I first fell in love with the power of organized people when I was 18 years old and a young immigrant mother who was on the housekeeping staff at my college trusted me with her story. As a young immigrant myself, I was deeply inspired by Isabela's courage, and quickly became the first student organizer in her (eventually successful) campaign to unionize all the housekeeping workers on campus, and demand that our college treat them with dignity and respect. In the decade and a half I have spent as an organizer since then, I have been inspired, humbled, moved and transformed countless times by the power of ordinary people coming together to practice collective imagining and collective struggle.
But my experiences have also taught me that “ordinary people coming together” is a lot less romantic and a lot more messy than it sounds. That’s why my role as a facilitator is to co-create a container that allows us to do our best work together: one that can hold our woundings, our longings, our complex histories with each other, and our brightest imaginings about the future. Some things I strive for in my practice:
But my experiences have also taught me that “ordinary people coming together” is a lot less romantic and a lot more messy than it sounds. That’s why my role as a facilitator is to co-create a container that allows us to do our best work together: one that can hold our woundings, our longings, our complex histories with each other, and our brightest imaginings about the future. Some things I strive for in my practice:
collaborative |
My role as a facilitator is not to show up with all the answers but rather to co-create the container and process that will best support you in having the conversation you need to have, in order to get to your own best solutions. |
adaptive |
My approach to group work blends participatory planning (aiming for strong group buy-in on agenda and flow) with flexibility and emergence, staying responsive to the needs of the group in real time. |
anti-oppressive |
I strive for anti-oppressive facilitation that pays attention to power dynamics in the room and in our movements, and prioritizes embodying our values and vision throughout the process. |
I cannot hope to name or acknowledge all the powerful feminists, abolitionists, care workers, and freedom fighters in the long lineages that have shaped my practice (and our movements) so deeply, but some that I absolutely must acknowledge include:
Kathryn Gilje
adrienne maree brown
Autumn Brown and the whole crew at AORTA
Armael, Paige, Tina, and all the other brilliant trainers and facilitators at School of Unity and Liberation
Dalit Women Fight
Ellen Choy and Christine Cordero
Movement Generation
Navina Khanna
shreya delgado-shah
All the trees that grow in all the places I have ever lived
Kathryn Gilje
adrienne maree brown
Autumn Brown and the whole crew at AORTA
Armael, Paige, Tina, and all the other brilliant trainers and facilitators at School of Unity and Liberation
Dalit Women Fight
Ellen Choy and Christine Cordero
Movement Generation
Navina Khanna
shreya delgado-shah
All the trees that grow in all the places I have ever lived