Facilitating Authentic Facilitation

Nanci, along with Associate Shoshanna Cogan, presented Transformational Alliances: Building Authentic Cross Cultural Relationships as part of the International Association of Facilitators - North America (IAF-NA) annual conference in Chicago, April 20-24. Nanci also delivered a concurrent conference session: The Invisible Participant. As one workshop participant shared, "Nanci and Shoshanna's training, coaching and facilitator techniques were warm, welcoming, inclusive, open and objective. They provided a space where I could comfortably share my thoughts, feelings and questions, and comfortably make a mistake and trust that I would not be judged. They brought great insights into issues of oppression and tangible tools to help work through internalized and institutional oppression." LJS will submit a proposal for a 2-day pre-conference training for the 2011 IAF NA to be held in Denver, Colorado on April 12-13.  Save the date and spread the word about this opportunity open to all to "learn valuable concepts that create perspective and connections" at this memorable workshop!

Ensuring Quality Childcare for All

Also in April, Nanci and associate Barbara MacKay traveled to Kalamazoo, MI to conduct a two-day Transformational Communication workshop for Child Care Resources. Located in SW Michigan, Child Care Resources works to ensure that each child has access to safe and high quality early education. Nanci and Barbara focused this highly participatory workshop on building alliances and identifying oppressive behaviors, particularly adultism--demeaning and disrepectful behaviors and attitudes directed toward young people. The participants of their "Circles of Caring" program bravely worked to increase their self awareness and build a collaborative vision for implementing change for child care provision, education, and advocacy. As one participant remarked, "Understanding my self, past hurts and area of rigidity helped me to be able to understand why I do things the way I do and empowered me in a great way for healing and change."

Culturally Competent Providers

Bringing a busy April to a close, Nanci and associate Stephanie González returned to Volunteers of America, located in Portland, OR to present Transformational Communication: Tools for Cross-Cultural Understanding and Inclusion as part of VOA's ongoing employee skills development program. VOA is a non-profit that provides services for children and families, seniors, and alcohol & chemical dependency treatment. Nanci and Stephanie were honored to work with this dedicated group of service providers, one of whom offered this summary of the experience: "The workshop was well planned and executed with grace, logic and sympathy. The information was thought provoking and I applaud the effort you've put forth to facilitate those discussions: you've created a heart-centered dialogue and by all appearances you love what you're doing."

Latinas: Stronger Selves to Strengthen Leadership

At the beginning of May LJS facilitated Transformational Communication: A Path to Authentic Latina Leadership, a workshop for Nike in Hillsboro, OR. Nanci, along with associates Lillian Roybal Rose and Stephanie González , encouraged participants to reconnect with who they are as Latinas, as a foundation from which to deepen professional collaborations and increase their awareness as leaders.  Over the three-day workshop one participant remarked feeling "inspired," and that it brought "back the real me." Another appreciated the "personal circle" activity that "will be the basis for making sure that I don't get lost." The entire LJS team came away from the workshop inspired by the momentum of transformation created by the participants.

Exploring Diversity at Sandia

Nanci traveled to Livermore, CA in May and again in June to facilitate a series of meetings and interviews for Sandia National Laboratories. This training and facilitation is part of Sandia's continued efforts to provide their staff members with opportunities to deepen skills and their understanding of diversity.

Transforming Communication at UCLA

LJS associates Lillian Roybal Rose, Shoshanna Cogan, and Stephanie González facilitated a two-day Transformational Communication workshop for the Office of Residential Life at UCLA in Los Angeles, CA at the beginning of June. During these two days, Residential Life staff explored internalized and institutional oppression and the ways both affect working in a university setting. As one participant shared, "I had an 'a-ha' moment that finally made sense of social justice issues I've been struggling with for years." This workshop helped prepare the Residential Life team to engage with their residents with increased awareness and human-centered understanding.

Enlightening Latina Leadership
Continuing a 15+ year tradition of working with the National Hispana Leadership Institute (NHLI), Nanci traveled to Washington DC in early June to facilitate a Transformational Communication: A Path to Authentic Latina Leadership workshop for NHLI's Latinas Learning to Lead (LLL) program. Over the course of two days, Latinas from all over the US learned a framework for transformational leadership to use in their professional and personal lives. Participants used words like "safe," "positive," "life changing," and "enlightening" to describe their experience of this workshop. Nanci is grateful for the opportunity to continue working with such committed and passionate change agents.

Sharing Transformational Leadership

In mid June, Nanci, along with associates Shoshanna Cogan and Barbara MacKay, facilitated the third in a year long series of workshops for the Southeast Regional Key's Transformational Leadership Cohort (SERK TLC) in Philadelphia, PA. This third meeting focused on creating a sustainable training system so that the core concepts of LJS's Transformational Leadership workshop can be spread throughout with the greater southeastern Pennsylvania early childhood and education community.

Supporting Those Who Support Latino Youth

The Youth Development Department (YDD) of the Instituto del Progresso Latino engaged Nanci and associate Stephanie González to conduct a two-day staff retreat to strengthen connections among staff members and to recommit, as a whole, to the greater mission of the Instituto. Founded in 1977, the Instituto del Progreso Latino, is dedicated to meeting the needs of Latino immigrants in the greater Chicago area. As one participant observed, "Nanci's leadership was instrumental in helping our group move forward with our "housekeeping" and getting work done!" Instituto provides educational assistance, job skill programs, and cultural education for over 14,000 immigrants. The Youth Development Department was created in 2005 to help Latino/a youth with educational success. This retreat, according to one staff member, "was most helpful [in] understanding how our inner feelings effect the work that we do with youth." Adelante!