The value of our seminars

Nanette Alvey
Director of Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness, EnCompass LLC
Maryland, U.S.A.
Thank you for the last two days. There was a huge change inside me, which has brought to me a realization of what had been blocking me in so many ways personally and professionally. Wow! You’ve always inspired, and now you have transformed. Remove the barrier and . . . who knows what can happen???!!

Tara Harvey, PhD
Intercultural Educator, True North Intercultural; Senior PL Facilitator
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. A.
In the Training of Facilitators seminar, learning more about designing and facilitation PL was great. And it was also very nice to have the opportunity to continue to develop my own practice. I appreciate the intentionality with which you are working to create a true Community of Practice that is reciprocal in nature.

Adam Holden, MA
Student Leadership and Civic Engagement Coordinator, Chemeketa Community College; Senior PL Facilitator
Salem, Oregon, U.S.A.
What stands out most for me from the Training of Facilitators seminar is the concept of “leading yourself while leading others.” I learned that you need to take the students only to the point where they can make the learning leap to the other side. You need to ask the learner more questions than you give answers. I was struck by the intensity with which I care about PL and this community. This surprised, challenged and delighted me. I was deeply touched by the purity of enthusiasm and purpose behind the facilitator’s and other participants’ work. I recognize that the expectations and the amount of time, energy, effort and commitment required to facilitate at a really high level are heavy, but also quite exciting and energizing. I have continued to grow in how I frame, respond to, and move forward through fears, challenges and opportunities. I am more confident that this will continue at a higher level each time I participate in something related to PL.

Chris MacArthur
Personal Coach; dad
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
What stands out from this Foundations seminar was your accessible facilitation and openness to feedback, complete with thoughtful content and community-building. I appreciated the appropriate balance of reflecting and respect for personal disclosure. I loved your energy and intentions. And being at the Whidbey Institute felt like coming home, a magical place, space and grace.

Catherine Menyhart, MEd
Manager of Training and Development, Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE); Senior PL Facilitator
Portland, Maine, U.S.A.
Two things surprised me about the Foundations and Training of Facilitators seminars. First, the unique ways community was born. And second, the deep value of a spiral curriculum. What challenged me most (in a great way!) was sitting with unanswered questions. The wisdom and transparency that the facilitators bring really stand out. The “little things” are done so thoughtfully that they in fact contribute to the learning, because they are done in a PL style.

Julia Rush, RN
Eugene, Oregon, U.S.A.
I honor your skillfulness in facilitation and your attentiveness to making it a collaborative process. I have often not felt particularly comfortable in groups, but this Foundations seminar was a positive experience, and your facilitation skills helped that.

Lynn Stallings, PhD
Chair, Department of Secondary and Middle Grades Education, Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw, Georgia, U.S.A.
Thank you for the 2015 workshop, Intercultural Leadership Development from the Inside Out, at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication. You displayed so many characteristics of skillful facilitation, including effective strategies for building trust and effective ways of drawing out and including the perspectives of all the very interesting people in our group. Your workshop asked me to be more reflective about my role as a leader, and taught me some strategies to put into practice immediately. I’ve found ways to include more mindfulness daily, and find I’m feeling much more peaceful, even in stressful contexts. I can't imagine a workshop better suited to my personal and professional needs at this point.

Katsuko Sugiyama, MA
Senior PL Facilitator
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
In the Training of Facilitators seminar, I learned all the ingredients of a ToF, and how to keep it simple for my upcoming programs. I witnessed another magical event of creating PL community and the PL Shift within the seminar process.

Jill Townley
Associate Director, International Student Life, Portland State University
Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
I have learned much from the modelling you and your co-facilitators provided. The spacious and thoughtful attention to design, energy and spiral deepening was delightful.

Darlene von Behren, EdD
K-12 Administrator; Consultant; Senior PL Facilitator
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
I really integrated the PL process during this Training of Facilitators seminar. I learned that keeping the facilitation simple and the spiraling process were intentional, and that it’s important to have space rather than just more and more information.