and organizations.

He leads several Training Processes and Certification of Competencies in Transformational Leadership, Experiential Facilitators, Masterclass Training of Trainers and Outdoor Trainers for Applicants of 25 nationalities.

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