Reimagining How We Gather: The Art of Convening Looks to the Future

Essential Conversations: Re-envisioning the Art of Convening for the Next 30 Years will take place on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, from 9:00–10:30 AM CT (US), offering an Essential Conversation on *Re-envisioning the Art of Convening: Purposeful Leadership Re-imagined*. This session introduces innovative leadership tools developed by the Art of Convening (AoC) Re-Envisioning Team to help leaders create spaces of welcome, safety, and belonging amid the complexity of our time, with conversation starters including CPL co-founder Craig Neal and AoC Re-Envisioning Team members Kim Kristenson-Lee, Brent Schmidt, Cecily Victor, Pamela Meade, Hart Edmonds, Amber Yang, Patricia Neal, Ric Hinkie, Jerry Chang, and Terry Chapman.

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What does it mean to lead well in chaotic times? How do we create spaces where people feel genuinely welcomed, safe, and able to bring their whole selves to collaborative work? After 20 years of practice, the Center for Purposeful Leadership's Art of Convening (AoC) program is stepping back to reimagine its approach—and the process itself offers valuable lessons about collaborative innovation and adaptive leadership.
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On Wednesday, January 28, 2026, CPL will host an Essential Conversation introducing the work of the AoC Re-Envisioning Team, a collaborative group formed to chart the next 30 years of this influential convening practice. This isn't simply an update to existing training materials—it's a fundamental rethinking of how leadership development can support the kind of purposeful, inclusive gathering that strengthens communities and democratic participation.

Co-Creating the Future of Convening

The Re-Envisioning Team's work exemplifies the principles it teaches. Rather than having organizational founders unilaterally redesign the program, CPL co-founder Craig Neal invited practitioners who had been integral to AoC's development to collaboratively envision its future. Team members including Kim Kristenson-Lee, Brent Schmidt, Cecily Victor, Pamela Meade, Hart Edmonds, Amber Yang, Patricia Neal, Ric Hinkie, Jerry Chang, and Terry Chapman spent a year exploring a foundational premise: when we change how we gather, we change what's possible.

This year-long collaborative process has yielded practical tools and resources that extend AoC's reach while maintaining its commitment to human-centered, values-driven leadership. The reimagined program includes a redesigned main landing page, a new Introduction to Convening online course, an organizational tool called Make Meetings Great, and a free online Field Guide that introduces AoC principles to broader audiences. These resources apply convening practices to five key leadership areas, making the work more accessible while deepening its application across different contexts. For the NCDD network and dialogue practitioners more broadly, the AoC Re-Envisioning process demonstrates how established programs can evolve to meet changing needs without losing their core values—balancing innovation with integrity, expanding access while maintaining quality, and trusting collaborative processes to generate insights that individual leaders might miss.
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Curious about how purposeful convening can transform leadership and strengthen democratic participation? Join the January 28 Essential Conversation and discover the tools emerging from the Art of Convening Re-Envisioning Team at https://www.cplinstitute.com/essential-conversations