The workshops are a core part of the National Conference on Dialogue and Deliberation. At NCDD2023 we held over 60 workshop sessions! Check out our lineup of workshops below.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13: WORKSHOP SESSON A - 1:00 – 2:30 pm
Addressing the Rising Threats to Democracy in Our Work
All Levels
What if the critical threat to democracy right now is the rise of authoritarianism - not polarization? If so, how might we shape the work of D&D to counter this threat and recommit to the growth of a healthier, egalitarian, and pluralistic democracy? This session will engage participants in exploring the concerns and challenges for addressing this core question. Participants will collaboratively interrogate the basic principles and assumptions for democracy-promoting D&D work, including the questioning of “neutrality,” especially in light of rising radicalization against democracy. Participants will co-develop different practical approaches and strategies for positively addressing these rising threats.
Eve Daniel Pearlman - CEO; Spaceship Media
Jeff Prudhomme - Vice President; Interactivity Foundation
All Levels
What if the critical threat to democracy right now is the rise of authoritarianism - not polarization? If so, how might we shape the work of D&D to counter this threat and recommit to the growth of a healthier, egalitarian, and pluralistic democracy? This session will engage participants in exploring the concerns and challenges for addressing this core question. Participants will collaboratively interrogate the basic principles and assumptions for democracy-promoting D&D work, including the questioning of “neutrality,” especially in light of rising radicalization against democracy. Participants will co-develop different practical approaches and strategies for positively addressing these rising threats.
Eve Daniel Pearlman - CEO; Spaceship Media
Jeff Prudhomme - Vice President; Interactivity Foundation
Building Capacity through our Work: Facilitative Leadership
All Levels
As members of our NCDD community of practice we engage in the crucial work of helping people engage productively in talking and thinking together in ways that promote understanding and collaboration to address challenging issues. And we do more than this – we enact and model Facilitative Leadership – an approach that focuses on capacity building. We will explore what Facilitative Leadership is, why it is a crucial mindset and skill set in today’s world, and how we can cultivate Facilitative Leadership in ourselves and others. We will also consider how NCDD can play a role in cultivating and recognizing Facilitative Leadership.
Ana Almanza - Student; Indiana University Political and Civic Engagement Program
Lori Britt - Professor and Director; James Madison University Institute of Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue
Joa'Quinn Griffin - Student; Indiana University Political and Civic Engagement Program
Mariam Ismail - Graduate Student; James Madison University Institute of Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue
Lisa-Marie Napoli - Director; Indiana University Political and Civic Engagement Program
Tzofnat Peleg-Baker, PhD. - Professor, Portland Community College & Principal, Inclusive Conflict International
B. Rae Perryman - Affiliate; James Madison University Institute of Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue
Pearl Vinard - Student; Indiana University Political and Civic Engagement Program
All Levels
As members of our NCDD community of practice we engage in the crucial work of helping people engage productively in talking and thinking together in ways that promote understanding and collaboration to address challenging issues. And we do more than this – we enact and model Facilitative Leadership – an approach that focuses on capacity building. We will explore what Facilitative Leadership is, why it is a crucial mindset and skill set in today’s world, and how we can cultivate Facilitative Leadership in ourselves and others. We will also consider how NCDD can play a role in cultivating and recognizing Facilitative Leadership.
Ana Almanza - Student; Indiana University Political and Civic Engagement Program
Lori Britt - Professor and Director; James Madison University Institute of Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue
Joa'Quinn Griffin - Student; Indiana University Political and Civic Engagement Program
Mariam Ismail - Graduate Student; James Madison University Institute of Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue
Lisa-Marie Napoli - Director; Indiana University Political and Civic Engagement Program
Tzofnat Peleg-Baker, PhD. - Professor, Portland Community College & Principal, Inclusive Conflict International
B. Rae Perryman - Affiliate; James Madison University Institute of Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue
Pearl Vinard - Student; Indiana University Political and Civic Engagement Program
Building Community in Times of Chaos
All Levels
From pandemic-induced social isolation to mass protest, the Kettering Foundation convened an international virtual cohort of librarians to discuss libraries' role in deliberative democracy. Librarians from the US, Ukraine, and Romania shared stories of confronting societal challenges with dialogue. What began as an exchange of ideas evolved into a brave, restorative space where we could face our fears, bolster our courage, and advocate for our communities. Having a community of practice to navigate the shifting societal tectonic plates allowed the cohort to recommit and renew their community-building efforts and leverage partnerships to deepen civic engagements in urban and rural settings.
Ellen Knutson - Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Information Sciences; University of Illinois
Ileana Marin - Program Officer; Kettering Foundation
David Siders - Civic Engagement Coordinator; Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
All Levels
From pandemic-induced social isolation to mass protest, the Kettering Foundation convened an international virtual cohort of librarians to discuss libraries' role in deliberative democracy. Librarians from the US, Ukraine, and Romania shared stories of confronting societal challenges with dialogue. What began as an exchange of ideas evolved into a brave, restorative space where we could face our fears, bolster our courage, and advocate for our communities. Having a community of practice to navigate the shifting societal tectonic plates allowed the cohort to recommit and renew their community-building efforts and leverage partnerships to deepen civic engagements in urban and rural settings.
Ellen Knutson - Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Information Sciences; University of Illinois
Ileana Marin - Program Officer; Kettering Foundation
David Siders - Civic Engagement Coordinator; Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
Collaboration for Abundance: Give What You Have to Get What You Need
All Levels
Many organizations are under-resourced and long for more participants, more diversity of participants and measurable impact after dialogue is complete. Dialogue organizations can be challenged by a philanthropic environment that encourages competition rather than collaboration. Four organizations: Civic Genius, Living Room Conversations, YOUnify, and Mormon Women for Ethical Government will share how they address challenges through creative partnerships -- then help participants to do the same! This interactive session will help attendees network, reflect on their work, learn new skills, and explore new collaborations. Participants will map their assets and needs, then learn how to address those needs through creative collaborations.
Ibrahim Bazyan - Program Manager; Civic Genius
Becca Kearl - Executive Director; Living Room Conversations
Brandyn Keating - CEO; YOUnify
Jennifer Walker Thomas - Co-Executive Director; Mormon Women for Ethical Government
All Levels
Many organizations are under-resourced and long for more participants, more diversity of participants and measurable impact after dialogue is complete. Dialogue organizations can be challenged by a philanthropic environment that encourages competition rather than collaboration. Four organizations: Civic Genius, Living Room Conversations, YOUnify, and Mormon Women for Ethical Government will share how they address challenges through creative partnerships -- then help participants to do the same! This interactive session will help attendees network, reflect on their work, learn new skills, and explore new collaborations. Participants will map their assets and needs, then learn how to address those needs through creative collaborations.
Ibrahim Bazyan - Program Manager; Civic Genius
Becca Kearl - Executive Director; Living Room Conversations
Brandyn Keating - CEO; YOUnify
Jennifer Walker Thomas - Co-Executive Director; Mormon Women for Ethical Government
Connecting Community through Storytelling
All Levels
Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories through verbal, written, or physical forms of communicating. The City of Decatur has used the art of storytelling to make space for members of the Decatur community to connect with each other through different means of engagement. This year, as Decatur celebrates its bicentennial, the City has focused on elevating unheard narratives and preserving and documenting stories of community members, past and present, through the Anti-Racism Speaker Series and 200 Stories initiative.
Renae Jackson - City of Decatur Equity & Engagement Director
Ed Lee, PhD. - Senior Director of Inclusivity for Emory College of Arts and Sciences
All Levels
Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories through verbal, written, or physical forms of communicating. The City of Decatur has used the art of storytelling to make space for members of the Decatur community to connect with each other through different means of engagement. This year, as Decatur celebrates its bicentennial, the City has focused on elevating unheard narratives and preserving and documenting stories of community members, past and present, through the Anti-Racism Speaker Series and 200 Stories initiative.
Renae Jackson - City of Decatur Equity & Engagement Director
Ed Lee, PhD. - Senior Director of Inclusivity for Emory College of Arts and Sciences
Dialogue for Healing: Truth and Reconciliation in the U.S.
Intermediate
Truth and reconciliation commissions (TRCs) have operated in dozens of countries over the last 50 years but have only come to the U.S. within the last 20 years, and in relatively few numbers. Now, several communities across the U.S. are utilizing the model to explore issues ranging from systemic racism and racial inequities to challenges for law enforcement and beyond. In this session, you'll get an inside look at an active U.S. TRC from its facilitators, a guide to understanding TRCs, and a chance to try your hand at creating a TRC and working through tough decisions.
V Fixmer-Oraiz - Co-facilitator; Iowa City Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Eduardo Gonzalez - Convener; ThinkPeace Learning and Support Hub
Larry Schooler - Co-facilitator; Iowa City Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Intermediate
Truth and reconciliation commissions (TRCs) have operated in dozens of countries over the last 50 years but have only come to the U.S. within the last 20 years, and in relatively few numbers. Now, several communities across the U.S. are utilizing the model to explore issues ranging from systemic racism and racial inequities to challenges for law enforcement and beyond. In this session, you'll get an inside look at an active U.S. TRC from its facilitators, a guide to understanding TRCs, and a chance to try your hand at creating a TRC and working through tough decisions.
V Fixmer-Oraiz - Co-facilitator; Iowa City Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Eduardo Gonzalez - Convener; ThinkPeace Learning and Support Hub
Larry Schooler - Co-facilitator; Iowa City Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Indigenized Approaches to Engagement
All Levels
Centering Indigenous ways of knowing and being has profound impacts on engagement projects and can contribute to reconciliation. However, challenges for Indigenous communities persist in civic engagement, such as how dominant deliberation approaches and language restrict who participates, what ideas are shared, and how input is considered. In this session, we will share examples and offer tools that meaningfully weave Indigenous perspectives in engagement and deliberation projects.
Susanna Haas Lyons - Civic Engagement Specialist
Hailey Maria Salazar - Adjunct Faculty, Native Pathways Program; Evergreen State College
All Levels
Centering Indigenous ways of knowing and being has profound impacts on engagement projects and can contribute to reconciliation. However, challenges for Indigenous communities persist in civic engagement, such as how dominant deliberation approaches and language restrict who participates, what ideas are shared, and how input is considered. In this session, we will share examples and offer tools that meaningfully weave Indigenous perspectives in engagement and deliberation projects.
Susanna Haas Lyons - Civic Engagement Specialist
Hailey Maria Salazar - Adjunct Faculty, Native Pathways Program; Evergreen State College
Let’s Reset with Kindness: How Kindness-Informed Dialogue Can Reshape Society
All Levels
With the crisis of loneliness and isolation posing one of our generation’s greatest challenges, the “power of kindness and compassion” is just the antidote we need. International Expressions of Kindness involved 45 countries worldwide, helping establish caring communities of children, parents, educators, college students, faculty, and others. Acts of Kindness Maine is a statewide initiative fostering kindness among individuals, communities, businesses, public institutions, and government. Join us to explore how kindness can be a superpower drawing people to beneficial dialogue; imbuing communities with a sense of belonging; and fostering compassionate leaders of all ages. Take a deep dive into kindness!
Jeff Edelstein - Founder; Acts of Kindness Maine
Amy N. Spangler, MA Ed. - Educational consultant and learning facilitator
Tatyana V. Tsyrlina-Spady, PhD. - Project Director; International Expressions of Kindness
All Levels
With the crisis of loneliness and isolation posing one of our generation’s greatest challenges, the “power of kindness and compassion” is just the antidote we need. International Expressions of Kindness involved 45 countries worldwide, helping establish caring communities of children, parents, educators, college students, faculty, and others. Acts of Kindness Maine is a statewide initiative fostering kindness among individuals, communities, businesses, public institutions, and government. Join us to explore how kindness can be a superpower drawing people to beneficial dialogue; imbuing communities with a sense of belonging; and fostering compassionate leaders of all ages. Take a deep dive into kindness!
Jeff Edelstein - Founder; Acts of Kindness Maine
Amy N. Spangler, MA Ed. - Educational consultant and learning facilitator
Tatyana V. Tsyrlina-Spady, PhD. - Project Director; International Expressions of Kindness
Partners in Conversation and Community: Creating Regional Networks for Dialogue & Deliberation
Advanced
Have you ever felt alone in your dialogue and deliberation efforts? Regional networks are one strategy for creating a community of support. Join members of the Southern Deliberative Democracy Network (SDDN) for a discussion on how regional networks can encourage shared learning and spark creative collaboration among dialogue and deliberation practitioners. SDDN members will briefly share what they’ve learned together in exploring Southern challenges to and opportunities for deliberative democracy. The session will also feature an in-depth conversation on strategies for convening and facilitating regional networks for dialogue and deliberation practitioners.
Mandy Baily - Florida Sea Grant Living Shoreline Program Assistant & Facilitator; University of Florida
Cristin Brawner - Founder; Southern Deliberative Democracy Network & Cristin Brawner LLC
Hollie Cost - Assistant Vice President, University Outreach & Public Service; Auburn University
Herman Lehman - Partner & Community Coach; Keys to the City Community Coaching, LLC
Advanced
Have you ever felt alone in your dialogue and deliberation efforts? Regional networks are one strategy for creating a community of support. Join members of the Southern Deliberative Democracy Network (SDDN) for a discussion on how regional networks can encourage shared learning and spark creative collaboration among dialogue and deliberation practitioners. SDDN members will briefly share what they’ve learned together in exploring Southern challenges to and opportunities for deliberative democracy. The session will also feature an in-depth conversation on strategies for convening and facilitating regional networks for dialogue and deliberation practitioners.
Mandy Baily - Florida Sea Grant Living Shoreline Program Assistant & Facilitator; University of Florida
Cristin Brawner - Founder; Southern Deliberative Democracy Network & Cristin Brawner LLC
Hollie Cost - Assistant Vice President, University Outreach & Public Service; Auburn University
Herman Lehman - Partner & Community Coach; Keys to the City Community Coaching, LLC
The Civic Lab – Strengthening Youth Engagement in Your Community
All Levels
Come join us for an interactive session with Troy University students as they demonstrate activities from our Civic Lab Toolkit. The Civic Lab engages students in grades 3 through 8, as well as college students, in dialogue and learning experiences with a strong focus on civic education, community inclusion, understanding bias, and current public issues. In this session, participants will learn how to foster civic engagement in their communities through meaningful partnerships with local youth organizations.
Lauren Cochran - Coordinator, Office of Civic Engagement; Troy University
Jayden McQueen - Troy University Student; Intern, David Mathews Center for Civic Life
Chauntina Whittle - Americorps VISTA, Office of Civic Engagement; Troy University
All Levels
Come join us for an interactive session with Troy University students as they demonstrate activities from our Civic Lab Toolkit. The Civic Lab engages students in grades 3 through 8, as well as college students, in dialogue and learning experiences with a strong focus on civic education, community inclusion, understanding bias, and current public issues. In this session, participants will learn how to foster civic engagement in their communities through meaningful partnerships with local youth organizations.
Lauren Cochran - Coordinator, Office of Civic Engagement; Troy University
Jayden McQueen - Troy University Student; Intern, David Mathews Center for Civic Life
Chauntina Whittle - Americorps VISTA, Office of Civic Engagement; Troy University
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13: WORKSHOP SESSON B - 3:00 – 4:30 pm
AI and Your Dialogue and Deliberation Practice: Partnering for Content Development and Decision Making
All Levels
This session welcomes all attendees interested in learning more about AI and D&D, no matter your experience. We will explore using GPT-4 for idea generation around communication strategies for addressing various dialogue and deliberation contexts. Special attention will be given to question/prompt development and follow-up, including fact checking. Explore how AI can help with decision making stages and de-biasing, then we will address using AI to support group dialogue and deliberation. Learn about AI integrations and utilizing meeting software like Read.ai to offer summaries and action items. Participants are encouraged to share their experience with AI platforms.
Philip Bakelaar, PhD. - Adjunct Professor; Montclair State University School of Communication and Media
Stephen Buckley - Collaboration Engineer; Independent Consultant
All Levels
This session welcomes all attendees interested in learning more about AI and D&D, no matter your experience. We will explore using GPT-4 for idea generation around communication strategies for addressing various dialogue and deliberation contexts. Special attention will be given to question/prompt development and follow-up, including fact checking. Explore how AI can help with decision making stages and de-biasing, then we will address using AI to support group dialogue and deliberation. Learn about AI integrations and utilizing meeting software like Read.ai to offer summaries and action items. Participants are encouraged to share their experience with AI platforms.
Philip Bakelaar, PhD. - Adjunct Professor; Montclair State University School of Communication and Media
Stephen Buckley - Collaboration Engineer; Independent Consultant
Cultivating Ongoing Public Discourse
All Levels
This session will focus on an ongoing town meeting format that has provided members of a very culturally, racially, ethnically and religiously diverse urban college community an opportunity to engage monthly since 1989. Learn how this town meeting setting has been structured and provided a longstanding facilitated forum. Participants will discuss how this effort has been sustained, copied, and withstood a wide range of challenges in modality including transitioning from in-person to online during the pandemic, to a hybrid format in the past year. The participants will experience how a simple format can be readily operationalized in most any context.
Elton Beckett - Department of Africana Studies Lecturer; John Jay College of Criminal Justice - City University of New York
Maria R. Volpe - Professor of Sociology and Dispute Resolution Program Director; John Jay College of Criminal Justice - City University of New York
All Levels
This session will focus on an ongoing town meeting format that has provided members of a very culturally, racially, ethnically and religiously diverse urban college community an opportunity to engage monthly since 1989. Learn how this town meeting setting has been structured and provided a longstanding facilitated forum. Participants will discuss how this effort has been sustained, copied, and withstood a wide range of challenges in modality including transitioning from in-person to online during the pandemic, to a hybrid format in the past year. The participants will experience how a simple format can be readily operationalized in most any context.
Elton Beckett - Department of Africana Studies Lecturer; John Jay College of Criminal Justice - City University of New York
Maria R. Volpe - Professor of Sociology and Dispute Resolution Program Director; John Jay College of Criminal Justice - City University of New York
Facilitating Democracy from Campus: The Role of Colleges and Universities and their Students in Supporting Local Dialogue and Deliberation
All Levels
Faculty, staff, and students connected to several on-campus centers and institutes that serve as local resources for deliberative civic engagement will reflect on their work, how they incorporate students, and how they collaborate with the community. Materials and resources will be shared. The session will be geared both to those on campuses interested in supporting the work, as well as those off campus hoping to collaborate with their local colleges and universities.
Chris Anderson - Director; Wabash College Democracy and Public Discourse
Quincy Bevely - Vice President for Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Providence College
Jennifer Borda - Professor and Co-Director; University of New Hampshire Civil Discourse Lab
Graham Bullock - Faculty Director; Davidson College Deliberative Citizenship Initiative
Martin Carcasson - Director; Colorado State University Center for Public Deliberation
Nicholas Longo - Professor; Providence College
Lisa-Marie Napoli - Director; Indiana University Political and Civic Engagement Program
Timothy J. Shaffer - Stavros Niarchos Foundation Chair of Civil Discourse; University of Delaware
All Levels
Faculty, staff, and students connected to several on-campus centers and institutes that serve as local resources for deliberative civic engagement will reflect on their work, how they incorporate students, and how they collaborate with the community. Materials and resources will be shared. The session will be geared both to those on campuses interested in supporting the work, as well as those off campus hoping to collaborate with their local colleges and universities.
Chris Anderson - Director; Wabash College Democracy and Public Discourse
Quincy Bevely - Vice President for Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Providence College
Jennifer Borda - Professor and Co-Director; University of New Hampshire Civil Discourse Lab
Graham Bullock - Faculty Director; Davidson College Deliberative Citizenship Initiative
Martin Carcasson - Director; Colorado State University Center for Public Deliberation
Nicholas Longo - Professor; Providence College
Lisa-Marie Napoli - Director; Indiana University Political and Civic Engagement Program
Timothy J. Shaffer - Stavros Niarchos Foundation Chair of Civil Discourse; University of Delaware
From Head to Heart and Hands: Engaging Intellectuals in Dialogue
All Levels
Intellectuals are often trapped on the treadmill of ideas. Academic success, funding, advancement, external rewards and internal satisfaction all hinge on the life of the mind. How do we meaningfully balance the head, heart, and hands that are required for dialogue? Learn about Game Changer Academies, a program developed for the National Science Foundation to support deliberative democracy in the peer review process. We will demonstrate how we have engaged engineers in reflection and dialogue to improve group process, understand the importance of social identity, and be productive participants in conflict and deliberation for the public good.
Diana Kardia - Founder and Lead Designer; Kardia Group LLC: Leadership and Change in Academia
Kelly Mack - Vice President, Undergraduate STEM Education & Project Kaleidoscope Executive Director; American Association of Colleges and Universities
All Levels
Intellectuals are often trapped on the treadmill of ideas. Academic success, funding, advancement, external rewards and internal satisfaction all hinge on the life of the mind. How do we meaningfully balance the head, heart, and hands that are required for dialogue? Learn about Game Changer Academies, a program developed for the National Science Foundation to support deliberative democracy in the peer review process. We will demonstrate how we have engaged engineers in reflection and dialogue to improve group process, understand the importance of social identity, and be productive participants in conflict and deliberation for the public good.
Diana Kardia - Founder and Lead Designer; Kardia Group LLC: Leadership and Change in Academia
Kelly Mack - Vice President, Undergraduate STEM Education & Project Kaleidoscope Executive Director; American Association of Colleges and Universities
Harnessing the Power of Narrative Storytelling for D&D: Lessons from Podcasting and Beyond
Beginner
Think about the connection you feel listening to podcasts or watching documentaries with a strong storytelling focus. Narrative media provides an opportunity for people to share their stories on their own terms and for the people who hear that story to develop a meaningful connection to the people telling it. However, not everyone doing D&D work has the media skills necessary to create long-form narrative projects. This session will cover the nuts and bolts of how to approach narrative work and why you should consider adding it to your organization's strategy.
John Biewen - Director of Storytelling and Public Engagement; Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University
Jenna Spinelle - Communications Specialist; Penn State McCourtney Institute for Democracy
Beginner
Think about the connection you feel listening to podcasts or watching documentaries with a strong storytelling focus. Narrative media provides an opportunity for people to share their stories on their own terms and for the people who hear that story to develop a meaningful connection to the people telling it. However, not everyone doing D&D work has the media skills necessary to create long-form narrative projects. This session will cover the nuts and bolts of how to approach narrative work and why you should consider adding it to your organization's strategy.
John Biewen - Director of Storytelling and Public Engagement; Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University
Jenna Spinelle - Communications Specialist; Penn State McCourtney Institute for Democracy
Processes for Intragroup and Affinity Conflicts
All Levels
Almost all groups have internal conflicts, and sometimes these conflicts mean people accomplish less together. Internal strife is often considered private, awkward, and even "dirty laundry" that group members can't talk about publicly. The Sustained Dialogue Institute bridges divides through dialogue, and provides tools and methods for advocacy and affinity groups. In this interactive session, participants will hear recent case examples and explore a conflict analysis tool to bridge internal relationships. This workshop is meant to bring these divides into focus in the hopes of increasing the NCDD network's ability to bolster the power of advocacy and affinity groups.
Rhonda Fitzgerald - Executive Director; Sustained Dialogue Institute
Elena Martínez Torres - Program Director; Sustained Dialogue Institute
All Levels
Almost all groups have internal conflicts, and sometimes these conflicts mean people accomplish less together. Internal strife is often considered private, awkward, and even "dirty laundry" that group members can't talk about publicly. The Sustained Dialogue Institute bridges divides through dialogue, and provides tools and methods for advocacy and affinity groups. In this interactive session, participants will hear recent case examples and explore a conflict analysis tool to bridge internal relationships. This workshop is meant to bring these divides into focus in the hopes of increasing the NCDD network's ability to bolster the power of advocacy and affinity groups.
Rhonda Fitzgerald - Executive Director; Sustained Dialogue Institute
Elena Martínez Torres - Program Director; Sustained Dialogue Institute
Seeing the Whole Picture As a Blind Facilitator - Lessons That Transform Your Impact
All Levels
Jeremy Grandstaff is a blind person who’s been facilitating large scale change for 22 years and has worked with the sighted public using a collaborative change and facilitation process that could be perceived as challenging for a blind person. In this workshop, he'll share powerful insights that he has learned, which will help you better connect, empower, and enable participants to own action going forward. Participants will gain: Increased understanding of successful facilitation and meeting design techniques; Insights that strengthen facilitation approach for better results and increased ownership; and Real-Time learning and practice activities to reinforce the techniques learned.
Jeremy Grandstaff - Collaboration & Organizational Consultant
All Levels
Jeremy Grandstaff is a blind person who’s been facilitating large scale change for 22 years and has worked with the sighted public using a collaborative change and facilitation process that could be perceived as challenging for a blind person. In this workshop, he'll share powerful insights that he has learned, which will help you better connect, empower, and enable participants to own action going forward. Participants will gain: Increased understanding of successful facilitation and meeting design techniques; Insights that strengthen facilitation approach for better results and increased ownership; and Real-Time learning and practice activities to reinforce the techniques learned.
Jeremy Grandstaff - Collaboration & Organizational Consultant
The Challenge of Making Memories: Dialogue and Deliberation on Memorials
Intermediate
Across the U.S., communities are grappling with a variety of questions about memorials--including how to memorialize deeply tragic moments. Decisions about these memorials have benefitted from thoughtfully- and strategically-designed dialogue and deliberation processes. In this session, you'll hear firsthand from both the facilitator of one such process, the chairperson of a 2nd community's memorial committee, and an expert in trauma healing about how to approach these sensitive endeavors. You'll also participate in an exercise where you assume a role based on a type of visitor to a future memorial and consider your needs and wants.
Anne Seymour - Associate Academic Program Director; National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center
Larry Schooler - Senior Director; Kearns & West
Tennille Pereira - Director; Vegas Strong Resiliency Center & 1 October Memorial Committee Chair
Intermediate
Across the U.S., communities are grappling with a variety of questions about memorials--including how to memorialize deeply tragic moments. Decisions about these memorials have benefitted from thoughtfully- and strategically-designed dialogue and deliberation processes. In this session, you'll hear firsthand from both the facilitator of one such process, the chairperson of a 2nd community's memorial committee, and an expert in trauma healing about how to approach these sensitive endeavors. You'll also participate in an exercise where you assume a role based on a type of visitor to a future memorial and consider your needs and wants.
Anne Seymour - Associate Academic Program Director; National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center
Larry Schooler - Senior Director; Kearns & West
Tennille Pereira - Director; Vegas Strong Resiliency Center & 1 October Memorial Committee Chair
The Ripple Effects of Evaluation: Making Space for Unintended Dialogue
All Levels
We will share an overview and provide insights about evaluating the impacts of two food coalitions using appreciative inquiry and Ripple Effects Mapping (REM). Participants will learn about different frameworks of social change evaluation, explore the questions that arose in coding the story-points, and participate in a REM mini-demonstration to understand the tools of participatory engagement. Group discussion will explore the inherent tensions that exist within qualitative evaluation with emphasis on balancing respect for peoples’ in-depth stories and connection to each other with the need to produce reports which capture and reflect the coalitions' work narrative using finite datasets.
Mandy Baily - Florida Sea Grant Living Shoreline Program Assistant & Facilitator; University of Florida
Ramona Madhosingh-Hector - Regional Specialized Agent; University of Florida IFAS Extension
All Levels
We will share an overview and provide insights about evaluating the impacts of two food coalitions using appreciative inquiry and Ripple Effects Mapping (REM). Participants will learn about different frameworks of social change evaluation, explore the questions that arose in coding the story-points, and participate in a REM mini-demonstration to understand the tools of participatory engagement. Group discussion will explore the inherent tensions that exist within qualitative evaluation with emphasis on balancing respect for peoples’ in-depth stories and connection to each other with the need to produce reports which capture and reflect the coalitions' work narrative using finite datasets.
Mandy Baily - Florida Sea Grant Living Shoreline Program Assistant & Facilitator; University of Florida
Ramona Madhosingh-Hector - Regional Specialized Agent; University of Florida IFAS Extension
Thinking Outside the Branch: Dialogue as a Tool to Reconnect
All Levels
When the pandemic briefly closed the doors of The New York Public Library’s 92 locations, a core public service was interrupted. Community conversations programs continued online and a new Community Outreach and Engagement office (COE) was later created. NYPL’s community conversation programming is an ever-evolving model for connecting and (re)connecting with communities through authentic and meaningful dialogue. Join the Library for an interactive discussion on how we have adapted our dialogue and conversation programming to engage diverse audiences, forge meaningful local relationships, and reinvigorate the impact of our community outreach.
Lauren Deering - Coordinator, Civic Engagement Programming; The New York Public Library
Anita Favretto - Director, Community Outreach and Engagement; The New York Public Library
All Levels
When the pandemic briefly closed the doors of The New York Public Library’s 92 locations, a core public service was interrupted. Community conversations programs continued online and a new Community Outreach and Engagement office (COE) was later created. NYPL’s community conversation programming is an ever-evolving model for connecting and (re)connecting with communities through authentic and meaningful dialogue. Join the Library for an interactive discussion on how we have adapted our dialogue and conversation programming to engage diverse audiences, forge meaningful local relationships, and reinvigorate the impact of our community outreach.
Lauren Deering - Coordinator, Civic Engagement Programming; The New York Public Library
Anita Favretto - Director, Community Outreach and Engagement; The New York Public Library
When Beliefs Cannot be Mandated: Facilitating Dialogue in Family Therapy
All Levels
Dialogue is an innovative way to train therapists who must work with clients and families from all different backgrounds and experiences. In this session, we will describe the use of dialogue to train family therapy students on how to engage in conversations across differences and polarization. Through reflective structured dialogue, participants will experience how they would have evolved to hold different beliefs had they been born into a different social world. We will share a case example of fishbowl-style dialogue used to train therapists, and engage participants how to craft their own questions from a place of curiosity.
Lana Kim - Program Director; Lewis and Clark College
Martha Laughlin - Program Director; Valdosta State University
Hoa Nguyen - Associate Professor; Valdosta State University
Kate Warner - Associate Dean; Valdosta State University
All Levels
Dialogue is an innovative way to train therapists who must work with clients and families from all different backgrounds and experiences. In this session, we will describe the use of dialogue to train family therapy students on how to engage in conversations across differences and polarization. Through reflective structured dialogue, participants will experience how they would have evolved to hold different beliefs had they been born into a different social world. We will share a case example of fishbowl-style dialogue used to train therapists, and engage participants how to craft their own questions from a place of curiosity.
Lana Kim - Program Director; Lewis and Clark College
Martha Laughlin - Program Director; Valdosta State University
Hoa Nguyen - Associate Professor; Valdosta State University
Kate Warner - Associate Dean; Valdosta State University
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14: WORKSHOP SESSON C - 9:00 – 10:30 am
Adding Polarity Management to Your Deliberative Toolkit
All Levels
Too often, issues are framed to drive us apart with “either-or” answers. But a “both-and” mindset is achievable, especially at the local level. This workshop will introduce wicked problems and polarity management and share stories of how these tools can be applied. Participants will then work in smaller groups to engage with key polarities, whether they’re tough public issues or tensions within the field of dialogue and deliberation itself. See how polarities can be used as a liberating lens for leaders, a generative frame for facilitation, and a hands-on tool for navigating issues and ultimately, identifying more sustainable solutions.
Martin Carcasson, PhD. - Director; Colorado State University Center for Public Deliberation
Susan Clark - Community Consultant; Author of Slow Democracy
All Levels
Too often, issues are framed to drive us apart with “either-or” answers. But a “both-and” mindset is achievable, especially at the local level. This workshop will introduce wicked problems and polarity management and share stories of how these tools can be applied. Participants will then work in smaller groups to engage with key polarities, whether they’re tough public issues or tensions within the field of dialogue and deliberation itself. See how polarities can be used as a liberating lens for leaders, a generative frame for facilitation, and a hands-on tool for navigating issues and ultimately, identifying more sustainable solutions.
Martin Carcasson, PhD. - Director; Colorado State University Center for Public Deliberation
Susan Clark - Community Consultant; Author of Slow Democracy
Facilitation as an Organizing Strategy: Using Dialogue and Deliberation as a Tool for Advocacy
All Levels
Scholars studying deliberative systems have begun to identify the ways that deliberative principles might be implemented in other methods of engagement, such as advocacy and interest group organizing. This session will provide different mechanisms for utilizing facilitation as a tool for community organizing, offering insights for how facilitation may be used to better center public voice in interest identification, advocacy, and collective action. Session participants will explore how their own practices intersect with more advocacy-based forms of public work, and collectively create a set of values and guidelines that practitioners of dialogue and deliberation might utilize in these spaces.
Katie Knobloch - Associate Director; Colorado State University Center for Public Deliberation
Sabrina Slagowski-Tipton - Managing Director; Colorado State University Center for Public Deliberation
All Levels
Scholars studying deliberative systems have begun to identify the ways that deliberative principles might be implemented in other methods of engagement, such as advocacy and interest group organizing. This session will provide different mechanisms for utilizing facilitation as a tool for community organizing, offering insights for how facilitation may be used to better center public voice in interest identification, advocacy, and collective action. Session participants will explore how their own practices intersect with more advocacy-based forms of public work, and collectively create a set of values and guidelines that practitioners of dialogue and deliberation might utilize in these spaces.
Katie Knobloch - Associate Director; Colorado State University Center for Public Deliberation
Sabrina Slagowski-Tipton - Managing Director; Colorado State University Center for Public Deliberation
Introducing the Collaborative Discussion Certificate Program
Intermediate
This interactive session will introduce the Collaborative Discussion Project (CDP) and participants will learn about different types of certificate programs in collaborative discussion. Attendees will be invited to help imagine how we can expand certificate program designs to include more participants and diverse sectors of our communities. This exploration will be facilitated by using CDP toolkit activities. Participants will leave this session with 1) a greater awareness of the CDP, 2) a preview of toolkit activities, and 3) an invitation to join our community of practice by becoming a collaborative discussion coach, curriculum contributor, or user of the toolkit.
Lori Britt - Director; James Madison University Institute for Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue
Kara Dillard - Associate Director, James Madison Center for Civic Engagement; James Madison University
Shannon Wheatley Hartman - Vice President; Interactivity Foundation
Lydia Smith - Assistant Director of Campus Engagement; Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation, and Dialogue; Emory University
Ritu Thomas - Assistant Director of the Collaborative Discussion Project; Interactivity Foundation
Intermediate
This interactive session will introduce the Collaborative Discussion Project (CDP) and participants will learn about different types of certificate programs in collaborative discussion. Attendees will be invited to help imagine how we can expand certificate program designs to include more participants and diverse sectors of our communities. This exploration will be facilitated by using CDP toolkit activities. Participants will leave this session with 1) a greater awareness of the CDP, 2) a preview of toolkit activities, and 3) an invitation to join our community of practice by becoming a collaborative discussion coach, curriculum contributor, or user of the toolkit.
Lori Britt - Director; James Madison University Institute for Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue
Kara Dillard - Associate Director, James Madison Center for Civic Engagement; James Madison University
Shannon Wheatley Hartman - Vice President; Interactivity Foundation
Lydia Smith - Assistant Director of Campus Engagement; Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation, and Dialogue; Emory University
Ritu Thomas - Assistant Director of the Collaborative Discussion Project; Interactivity Foundation
Is There a Role For Artificial General Intelligence in National-Scale Dialogue and Deliberation Practices?
All Levels
Can artificial intelligence (AI) enhance civic dialogue, or does it threaten democracy? What are the current and future possibilities for dialogue practitioners to use AI to improve dialogue? This session will delve into how emerging AI tools might responsibly distill themes from participant input, identify points of alignment or divergence in opinions, encourage individuals to consider perspectives different from their own, and support practitioners to work more efficiently. In this interactive session, we will collectively envision how to make our engagement more insightful and meaningful through the integration of AI.
Duncan Autrey - Founder and Host, Omni-Win Project
Susanna Haas Lyons - Civic Engagement Specialist
Tzofnat Peleg-Baker, PhD. - Professor, Portland Community College & Principal, Inclusive Conflict International
John Spady - President; Forum Foundation and the National Dialogue Network
Scott Vineberg - Founder & CEO; PeoplePower.tv
All Levels
Can artificial intelligence (AI) enhance civic dialogue, or does it threaten democracy? What are the current and future possibilities for dialogue practitioners to use AI to improve dialogue? This session will delve into how emerging AI tools might responsibly distill themes from participant input, identify points of alignment or divergence in opinions, encourage individuals to consider perspectives different from their own, and support practitioners to work more efficiently. In this interactive session, we will collectively envision how to make our engagement more insightful and meaningful through the integration of AI.
Duncan Autrey - Founder and Host, Omni-Win Project
Susanna Haas Lyons - Civic Engagement Specialist
Tzofnat Peleg-Baker, PhD. - Professor, Portland Community College & Principal, Inclusive Conflict International
John Spady - President; Forum Foundation and the National Dialogue Network
Scott Vineberg - Founder & CEO; PeoplePower.tv
Joke Around and Find Out
All Levels
Is everything so heavy these days that we’ve forgotten how to lighten up? Can humour bring us together—maybe even to be more civil? What if the joke is on us? Humour is a perspective—a state of mind, a way of perceiving the world and ourselves. Can we cultivate it to connect more with ourselves and each other? See how empathy, humility and wonder—building blocks for civility and dialogue—are also the essence of humour. Or don’t. Who are we to tell you what to do?
Marc Engel - Founder, Engel Research Partners; Writer/Comedian
Eliah Thomas - Executive Director; Institute for Civility
All Levels
Is everything so heavy these days that we’ve forgotten how to lighten up? Can humour bring us together—maybe even to be more civil? What if the joke is on us? Humour is a perspective—a state of mind, a way of perceiving the world and ourselves. Can we cultivate it to connect more with ourselves and each other? See how empathy, humility and wonder—building blocks for civility and dialogue—are also the essence of humour. Or don’t. Who are we to tell you what to do?
Marc Engel - Founder, Engel Research Partners; Writer/Comedian
Eliah Thomas - Executive Director; Institute for Civility
Key Questions in Dialogue and Deliberation Programs in Higher Education: Insights from North Carolina
All Levels
Dialogue and deliberation is taking root in higher education throughout North Carolina. Three practitioner-scholars doing the work in diverse contexts - a statewide network, a public institution, and a private institution will explore the history, context, goals, infrastructure, challenges, and outcomes of their dialogue and deliberation initiatives. Participants will engage with key questions related to implementation and gain insights on how to effectively design, build, and sustain dialogue and deliberation initiatives in higher education institutions.
Graham Bullock PhD. - Faculty Director; Davidson College Deliberative Citizenship Initiative
Leslie Garvin - Executive Director; North Carolina Campus Engagement
Kevin Marinelli PhD. - Executive Director of the Program for Public Discourse; UNC-Chapel Hill
All Levels
Dialogue and deliberation is taking root in higher education throughout North Carolina. Three practitioner-scholars doing the work in diverse contexts - a statewide network, a public institution, and a private institution will explore the history, context, goals, infrastructure, challenges, and outcomes of their dialogue and deliberation initiatives. Participants will engage with key questions related to implementation and gain insights on how to effectively design, build, and sustain dialogue and deliberation initiatives in higher education institutions.
Graham Bullock PhD. - Faculty Director; Davidson College Deliberative Citizenship Initiative
Leslie Garvin - Executive Director; North Carolina Campus Engagement
Kevin Marinelli PhD. - Executive Director of the Program for Public Discourse; UNC-Chapel Hill
Lessons for Dialogue Facilitators from Wounded Healers: Resilience, Trauma Healing, Violence Interruption and Aikido
All Levels
In trauma healing they say: hurt people hurt people. Unhealed trauma is directly connected to cycles of violence (physical and verbal). In dialogue, we strive to create “safe enough” spaces where people can be vulnerable (despite trauma and violence) and share their life stories. As practitioners we help create that safe place, and we do that partly through our own presence. As wounded healers we will explore how we react under stress and share skills for multidimensional nourishment (i.e. skills for building internal resilience), as well as medicine (i.e. skills for crises).
Brian Blancke - Associate; Essential Partners
Rashaan "Tank" Brown - NYC Violence Interrupter & Founder of GangstasGivingBack
Almitra Gaspar - Coordinator of Trainings and Staff Development; NYC Health Department
Rachel Goldberg, PhD. - Associate Professor and Director of Peace and Conflict Studies; Depauw University
All Levels
In trauma healing they say: hurt people hurt people. Unhealed trauma is directly connected to cycles of violence (physical and verbal). In dialogue, we strive to create “safe enough” spaces where people can be vulnerable (despite trauma and violence) and share their life stories. As practitioners we help create that safe place, and we do that partly through our own presence. As wounded healers we will explore how we react under stress and share skills for multidimensional nourishment (i.e. skills for building internal resilience), as well as medicine (i.e. skills for crises).
Brian Blancke - Associate; Essential Partners
Rashaan "Tank" Brown - NYC Violence Interrupter & Founder of GangstasGivingBack
Almitra Gaspar - Coordinator of Trainings and Staff Development; NYC Health Department
Rachel Goldberg, PhD. - Associate Professor and Director of Peace and Conflict Studies; Depauw University
Reflecting on the Past, Recommitting to the Future: Deliberating Difficult History in the South
All Levels
In the South, history is never far from the present. Join us as we explore spaces and opportunities for repairing the harm of history told from the settler colonial perspective. Experience a deliberative conversation on a difficult moment in Southern history. Learn strategies and tools from experienced practitioners for embracing hard history, while building civic skills essential for contemporary democracy. Session leaders will share their experiences, as well as tools and resources for, incorporating historic deliberations into a variety of community spaces and educational contexts.
Cristin Brawner - Founder; Southern Deliberative Democracy Network & Cristin Brawner LLC
Nicole Moore - Director of Education; National Center for Civil & Human Rights
Mark Wilson PhD. - Director; Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities, Auburn University
All Levels
In the South, history is never far from the present. Join us as we explore spaces and opportunities for repairing the harm of history told from the settler colonial perspective. Experience a deliberative conversation on a difficult moment in Southern history. Learn strategies and tools from experienced practitioners for embracing hard history, while building civic skills essential for contemporary democracy. Session leaders will share their experiences, as well as tools and resources for, incorporating historic deliberations into a variety of community spaces and educational contexts.
Cristin Brawner - Founder; Southern Deliberative Democracy Network & Cristin Brawner LLC
Nicole Moore - Director of Education; National Center for Civil & Human Rights
Mark Wilson PhD. - Director; Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities, Auburn University
Twenty-Five Years of Deliberative Pedagogy in the Whisenton Public Scholars Program
All Levels
The Whisenton Public Scholars Program promotes community-engaged scholarship and teaching at schools and programs with a mission to serve Black, Indigenous and Students of Color and their communities. As the program celebrates its 25th anniversary, we’ll reflect on the use of deliberative pedagogy in classrooms, on campus, and in the community. A diverse group of scholars will share their insights on how dialogue and deliberation have enhanced student learning and civic engagement, and addressed issues of social justice, health equity, and Indigenous sovereignty. Participants will leave with new ideas and tools for promoting dialogue and deliberation in their own work.
