Workshops & Training
You already know something needs to change. Let's figure out how to move.
Your group is trying to stay grounded, stay organized, and stay effective in conditions that were not designed for any of that. There's The Everything That's Happening — the threats, the raids, everyone stressed and yelling. And then there's the harder to define stuff that happens when we try to take action: people with energy and nowhere to put it, people who showed up fired up and are starting to fizzle, weird conflicts emerging. In any case, you need more than information. You need practice and you need a container safe enough to explore. That's what I'm here for.
What we work on together
De-escalation for the Moment We're In
2–4 hours | in person or online | groups of 10–40 in person, 10–28 online | mutual aid — by donation or agreement
This workshop was built for right now. We work through de-escalation in four layers: how to steady yourself first, how to support the people next to you, how to move through a confrontation with a hostile stranger, and how to stay grounded when the pressure is coming from organized groups or federal actors. We practice with what's actually happening.
Weave
Half day or full day | in person or online | groups of 3–12 | priced by agreement based on your group and resources
Your group already knows things. Weave starts there — with what you bring, what you've learned, what you're trying to figure out. I listen for the shape of it, draw out what's underneath, and help the group turn that raw material into something you can actually use — a map, a strategy, a clearer sense of what you're building and how. This is deep work. We will work hard in the best sense. It can be very satisfying.
CLARA
60–90 minutes | in person or online | groups of 10–40 in person, 10–28 online | mutual aid — by donation or agreement
CLARA is a practical framework for de-escalation and genuine communication that works in a wide range of situations — from tense community moments to difficult one-on-one conversations. New to it, you'll leave with something you can use right away. Already familiar, the practice deepens. Over time it tends to become less of a technique and more of a reflex.
Consulting & curriculum support
Working on something you want to teach? I'm available for consultation — to think through your content, your approach, or how to hold the room. This is what a Virtual Lunch is for.
What you can expect from me
I've been doing this work for thirty years — in the streets, in the office, in colleges and in church basements. I come in with experience, a regulated nervous system, and enough flexibility to throw out the plan when the room tells me something more important is happening.
Here's how one of my longtime training partners describes it:
How we hold space
Every session I facilitate opens with a set of agreements I call Suggested Guidelines. They're not rules — they're a way of naming out loud what kind of community we're trying to build together.
The short version: risk is different for everyone, so we only volunteer ourselves and our experiences — we don't tell each other what to do or think. We say our needs out loud instead of expecting people to read our minds. We're careful about what we share and with whom. And the basis of all of it: everything is an exchange. We give, we receive, we take gifts with us. We're responsible for what we put into the space.
People tell me these guidelines have a way of reaching outside the workshop. