Planning Team for the 2008 NCDD Conference
NCDD’s biennial conferences are unique experiments in collaborative planning, and we have managed dynamic mostly-volunteer planning teams of about 60 people for each of our national conferences. For the 2008 National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation in Austin, over 100 people joined the planning team (!) which, as always, was open to anyone who wanted to get involved. Learn more about the planning process.
People to contact if you have questions (about what’s in the parentheses):
- Andy Fluke – NCDD Creative Director (website, publications, blog and other technology)
- Joy Garman – NCDD Office Manager (finances, database, invitation letters)
- Sandy Heierbacher – Conference Director (sponsorship, funding, programming, outreach)
- Diane Miller – Central Texas Team coordinator (planning and outreach in Austin and surrounding area) and on-site Conference Manager (volunteers, connecting and informing sub-teams and team members)
- Polly Riddims – Logistics Team coordinator (hotel, food, travel, supplies)
Core Team members:
The Core Team makes final decisions about major areas of conference design (theme, goals, plenaries, etc.) and ensures that all teams remain in communication and collaborate when appropriate. In addition to Sandy, Andy, Diane, and Polly (all listed above), the additional members of the Core Team are Katie Howard, John Spady, and Dave Joseph.
Central Texas sub-team members:
- Mike Aaron – coordinating networking opportunities; blogging at the conference; creating a list and map of local restaurants; taking notes at the conference; posting announcements on listservs; outreach to underrepresented groups and to people/groups in Central Texas (connected to Austin Democratic politics and in the Austin environmental movement)
- Sunni Brown – part of the NCDD 2008 graphic facilitation team ([email protected])
- Steven Fearing – ensuring Austin innovations are highlighted at the conference; Austin outreach; creating a map of local restaurants; coordinating evening activities/options; coordinating small-group dialogues at the conference; evaluating workshop applications
- Juli Fellows – note-taking and synthesizing info; Austin outreach; coordinating small-group dialogues; reviewing workshop proposals
- Randy Jewart – bringing local arts to the conference ([email protected])
- Charles Knickerbocker – coordinating a conference workshop on technology and D&D
- Sherry Lowry – outreach and marketing, working with local bookstores to set up bookstore at conference, helping organize mindfulness meditation session for Sunday morning
- Madeline Maxwell – willing to help in numerous ways (Austin, arts, evening activities, restaurant list, outreach); access to undergrad and grad students who may volunteer, including the UT Willie Nelson Center Students for Peace and Conflict Resolution; has ties to a non-profit that works with the arts and entertainment fields, with many ties to musicians, photographers, theatre & other artists
- Jenny Meigs – organizing a meeting of local D&D practitioners
- Diane Miller – leader of the Central Texas Team and member of the Core Team
- Erin Noonan Kreeger – coordinator of workshop review process; interested both in research and in how to connect organizational development (area of expertise) to other disciplines such as community change
- Stephanie Nestlerode – highlighting Austin innovations; reviewing workshop proposals
- Tobin Quereau – Austin innovations and outreach; Conversation Cafe before the conference; coordinating small group dialogues at the conference
- Rod Reyna – identifying innovative public engagement / conflict resolution programs in Central Texas that we could feature at the conference; support with logistics; reaching out to young people, local elected officials and public managers about the conference
- Michal Rosenberger – coordinating small group dialogues at the conference; reviewing workshop proposals (short-term task groups preferred)
- Stephanie Ruloph – 2008 Conference Manager
- Anne Selcer – willing to help out in any area; specifically interested in designing plenaries, evaluating workshop proposals, coordinating small-group dialogues and Listeners, and reaching out to underrepresented groups
- Landon Shultz – outreach (getting big names to the conference); willing to help in numerous ways (blogging, listeners, Austin, workshops, plenaries)
- Carrie Stewart – Austin outreach and ensuring Austin innovations are highlighted at the conference (lived in Austin until recently); coordinating conference Listeners and other ways of handling conflict/issues; helping coordinate arts component; logistics (coordinating evening activities, creating restaurant map)
- Mary Thompson – helping orient people who are new to D&D with a high-quality pre-conference workshop
- Margaret Valenti – connecting local city planning officials to NCDD
- Taylor Willingham – exploring statewide and library efforts; looking at organizing a day-long meeting right after the conference geared towards libraries/librarians or toward “Texas stuff”; possible reception at LBJ Library on first or second evening of the conference; working with a local graphic recorder to record, create templates for D&D methods, and/or provide graphic facilitation training at the conference
- Patricia Wilson – wants to help build a strong network of local practitioners so that people can be mobilized; help people learn tools they can take back to their neighborhoods
National planning team members:
- Chinedu Achunine – coordinating small-group dialogues, networking opportunities and the arts at the conference
- Sandy Agustin – coordinating arts component of the conference, networking opportunities, small-group dialogues, and conference Listeners
- Sharon Almerigi – helping plan conference threads; reviewing workshop proposals; available for writing tasks (articles, etc.); helping coordinate networking activities; Listeners
- Cyrus Samuel Anaughe – signed up to fill a wide variety of tasks as needed
- Gilles Asselin – coordinating small-group dialogues and conference Listeners; coordinating networking opportunities at the conference; evaluating workshop proposals
- Chad Beyer – willing to help with a variety of tasks (coordinating small-group dialogues and Listeners; note-taking at the conference; posting announcements on discussion lists and e-newsletters; improving the atmosphere at the conference; taking photos at the conference); experienced in intergroup/multicultural dialogue
- Tim Bonnemann – Tech Team (interested in all – coordinating a workshop on technology and D&D, blogging before and during the conference, taking photos at the conference and uploading them); mostly interested in how to effectively do D&D online; has extensive social media and community development expertise
- Cynthia Chang – conference listeners and diversity/inclusion issue; coordinating networking activities; taking photos at the conference
- Susan Stuart Clark – outreach to conservatives, certain types of religious organizations, corporate folks
- Terry Crain – helping out wherever needed, especially at the conference
- David Walter Dongo – coordinating small-group dialogues and networking opportunities at the conference; experience designing conferences in Uganda and internationally
- Rebecca Field – designing plenary sessions; coordinating small group dialogues at the conference; coordinating conference Listeners and other ways of handling issues/conflicts; reviewing workshop proposals
- Janet Fiero – helping design plenary session(s) utilizing Appreciative Inquiry and other methods; helping coordinate networking opportunities at the conference
- Jean-Yves Gatete – recording at the conference (blogging, notes); human rights worker who has attended gatherings in Geneva and many African countries
- Deborah Goldblatt – increasing youth attendance at the conference, using the model of the youth component I organized at the World Forum in San Francisco in 2007.
- Rogier Gregoire – coordinating conference threads (especially race/social justice thread) and helping incorporate Bohmian Dialogue into the conference
- Pervez Gulzar – coordinating evening activities; taking photos; evaluating workshop proposals
- Kaliya Hamlin – integrating the use of technology before and during the conference; blogging before the conference; helping coordinate networking activities
- Barbara Heffernan – designing plenaries; evaluating workshop proposals; taking notes during conference; providing us with the honest perspective of someone who’s new to the field
- Jacob Hess – outreach to conservatives; ensuring conference participants are welcomed warmly; outreach via discussion lists and newsletters; coordinating small group dialogues, Listeners, and networking opportunities at the conference
- Allison Hillier – outreach in Europe (esp. Germany); ensuring the conference feels safe and welcoming for people coming from outside the U.S. (especially those for whom English is a second language); coordinating conference Listeners, small-group dialogue, and networking opportunities; also indicated interest in designing plenary sessions; writing articles and press releases; posting announcements on discussion lists; reaching out to underrepresented groups
- Katie Howard – serving on Core Team; helping establish theme and goals, design plenary sessions and ensure conference flow (Katie served as the 2006 Conference Manager)
- Dale Ironson – designing the plenary sessions
- J. Allen Johnson – working on issues of inclusion at the conference (listeners, small group dialogue, and other ideas); working on the connection between inclusivity and addressing climate change as global citizens; also offered to write articles and press releases, design plenary sessions and coordinate networking opportunities
- Dave Joseph – serving on Core Team; designing plenary sessions; coordinating small-group dialogues at the conference; reviewing workshop proposals
- Erik Kieser – blogging before and during the conference; helping out during the conference however needed (not on main planning team listserv)
- Robert Kibaya – willing to do a variety of tasks (designing plenary sessions, coordinating small-group dialogues and Listeners, coordinating networking opportunities, reviewing workshop proposals, taking photos at the conference, coordinating conference bookstore, coordinating evening activities, reaching out to underrepresented groups)
- Windy Lawrence – coordinating networking opportunities at the conference; organizing conference threads or tracks
- PJ Longoni – developing conference threads on vital issues (race relations/diversity, global warming, etc.)
- DeAnna Martin – designing plenary sessions; coordinating conference Listeners; coordinating networking opportunities; taking notes at the conference; posting announcements on discussion lists; outreach to underrepresented groups
- Joseph McIntyre – blogging and taking photos at the conference; reviewing workshop proposals
- Judith Mowry – helping organize conference thread on racism/social justice; helping address with conflicts/issues that arise unexpectedly during plenary sessions at the conference (especially those that can provide us with unique learning opportunities); reviewing workshop proposals
- Jerry Michalski – outreach to people/groups who aren’t aware of NCDD; coordinating networking opportunities at the conference; Tech Team – coordinating a workshop on technology and D&D, blogging at the conference, taking photos and uploading them
- Katie Moore – outreach to youth and people who work with youth; designing the plenary sessions; coordinating networking opportunities; reviewing workshop proposals; connections in K-12, including teachers in the U.S., Serbia and former Soviet Union
- Folorunsho Moshood – proposes a Meet-The-Experts session where participants have the opportunity to meet and interact with experts in D&D on issues they are tackling; also willing to help out in a number of other ways as needed
- Tina Nabatchi – helping with design (plenaries, workshops, small-group dialogues) and evaluation; has graduate assistant that could help with data entry
- Leanne Nurse – listeners and other diversity/inclusion tasks, outreach to networks of government D&D practitioners/managers
- Beth Offenbacker – working with the Tech Team
- Brad Ogilvie – coordinating small-group dialogues and conference Listeners; writing articles and press releases
- Catherine Orland – coordinating conference threads (especially racism/social justice thread)
- Avril Orloff – graphic recording at the conference; helping coordinate arts component; helping with decorations at event; helping coordinate listeners
- Priya Parker – Emcee at conference as in 2006 (in India; not really available for planning tasks/calls)
- Nancy Polk – designing the plenary sessions; coordinating small-group dialogues at the conference
- Steve Pyser – “legislative liaison” (getting public officials and public figures involved in order to help take this movement to the mainstream); outreach via both the DDC and IAP2 journals
- Julia Salinas – designing plenary sessions; coordinating small-group dialogues and networking opportunities at the conference; reviewing workshop proposals; PR tasks (utilizing PCRC’s newsletter, writing articles and press releases, outreach to underrepresented groups)
- Jake Schlachter – various tech team tasks (coordinating a workshop on technology, blogging before and during the conference, taking photos at the conference; interested in making the technology of online D&D accessible to non-tech folks); designing plenary sessions; coordinating networking opportunities; writing articles and press releases; posting announcements on listservs, reaching out to underrepresented groups (background in technology, connection with American youth culture, experience in outreach and organizing, and strengths in strategy, planning, and execution)
- John Spady – serving on Core Team; helping evaluation process by providing Fast Forum software
- Madeleine Van Hecke – skilled at synthesizing information (note-taking, writing press releases); outreach to contacts related to her book and speaking engagements, and her involvement with the Unitarian Church
- Jimoh Muyiwa Wahab – coordinating networking opportunities; coordinating conference bookstore; posting announcements on discussion lists and newsletters
- Julie Segal Walters – coordinating small group dialogues at the conference; coordinating networking sessions; reviewing workshop proposals
- Carolyn White – coordinating small group dialogues at the conference; outreach to underrepresented groups; reviewing workshop applications
- Brandon WilliamsCraig – especially interested in racial/social/class justice and the inclusivity issue of economics and event access, and in analyzing and remediating the event’s carbon footprint; also interested in numerous tasks (plenaries, workshops, small-group dialogues, Listeners, networking, blogging at conference, taking pictures, taking notes at conference, writing articles/press releases, posting announcements on discussion lists, outreach to underrepresented groups); experience in designing “new paradigm” conferences and deep knowledge of process arts (subject of the dissertation he’s working on now)
- Deva Woodly – coordinating arts component; evaluating workshop proposals; sending announcements out to discussion lists and newsletters; taking notes at the conference
- Gill Wyatt – outreach in the U.K.; designing the plenaries; coordinating small-group dialogues at the conference