Terrica Arnold - Director of Operations, Innovation and Community Initiatives; Meharry Medical College
James Ford - Assistant Professor Journalism; Hampton University
Ellen Knutson - Research Associate; Kettering Foundation
Ileana Marin - Program Officer; Kettering Foundation
Bryant Marks - Founder, National Training Institute on Race & Equity; Morehouse University
Hailey Maria Salazar - Adjunct Faculty, Native Pathways Program; Evergreen State College
All Levels
The Whisenton Public Scholars Program promotes community-engaged scholarship and teaching at schools and programs with a mission to serve Black, Indigenous and Students of Color and their communities. As the program celebrates its 25th anniversary, we’ll reflect on the use of deliberative pedagogy in classrooms, on campus, and in the community. A diverse group of scholars will share their insights on how dialogue and deliberation have enhanced student learning and civic engagement, and addressed issues of social justice, health equity, and Indigenous sovereignty. Participants will leave with new ideas and tools for promoting dialogue and deliberation in their own work.
Terrica Arnold - Director of Operations, Innovation and Community Initiatives; Meharry Medical College
James Ford - Assistant Professor Journalism; Hampton University
Ellen Knutson - Research Associate; Kettering Foundation
Ileana Marin - Program Officer; Kettering Foundation
Bryant Marks - Founder, National Training Institute on Race & Equity; Morehouse University
Hailey Maria Salazar - Adjunct Faculty, Native Pathways Program; Evergreen State College
You like Patriotism, You like Activism, We like Unity: Exploring Similarities and Differences in How American Voters Resonate with Key Civic Terms
All Levels
Knowing how different groups of Americans perceive civic terms can be helpful in designing and facilitating inclusive dialogue and deliberation experiences. In 2021, PACE fielded a national survey to understand how Americans perceive 21 commonly used civic terms. In this session, participants will explore themes from the PACE survey and engage in conversations about some of the key questions and areas of curiosity that arise from the data.
Amy McIsaac - Managing Director of Learning and Experimentation; Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement
All Levels
Knowing how different groups of Americans perceive civic terms can be helpful in designing and facilitating inclusive dialogue and deliberation experiences. In 2021, PACE fielded a national survey to understand how Americans perceive 21 commonly used civic terms. In this session, participants will explore themes from the PACE survey and engage in conversations about some of the key questions and areas of curiosity that arise from the data.
Amy McIsaac - Managing Director of Learning and Experimentation; Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement
Youth and Opportunity: How Best to Engage Young Adults in Future-Focused Deliberation
Intermediate
Colleges and universities are to be open forums for expressing ideas, but this has been challenged in recent years. Protest tactics and so-called cancel culture raise questions about discourse quality on campus and highlight tensions between inclusion and free speech. In-person engagement seems compromised after most civic life went online in Spring 2020, and while people say they want face-to-face interaction, they are anxious about it. Based on a student-deliberation study conducted on three university campuses, learn the strengths and weaknesses of face-to-face and online forums for cross-cutting conversations and how to promote authentic deliberation with young adults.
Saya Kakim, PhD. - Postdoctoral Fellow; University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
Colene Lind - Director of Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy; Kansas State University
Ekaterina (Katya) Lukianova - Associate Director at Parrhesia Program for Public Discourse; University of Chicago
Keyhan Shams - Doctoral Candidate in Leadership Communication Staley School of Leadership; Kansas State University
Intermediate
Colleges and universities are to be open forums for expressing ideas, but this has been challenged in recent years. Protest tactics and so-called cancel culture raise questions about discourse quality on campus and highlight tensions between inclusion and free speech. In-person engagement seems compromised after most civic life went online in Spring 2020, and while people say they want face-to-face interaction, they are anxious about it. Based on a student-deliberation study conducted on three university campuses, learn the strengths and weaknesses of face-to-face and online forums for cross-cutting conversations and how to promote authentic deliberation with young adults.
Saya Kakim, PhD. - Postdoctoral Fellow; University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
Colene Lind - Director of Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy; Kansas State University
Ekaterina (Katya) Lukianova - Associate Director at Parrhesia Program for Public Discourse; University of Chicago
Keyhan Shams - Doctoral Candidate in Leadership Communication Staley School of Leadership; Kansas State University
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14: WORKSHOP SESSON D - 11:00 – 12:30 pm
Democracy in America: The Promise of Citizens’ Assemblies
All Levels
A growing number of Americans believe that everyday people can renew democracy through one keystone change: Citizens’ Assemblies. Learn about the deliberative wave that’s flourishing across the world and hear our plan to bring democracy by assembly to your community. Participants will hear key information about Citizens’ Assemblies and discuss how we can use them to restore self-government and heal our national divisions. Our question to you: What are the opportunities and challenges to using democracy by assembly to address our most urgent political crises?
Duncan Autrey - Founder & Host; Omni-Win Project
Nick Coccoma - Founding Member; Democracy Without Elections
Geo Stokes - Grassroots Engagement
Scott Vineberg - Founder & CEO, People Power
Kacey Bull - Director of Outreach and Communication, Healthy Democracy
All Levels
A growing number of Americans believe that everyday people can renew democracy through one keystone change: Citizens’ Assemblies. Learn about the deliberative wave that’s flourishing across the world and hear our plan to bring democracy by assembly to your community. Participants will hear key information about Citizens’ Assemblies and discuss how we can use them to restore self-government and heal our national divisions. Our question to you: What are the opportunities and challenges to using democracy by assembly to address our most urgent political crises?
Duncan Autrey - Founder & Host; Omni-Win Project
Nick Coccoma - Founding Member; Democracy Without Elections
Geo Stokes - Grassroots Engagement
Scott Vineberg - Founder & CEO, People Power
Kacey Bull - Director of Outreach and Communication, Healthy Democracy
Democracy-Makers: The Arts as Acts of Citizenship
All Levels
While often thought of as an aesthetic experience or entertainment, the arts are innately political. Their multi-sensory and diverse forms express the breath of human experience and support creative inquiry into how we live and govern ourselves. As democratic “acts of citizenship” are available to everyone, art questions how the world is organized and opens up possibilities for change. Art-makers can be democracy-makers who publicly confront challenges such as authoritarianism, polarization, and voter suppression. During this session we will look at some examples and then discuss how the arts can affirm and advance democracy.
Joni Doherty - Senior Program Office for Democracy and the Arts; Kettering Foundation
Brad Rourke - Director of External Affairs and DC Operations; Kettering Foundation
All Levels
While often thought of as an aesthetic experience or entertainment, the arts are innately political. Their multi-sensory and diverse forms express the breath of human experience and support creative inquiry into how we live and govern ourselves. As democratic “acts of citizenship” are available to everyone, art questions how the world is organized and opens up possibilities for change. Art-makers can be democracy-makers who publicly confront challenges such as authoritarianism, polarization, and voter suppression. During this session we will look at some examples and then discuss how the arts can affirm and advance democracy.
Joni Doherty - Senior Program Office for Democracy and the Arts; Kettering Foundation
Brad Rourke - Director of External Affairs and DC Operations; Kettering Foundation
Dialogue as Co-Construction in an Adaptation to Climate Change Project
All Levels
All over our states and provinces, people are confronted with the effects of climate change and have to adapt. In a five year research program in collaboration with a Regional Municipal County in the southern part of Québec, we managed to work with stakeholders of different kinds. Challenges of mutual understanding and of "translation" from the technical to the vernacular and vice-versa were part of the game. After having presented our project in its main lines, I want to focus on some experiences of dialogue, by getting back to actual exchanges that took place.
Alain Letourneau - Professor, Philosophy and Applied Ethics Department; Université de Sherbrooke
All Levels
All over our states and provinces, people are confronted with the effects of climate change and have to adapt. In a five year research program in collaboration with a Regional Municipal County in the southern part of Québec, we managed to work with stakeholders of different kinds. Challenges of mutual understanding and of "translation" from the technical to the vernacular and vice-versa were part of the game. After having presented our project in its main lines, I want to focus on some experiences of dialogue, by getting back to actual exchanges that took place.
Alain Letourneau - Professor, Philosophy and Applied Ethics Department; Université de Sherbrooke
Dialogue for Daily Use: How Monastic Rules of Life Can Inform Approaches to Civil Discourse
Intermediate
How can everyone learn from the reflective and disciplined practices faith groups have used at the center of conflict resolution around the world? Join this session to explore how the Christian monastic concept of "a rule of life" can help shape our approach to dialogue in a way that helps people build better habits that align with their daily life experience while reminding ourselves of the need to commit to conflict resolution throughout our daily practice. Jane will introduce the work of Faith Forward Democracy, a multifaith group, urging faith communities to become agents of reconciliation in our conflicted time.
Alan Yarborough - Founder; Habits of Discourse
Jane Mitchell Weston - Steering Group Member; Faith Forward Democracy Initiative
Intermediate
How can everyone learn from the reflective and disciplined practices faith groups have used at the center of conflict resolution around the world? Join this session to explore how the Christian monastic concept of "a rule of life" can help shape our approach to dialogue in a way that helps people build better habits that align with their daily life experience while reminding ourselves of the need to commit to conflict resolution throughout our daily practice. Jane will introduce the work of Faith Forward Democracy, a multifaith group, urging faith communities to become agents of reconciliation in our conflicted time.
Alan Yarborough - Founder; Habits of Discourse
Jane Mitchell Weston - Steering Group Member; Faith Forward Democracy Initiative
Disruption, Dialogue, and Deliberation: A Pathway to Community Healing
All Levels
Disruption is unavoidable. Each of us is a member of a community that faces tragic events, social pressures, and political polarization. Whether or not you are a practitioner or individual trying to make a difference, this highly interactive workshop outlines a pathway for each of us to recommit to bringing dialogue and deliberation to our communities. We will use current events as a backdrop to collectively ideate solutions, explore research backed tools, and walk away with possible next steps to bring healing to the places we live.
Becca Kearl - Executive Director; Living Room Conversations
D.G. Mawn - President; National Association for Community Mediation
All Levels
Disruption is unavoidable. Each of us is a member of a community that faces tragic events, social pressures, and political polarization. Whether or not you are a practitioner or individual trying to make a difference, this highly interactive workshop outlines a pathway for each of us to recommit to bringing dialogue and deliberation to our communities. We will use current events as a backdrop to collectively ideate solutions, explore research backed tools, and walk away with possible next steps to bring healing to the places we live.
Becca Kearl - Executive Director; Living Room Conversations
D.G. Mawn - President; National Association for Community Mediation
Embodied Dialogue: From the Present to the Emerging Future
All Levels
There are many ways to dialogue but a powerful one that is often overlooked is to move our bodies without words. What does it look like to put a system in motion that's experiencing an immovable situation and watch it transform toward its aspirational self in embodied dialogue? It's enlightening and diagnostic in ways that a mental thought process can never be. We will explore and learn how to shape what is currently stuck and move it toward innovative possibility while revealing insights that open us to emergent and creative ways forward.
