Facilitation is the art of making visible that which has been less visible: about people, norms and behaviors, questions and histories so that we might see one another or an issue anew, which is the definition of respect.
My instinct is to always ask What are the differences in our personal experiences of life, how do we see things differently and why? Understanding and leveraging the differences between us, not the search for similarities, is what makes collective action possible. All of my facilitation is grounded in my own inquiry into power, class, privilege, race, gender, urban v. rural, and understanding how these differences play out in groups, communities and places.
20 years of experience has taught me that facilitation is at least half about listening and half about fearlessly acting upon what I’m hearing. I rely on extensive interviews to build curricula and agenda that respond directly to people’s experience. Listening and courage is at the core of all my work. My clients are communities, coalitions, governments and organizations, and my work is focused on healing community divides through civic dialogue, learning journeys to the borders of organizational experience, transforming conservation and co-creating unique conferences.