Julie Stuart - Founder & CEO; Making Ideas Visible
All Levels
There are many ways to dialogue but a powerful one that is often overlooked is to move our bodies without words. What does it look like to put a system in motion that's experiencing an immovable situation and watch it transform toward its aspirational self in embodied dialogue? It's enlightening and diagnostic in ways that a mental thought process can never be. We will explore and learn how to shape what is currently stuck and move it toward innovative possibility while revealing insights that open us to emergent and creative ways forward.
Julie Stuart - Founder & CEO; Making Ideas Visible
Freedom Fortnight: An Emergent Opportunity for Dialogue Practitioners to Address the Nation’s Struggle to Produce a Unifying National Narrative
All Levels
Freedom Fortnight is the two-week period between Juneteenth Freedom Day and July 4th Independence Day - for collective celebration, reflection and dialogue about the nation's messy past and common future. This session will review the broad potential to use Freedom and Independence - both deeply American values that are similar but not identical - to provide an umbrella organizing framework for useful dialogue across divides based on ideology, race, orientation, and other often intractable divisions. The workshop will review existing activities from around the country and provide an opportunity for participants to do facilitated visioning of activities in their own communities.
David Campt, PhD. - Founder & President; The Dialogue Company
All Levels
Freedom Fortnight is the two-week period between Juneteenth Freedom Day and July 4th Independence Day - for collective celebration, reflection and dialogue about the nation's messy past and common future. This session will review the broad potential to use Freedom and Independence - both deeply American values that are similar but not identical - to provide an umbrella organizing framework for useful dialogue across divides based on ideology, race, orientation, and other often intractable divisions. The workshop will review existing activities from around the country and provide an opportunity for participants to do facilitated visioning of activities in their own communities.
David Campt, PhD. - Founder & President; The Dialogue Company
Gaining Insight Through Mindfulness, Systems Thinking, & Dialogue
Advanced
In this session, participants will learn about various mindful meditation practices and engage in a couple of those practices. Participants will also gain an overview of systems thinking and participate in an exercise that emphasizes various aspects of systems thinking. The facilitator will then weave together how mindfulness and a systems perspective are complementary processes that can enhance the effectiveness of dialogue. The session will culminate with a dialogue about how to integrate mindfulness and systems thinking into our dialogue practice.
Marty Jacobs - Transformative Change Consultant; Social Impact Consulting
Advanced
In this session, participants will learn about various mindful meditation practices and engage in a couple of those practices. Participants will also gain an overview of systems thinking and participate in an exercise that emphasizes various aspects of systems thinking. The facilitator will then weave together how mindfulness and a systems perspective are complementary processes that can enhance the effectiveness of dialogue. The session will culminate with a dialogue about how to integrate mindfulness and systems thinking into our dialogue practice.
Marty Jacobs - Transformative Change Consultant; Social Impact Consulting
National Dialogue: Building a Framework for Inclusive Dialogue in Haiti Through Participatory-Action Research
All Levels
How do we build the deliberative capacity of those that lack a culture of dialogue? This session provides insights on a participatory-action research project that explores how public deliberation and social capital can lead to the development of a participant-generated framework for an inclusive dialogue in Haiti. The presenters will share preliminary findings and lessons learned through the action-research project and discuss how the framework can be applied to other similar situations.
Kim Allonce - Doctoral Candidate; University of Central Florida
Saurel Quettan - Board Development Chair; Georgia Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce
All Levels
How do we build the deliberative capacity of those that lack a culture of dialogue? This session provides insights on a participatory-action research project that explores how public deliberation and social capital can lead to the development of a participant-generated framework for an inclusive dialogue in Haiti. The presenters will share preliminary findings and lessons learned through the action-research project and discuss how the framework can be applied to other similar situations.
Kim Allonce - Doctoral Candidate; University of Central Florida
Saurel Quettan - Board Development Chair; Georgia Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce
Sustainable Connections: Building an Undergraduate Student Facilitators Network
All Levels
What would it take to create a national network of undergraduate student facilitators? Drawing on this framing question, our interactive session will describe our efforts to build a student facilitator network and then invite our audience to become participants in sharing strategies for how to make such a network sustainable. What do students, staff, and faculty want to see in a reflective, connective network? How might colleges and universities incentivize students, staff, and faculty to maintain cross-campus collaborations? And ultimately, how might this network equip a generation of students to envision themselves as life-long facilitators—in their work, neighborhoods, and communities?
Deborah Dunn - Director, Center for Dialogue and Deliberation; Westmont College
Marla Kanengieter - Professor Emerita, Judy C. Pearson Department of Communication Studies; St. Cloud University
Lisa-Marie Napoli - Director; Indiana University Political and Civic Engagement Program
Rachel Rains Winslow - Director, Faculty Development; George Fox University
All Levels
What would it take to create a national network of undergraduate student facilitators? Drawing on this framing question, our interactive session will describe our efforts to build a student facilitator network and then invite our audience to become participants in sharing strategies for how to make such a network sustainable. What do students, staff, and faculty want to see in a reflective, connective network? How might colleges and universities incentivize students, staff, and faculty to maintain cross-campus collaborations? And ultimately, how might this network equip a generation of students to envision themselves as life-long facilitators—in their work, neighborhoods, and communities?
Deborah Dunn - Director, Center for Dialogue and Deliberation; Westmont College
Marla Kanengieter - Professor Emerita, Judy C. Pearson Department of Communication Studies; St. Cloud University
Lisa-Marie Napoli - Director; Indiana University Political and Civic Engagement Program
Rachel Rains Winslow - Director, Faculty Development; George Fox University
Using Dialogue to Meet Emergent Moments in Secondary Schools
All Levels
School leaders face intense, unprecedented challenges today - meeting educational and civic goals, supporting students’ development, and cultivating belonging cultures. They work in often tense collaboration with parents and community stakeholders and serve as the unofficial first responders in moments of national crisis. Learn how Reflective Structured Dialogue (RSD) is currently being used by middle and high schools across the country to create more inclusive, open, and resilient school cultures. In this interactive presentation, participants will hear real-world cases of students, teachers, and administrators deploying RSD to meet challenges, empower students, and enrich the cultures of their middle and high schools.
Colby Bogie - Upper School ELA teacher and Dialogue Coordinator; Ravenscroft School
Nadiya Brock - Program Manager; Essential Partners
Lynne Cote - Library Media Specialist and Dialogue Coordinator; Newburyport High School
Danielle Johnson-Webb - Director of Equity and Community Engagement, Cary Academy
All Levels
School leaders face intense, unprecedented challenges today - meeting educational and civic goals, supporting students’ development, and cultivating belonging cultures. They work in often tense collaboration with parents and community stakeholders and serve as the unofficial first responders in moments of national crisis. Learn how Reflective Structured Dialogue (RSD) is currently being used by middle and high schools across the country to create more inclusive, open, and resilient school cultures. In this interactive presentation, participants will hear real-world cases of students, teachers, and administrators deploying RSD to meet challenges, empower students, and enrich the cultures of their middle and high schools.
Colby Bogie - Upper School ELA teacher and Dialogue Coordinator; Ravenscroft School
Nadiya Brock - Program Manager; Essential Partners
Lynne Cote - Library Media Specialist and Dialogue Coordinator; Newburyport High School
Danielle Johnson-Webb - Director of Equity and Community Engagement, Cary Academy
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15: WORKSHOP SESSION E - 9:00 – 10:30 am
Beyond Unity and Forgiveness: Creating Space for Conflict in the Classroom
All Levels
How do we create classroom environments – and other dialogic spaces – where people can engage in conflict in a productive manner? In this session, we will share stories of conflict from our class on dialogue that challenge the notion that unity and forgiveness are the most desirable goals in dialogue. How do facilitators create a safe environment for conflict to occur while also attending to the dynamics of race, power and worldview differences? Participants will explore how we learn from these differences and grow in our understanding of one another, without striving for the kind of unity that silences important differences.
Alison Castel, PhD. - Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Communications; Regis University
Erin Nourse, PhD. - Associate Professor of Religious Studies; Regis University
All Levels
How do we create classroom environments – and other dialogic spaces – where people can engage in conflict in a productive manner? In this session, we will share stories of conflict from our class on dialogue that challenge the notion that unity and forgiveness are the most desirable goals in dialogue. How do facilitators create a safe environment for conflict to occur while also attending to the dynamics of race, power and worldview differences? Participants will explore how we learn from these differences and grow in our understanding of one another, without striving for the kind of unity that silences important differences.
Alison Castel, PhD. - Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Communications; Regis University
Erin Nourse, PhD. - Associate Professor of Religious Studies; Regis University
Building Dialogue Based on the Uniqueness of Your Campus
All Levels
As we seek to build dialogue opportunities on different campuses, we at Emory University have latched on to the uniqueness of our climate to create a cocurricular dialogue team. We want to share how we utilized the essence of the debate program to build a six-year going program. We will share the origin of the Emory Conversation Project and All Black Emory and show how you can apply these practices at your university or community. Participants will hear directly from participants in the program and get to model a dialogue that we do on campus for one of our signature programs.
Kozbi Bayne - Emory Conversation Project Facilitator; Emory University Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation, and Dialogue
RW Poole II - Debate and Dialogue Specialist; Emory University Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation, and Dialogue
Lydia Smith - Assistant Director of Campus Engagement; Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation, and Dialogue; Emory University
All Levels
As we seek to build dialogue opportunities on different campuses, we at Emory University have latched on to the uniqueness of our climate to create a cocurricular dialogue team. We want to share how we utilized the essence of the debate program to build a six-year going program. We will share the origin of the Emory Conversation Project and All Black Emory and show how you can apply these practices at your university or community. Participants will hear directly from participants in the program and get to model a dialogue that we do on campus for one of our signature programs.
Kozbi Bayne - Emory Conversation Project Facilitator; Emory University Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation, and Dialogue
RW Poole II - Debate and Dialogue Specialist; Emory University Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation, and Dialogue
Lydia Smith - Assistant Director of Campus Engagement; Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation, and Dialogue; Emory University
Dialogue Across Differences in the Classroom
Beginner
Go back to school and experience Mismatch as if you were a high school student. Mismatch is a matching, scheduling, and real time video conferencing platform purpose-built for civil discourse. During a live demo of the Mismatch platform session participants will experience a real lesson being used in high schools around the country. During the Mismatched conversation participants will also get the opportunity to network with another participant in the session. After the demo, participants can join a brief Q&A with Mismatch co-creators from Living Room Conversations and AllSides to learn about how they approached building the platform.
John Gable - Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer; AllSides
Becca Kearl - Executive Director; Living Room Conversations
Samantha Shireman - Director of Product; AllSides
Beginner
Go back to school and experience Mismatch as if you were a high school student. Mismatch is a matching, scheduling, and real time video conferencing platform purpose-built for civil discourse. During a live demo of the Mismatch platform session participants will experience a real lesson being used in high schools around the country. During the Mismatched conversation participants will also get the opportunity to network with another participant in the session. After the demo, participants can join a brief Q&A with Mismatch co-creators from Living Room Conversations and AllSides to learn about how they approached building the platform.
John Gable - Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer; AllSides
Becca Kearl - Executive Director; Living Room Conversations
Samantha Shireman - Director of Product; AllSides
Expanding the Movement: Beyond Dialogue & Deliberation
All Levels
This session will explore how the dialogue & deliberation movement can deepen and expand collaboration with other movements to address the urgent needs of democracy. Join with leaders from various fields striving to save democracy and explore the ways we can grow our impact through cross-sector collaboration. Learn about work in adjacent movements of interest including conflict transformation (addressing the root issues & bridging divides), popular media (raising mainstream awareness), technology (large scale participation & collaboration), and politics & governance (citizen participation and postpartisan independent politics). Participants will envision what's possible and explore the best ways to seed potential collaborations into the future.
Duncan Autrey - Founder and Host; Omni-Win Project
Nick Coccoma - Founding Member; Democracy Without Elections
Kayla Evans - Social Computing PhD. Student; Georgia Institute of Technology
Bo Harmon - Campaign Advisor; RepresentUs
Raye Rawls - Fanning Institute Senior Public Service Associate; University of Georgia
Scott Vineberg - Founder and CEO; PeoplePower.tv
Kacey Bull - Director of Outreach and Communication, Healthy Democracy
All Levels
This session will explore how the dialogue & deliberation movement can deepen and expand collaboration with other movements to address the urgent needs of democracy. Join with leaders from various fields striving to save democracy and explore the ways we can grow our impact through cross-sector collaboration. Learn about work in adjacent movements of interest including conflict transformation (addressing the root issues & bridging divides), popular media (raising mainstream awareness), technology (large scale participation & collaboration), and politics & governance (citizen participation and postpartisan independent politics). Participants will envision what's possible and explore the best ways to seed potential collaborations into the future.
Duncan Autrey - Founder and Host; Omni-Win Project
Nick Coccoma - Founding Member; Democracy Without Elections
Kayla Evans - Social Computing PhD. Student; Georgia Institute of Technology
Bo Harmon - Campaign Advisor; RepresentUs
Raye Rawls - Fanning Institute Senior Public Service Associate; University of Georgia
Scott Vineberg - Founder and CEO; PeoplePower.tv
Kacey Bull - Director of Outreach and Communication, Healthy Democracy
Facts Don’t Change Minds; Considering the Unarguable
Intermediate
Journalists (and others) tend to sit firmly in the belief that facts matter more than anything and they are absolute, unarguable. A growing body of research is teaching us more about how humans make decisions and create opinions. We take our cues from those around us and facts matter far less than we thought. What if the unarguable is not a piece of information or a fact, but rather feelings and sensations. What strategies are most helpful? Join this exploration of what we can learn by grounding ourselves in our bodies as we design, create and host dialogues.
Julie Colwell, PhD. - Founder; Evolutionary Power Institute
Eve Daniel Pearlman - CEO; Spaceship Media
Intermediate
Journalists (and others) tend to sit firmly in the belief that facts matter more than anything and they are absolute, unarguable. A growing body of research is teaching us more about how humans make decisions and create opinions. We take our cues from those around us and facts matter far less than we thought. What if the unarguable is not a piece of information or a fact, but rather feelings and sensations. What strategies are most helpful? Join this exploration of what we can learn by grounding ourselves in our bodies as we design, create and host dialogues.
Julie Colwell, PhD. - Founder; Evolutionary Power Institute
Eve Daniel Pearlman - CEO; Spaceship Media
How Can Dialogue Change Institutionalized Forms of Injustice?
All Levels
How do we bring dialogue into the places where structures and systems are created? Into spaces where decisions are made? Learn how professional development strategies can make use of dialogue principles to help dismantle institutionalized forms of injustice. Participants will learn curricular designs to address these questions, engage brief experiments that demonstrate the underlying principles, and exchange ideas and strategies. The goal of this work is to support those in positions of expertise, power, and influence to understand and embed dialogue in the heart of their work in order to create a just, equitable, and meaningfully diverse society.
Elizabeth Cole - Director, National Center for Institutional Diversity; Professor, University of Michigan
Diana Kardia - Founder and Lead Designer; Kardia Group LLC: Leadership and Change in Academia
All Levels
How do we bring dialogue into the places where structures and systems are created? Into spaces where decisions are made? Learn how professional development strategies can make use of dialogue principles to help dismantle institutionalized forms of injustice. Participants will learn curricular designs to address these questions, engage brief experiments that demonstrate the underlying principles, and exchange ideas and strategies. The goal of this work is to support those in positions of expertise, power, and influence to understand and embed dialogue in the heart of their work in order to create a just, equitable, and meaningfully diverse society.
Elizabeth Cole - Director, National Center for Institutional Diversity; Professor, University of Michigan
Diana Kardia - Founder and Lead Designer; Kardia Group LLC: Leadership and Change in Academia
Building Connection, Understanding, and Trust through Online Exploratory Discussions
All Levels
This workshop will focus on how to organize exploratory community conversations online. Come learn how to build connection, understanding, trust, and exploration in online discussions. In this workshop, three different organizations will share best practices from their 3+ years of experience in organizing ongoing, interactive, online community conversations. We will share lessons learned, facilitation plans, and how-to guides you can use for your own discussions. You will also take part in an exploratory conversation where you will have a chance to learn from each other by sharing your own experiences of participating in and/or organizing online discussions. (previously titled: Organizing Online Community Conversations Using Exploratory Discussions)
Laura Black - Communication Studies Professor; Ohio University
Ieva Notturno - Fellow & Facilitator; Interactivity Foundation
Sarah Star - Founder, Democracy Lab; Carroll Community College
All Levels
This workshop will focus on how to organize exploratory community conversations online. Come learn how to build connection, understanding, trust, and exploration in online discussions. In this workshop, three different organizations will share best practices from their 3+ years of experience in organizing ongoing, interactive, online community conversations. We will share lessons learned, facilitation plans, and how-to guides you can use for your own discussions. You will also take part in an exploratory conversation where you will have a chance to learn from each other by sharing your own experiences of participating in and/or organizing online discussions. (previously titled: Organizing Online Community Conversations Using Exploratory Discussions)
Laura Black - Communication Studies Professor; Ohio University
Ieva Notturno - Fellow & Facilitator; Interactivity Foundation
Sarah Star - Founder, Democracy Lab; Carroll Community College
Pathways & Roadblocks: Building Momentum for a Dialogic Campus
All Levels
College campuses have become more polarized, dysfunctional, and divided than ever—but it doesn't have to be that way. For 30+ years, Essential Partners’ Reflective Structured Dialogue (RSD) approach has fostered classroom and campus cultures where tough topics can be discussed with dignity and honesty. In this interactive presentation, hear stories and research from diverse campuses across the US who are transforming their culture by weaving RSD into every corner of campus life. Presenters will share successes, roadblocks, and stuck places, plus strategies and pathways that build momentum.
Jill DeTemple - Academic Associate, Essential Partners & Professor, Southern Methodist University
Meg Griffiths - Director of Programs; Essential Partners
Kevin Minister - Assistant Director of Shenandoah Conversations; Shenandoah University
Sarah Stroup - Director; Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation; Middlebury College
All Levels
College campuses have become more polarized, dysfunctional, and divided than ever—but it doesn't have to be that way. For 30+ years, Essential Partners’ Reflective Structured Dialogue (RSD) approach has fostered classroom and campus cultures where tough topics can be discussed with dignity and honesty. In this interactive presentation, hear stories and research from diverse campuses across the US who are transforming their culture by weaving RSD into every corner of campus life. Presenters will share successes, roadblocks, and stuck places, plus strategies and pathways that build momentum.
Jill DeTemple - Academic Associate, Essential Partners & Professor, Southern Methodist University
Meg Griffiths - Director of Programs; Essential Partners
Kevin Minister - Assistant Director of Shenandoah Conversations; Shenandoah University
Sarah Stroup - Director; Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation; Middlebury College
Visual Practice for Dialogue and Deliberation
Beginner
Graphic facilitation has a unique ability to enhance communication and understanding during dialogue and deliberation. Visual aids play a crucial role in clarifying complex ideas and fostering a shared understanding among parties. By learning graphic facilitation techniques, you can create visual representations of key concepts, helping all parties grasp the intricacies of the discussion more effectively. This streamlines the group processes and reduces the chances of misunderstandings that could lead to conflicts or breakdowns in communication.
Philip Bakelaar, PhD. - Montclair State University adjunct professor and International Forum of Visual Practitioners President
Julie Stuart - Founder & CEO; Making Ideas Visible
Brian Tarallo - Managing Director; Lizard Brain
Beginner
Graphic facilitation has a unique ability to enhance communication and understanding during dialogue and deliberation. Visual aids play a crucial role in clarifying complex ideas and fostering a shared understanding among parties. By learning graphic facilitation techniques, you can create visual representations of key concepts, helping all parties grasp the intricacies of the discussion more effectively. This streamlines the group processes and reduces the chances of misunderstandings that could lead to conflicts or breakdowns in communication.
Philip Bakelaar, PhD. - Montclair State University adjunct professor and International Forum of Visual Practitioners President
Julie Stuart - Founder & CEO; Making Ideas Visible
Brian Tarallo - Managing Director; Lizard Brain
Who We Are, What We Have Done, Let's Talk
Beginner
The focus of our work has been to sustain an engaged public to improve residents’ quality of life in Bolivar County and the Mississippi Delta. Learn how residents have been engaged in the region, and how you can welcome and engage those who are not predisposed to participate in addressing community concerns. Explore how to expand your public engagement efforts to include diversity - age, gender, ideology, and race; how to better ensure continued involvement; how you can use the abilities assembled within your group and the community; and how to better build your networks to align with strategic partners.
James (Ike) Adams - Co-convenor; Bolivar County Group (BCG) - MS Delta
DeGail Hadley PhD. - Owner and Physician; Dr. DeGail J. Hadley Wellness Medical Clinic
Felicia Penilton - Manager and Owner; Dr. DeGail J. Hadley Wellness Medical Clinic
Beginner
The focus of our work has been to sustain an engaged public to improve residents’ quality of life in Bolivar County and the Mississippi Delta. Learn how residents have been engaged in the region, and how you can welcome and engage those who are not predisposed to participate in addressing community concerns. Explore how to expand your public engagement efforts to include diversity - age, gender, ideology, and race; how to better ensure continued involvement; how you can use the abilities assembled within your group and the community; and how to better build your networks to align with strategic partners.
James (Ike) Adams - Co-convenor; Bolivar County Group (BCG) - MS Delta
DeGail Hadley PhD. - Owner and Physician; Dr. DeGail J. Hadley Wellness Medical Clinic
Felicia Penilton - Manager and Owner; Dr. DeGail J. Hadley Wellness Medical Clinic
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15: WORKSHOP SESSION F - 11:00 – 12:30 pm
A Human-Centered Approach to Being a Catalyst for Change
All Levels
We are gathering together to connect, learn, and explore the power of collective energy and dialogue. This workshop focuses on the individual experience within that gathering and will explore a human-centered approach to how we might show up as singular humans aiming to be catalysts for change that cascades through our lives, work, culture, and society. In this visually facilitated workshop, we will reflect on how we show up as our complex selves, and explore how we might re-integrate our learnings, connections, and takeaways into our home lives. This interactive session will help you integrate your conference experience into action.
Rachel Thompson - Founder & CEO; Daring Studios
All Levels
We are gathering together to connect, learn, and explore the power of collective energy and dialogue. This workshop focuses on the individual experience within that gathering and will explore a human-centered approach to how we might show up as singular humans aiming to be catalysts for change that cascades through our lives, work, culture, and society. In this visually facilitated workshop, we will reflect on how we show up as our complex selves, and explore how we might re-integrate our learnings, connections, and takeaways into our home lives. This interactive session will help you integrate your conference experience into action.
Rachel Thompson - Founder & CEO; Daring Studios
Act Before You Think - Using Drama to Uncover the Issues
Beginner
As social justice facilitators,we are often trying to help navigate the emotional contexts that are embedded in our bodies by only using our heads, but our cleverness is often culpable in how we remain stuck! Come join us for some expressive exploration using Boalian theatre techniques to deepen our witnessing of how we embody social inequities. We will create a space where we can freely express and explore how aspirations and avoidance manifest in the physical world, then debrief about the possible applications of this work as a tool for developing social justice dialogue.
Michael Wallace - Associate Professor & Regional Specialist; Washington State University
Beginner
As social justice facilitators,we are often trying to help navigate the emotional contexts that are embedded in our bodies by only using our heads, but our cleverness is often culpable in how we remain stuck! Come join us for some expressive exploration using Boalian theatre techniques to deepen our witnessing of how we embody social inequities. We will create a space where we can freely express and explore how aspirations and avoidance manifest in the physical world, then debrief about the possible applications of this work as a tool for developing social justice dialogue.
Michael Wallace - Associate Professor & Regional Specialist; Washington State University
Connecting Campus and Community: Collaborative Dialogues for Community-Based Racial Repair
All Levels
How might communities have difficult conversations surrounding topics of racial repair, equity, and reparations? How can colleges become better facilitators and motivators for their local communities in these efforts? These questions are especially important as communities struggle to address their contested histories—while also facing mounting pressures to ignore or disavow those histories. Learn how collaborative efforts forged new ties between Wesleyan College, the Tubman African American Museum, and community members from Macon, Georgia. And how this led to community discussions around racial repair and reparations, particularly symbolic reparations related to telling the marginalized histories of Macon's African American communities.
Jeff Bruce - Director of Exhibitions; Tubman African American Museum
Holly Cole - Associate Professor of Psychology; Wesleyan College
Melanie Doherty - Rufus K. and Jane Mulkey Green Professor of English; Wesleyan College
Tonya Parker - Chief Diversity Officer; Wesleyan College
All Levels
How might communities have difficult conversations surrounding topics of racial repair, equity, and reparations? How can colleges become better facilitators and motivators for their local communities in these efforts? These questions are especially important as communities struggle to address their contested histories—while also facing mounting pressures to ignore or disavow those histories. Learn how collaborative efforts forged new ties between Wesleyan College, the Tubman African American Museum, and community members from Macon, Georgia. And how this led to community discussions around racial repair and reparations, particularly symbolic reparations related to telling the marginalized histories of Macon's African American communities.
Jeff Bruce - Director of Exhibitions; Tubman African American Museum
Holly Cole - Associate Professor of Psychology; Wesleyan College
Melanie Doherty - Rufus K. and Jane Mulkey Green Professor of English; Wesleyan College
Tonya Parker - Chief Diversity Officer; Wesleyan College
DEI Dialogue and Collective Action: Tackling the Challenges of Working within the Higher Education System
All Levels
How can Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Dialogue be used to collectively re-imagine policies, practices, and processes? This session will highlight a staff-to-staff dialogue and deliberation model on a university campus working towards DEI policy and process change. Participants will gain an understanding of how dialogue has been used to center DEI action, while being attentive to power relationships with the aim to disrupt traditional patterns of power. Explore challenges of centering dialogue in collective action, balancing individual and systemic change, and how to decolonize the decision making process within a culture of white supremacy.
Nancy Maingi Ngwu - Strategic Dialogues Director, CU Dialogues Program; University of Colorado Boulder
Jennifer Pacheco - Lead Researcher and Dialogue Designer, CU Dialogues Program; University of Colorado Boulder
Karen Ramirez, PhD. - Program Director, CU Dialogues Program; University of Colorado Boulder
All Levels
How can Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Dialogue be used to collectively re-imagine policies, practices, and processes? This session will highlight a staff-to-staff dialogue and deliberation model on a university campus working towards DEI policy and process change. Participants will gain an understanding of how dialogue has been used to center DEI action, while being attentive to power relationships with the aim to disrupt traditional patterns of power. Explore challenges of centering dialogue in collective action, balancing individual and systemic change, and how to decolonize the decision making process within a culture of white supremacy.
Nancy Maingi Ngwu - Strategic Dialogues Director, CU Dialogues Program; University of Colorado Boulder
Jennifer Pacheco - Lead Researcher and Dialogue Designer, CU Dialogues Program; University of Colorado Boulder
Karen Ramirez, PhD. - Program Director, CU Dialogues Program; University of Colorado Boulder
Learning to Create Together: Participatory Design of K-12 Civics Education for the 21st Century
All Levels
Schools offer a critical opportunity for kids to gain knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to be active, engaged, and constructive members of society. Unfortunately, much of the discussion about "civics" focuses on the principles of American democracy and government processes, which by themselves do little to actually prepare kids for democracy. Learning to Create Together is a proposed process for school districts to engage communities in the design of a comprehensive and systemic civics education experience for students, at all levels (K-12). Participants in this session will explore this process and how to take this concept to their own communities.
Matthew Shapiro - Organizer; Boisevolve
All Levels
Schools offer a critical opportunity for kids to gain knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to be active, engaged, and constructive members of society. Unfortunately, much of the discussion about "civics" focuses on the principles of American democracy and government processes, which by themselves do little to actually prepare kids for democracy. Learning to Create Together is a proposed process for school districts to engage communities in the design of a comprehensive and systemic civics education experience for students, at all levels (K-12). Participants in this session will explore this process and how to take this concept to their own communities.
Matthew Shapiro - Organizer; Boisevolve
Meeting the Moment: NCDD & The Future
All Levels
We are at an inflection point in the history of humanity. How we communicate and gather has changed, and NCDD seeks to meet this moment. Come-and-go or come-and-stay at this session, where we seek your input and encourage conversation and ideas about how NCDD's members, programming, staff, volunteers, and board can keep the organization healthy, relevant, and positioned for impact and longevity. The future is now, and we want you with us. We need your ideas, your commitment, your resolve, your network, and your energy to make NCDD the best coalition it can be. This session will feature some guiding questions for conversation, and we encourage all who are committed to the future of NCDD to bring a bright mind and attitude as we coalition about the coalition. Some NCDD staff and board members will be present to hear you and take notes on these conversations to continue as we move forward. This is a session you won't want to miss, as it will help us shape the next years of our practice community and our impact!
Courtney Breese - Executive Director; National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Keiva Hummel - Communications Coordinator; National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
B. Rae Perryman - Development Associate; National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
All Levels
We are at an inflection point in the history of humanity. How we communicate and gather has changed, and NCDD seeks to meet this moment. Come-and-go or come-and-stay at this session, where we seek your input and encourage conversation and ideas about how NCDD's members, programming, staff, volunteers, and board can keep the organization healthy, relevant, and positioned for impact and longevity. The future is now, and we want you with us. We need your ideas, your commitment, your resolve, your network, and your energy to make NCDD the best coalition it can be. This session will feature some guiding questions for conversation, and we encourage all who are committed to the future of NCDD to bring a bright mind and attitude as we coalition about the coalition. Some NCDD staff and board members will be present to hear you and take notes on these conversations to continue as we move forward. This is a session you won't want to miss, as it will help us shape the next years of our practice community and our impact!
Courtney Breese - Executive Director; National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Keiva Hummel - Communications Coordinator; National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
B. Rae Perryman - Development Associate; National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Testimony and/as Dialogue
All Levels
How can we create a structure for personal sharing on difficult topics in the classroom that is not coercive or exploitative? How can we listen to another's story without trying to extract something from it? What's the special meaning and function of "testimony" as opposed to mere anecdote? In this interactive, multi-modal session, explore what it means to bring a testimonial ethos to dialogue - and how doing so facilitates individual and collective healing by restoring autonomy to the speaker and presence to the listener. Learn skills for non-extractive, embodied listening and learn an effective model for sharing and receiving testimony.
Sarah Ropp - Dialogue Director, SNF Paideia Program; University of Pennsylvania
All Levels
How can we create a structure for personal sharing on difficult topics in the classroom that is not coercive or exploitative? How can we listen to another's story without trying to extract something from it? What's the special meaning and function of "testimony" as opposed to mere anecdote? In this interactive, multi-modal session, explore what it means to bring a testimonial ethos to dialogue - and how doing so facilitates individual and collective healing by restoring autonomy to the speaker and presence to the listener. Learn skills for non-extractive, embodied listening and learn an effective model for sharing and receiving testimony.
Sarah Ropp - Dialogue Director, SNF Paideia Program; University of Pennsylvania
The Power of Language: Speaking to Difference & Similarity
All Levels
Storytelling, through dialogue, has the power to set the foundation for the more challenging, yet necessary conversations. Without basic understanding of each other first, such as the core values of who we are as people, anything else becomes unproductive for the collective and potential of future relationship building. This roundtable will begin with us sharing about our experience in polarized political dynamics, but also include experiences of working in communities where people use social justice "buzzwords" as well as how both ends of the spectrum call for internalizing the work as humans through storytelling.
Marquelle Ogletree - Student Co-Director; University of Florida Changemakers' Dialogue Program
Joey Puell - Student Co-Director; University of Florida Changemakers' Dialogue Program
Manda Wittebort - Program Coordinator, Brown Center for Leadership & Service; University of Florida Changemakers' Dialogue Program
All Levels
Storytelling, through dialogue, has the power to set the foundation for the more challenging, yet necessary conversations. Without basic understanding of each other first, such as the core values of who we are as people, anything else becomes unproductive for the collective and potential of future relationship building. This roundtable will begin with us sharing about our experience in polarized political dynamics, but also include experiences of working in communities where people use social justice "buzzwords" as well as how both ends of the spectrum call for internalizing the work as humans through storytelling.
Marquelle Ogletree - Student Co-Director; University of Florida Changemakers' Dialogue Program
Joey Puell - Student Co-Director; University of Florida Changemakers' Dialogue Program
Manda Wittebort - Program Coordinator, Brown Center for Leadership & Service; University of Florida Changemakers' Dialogue Program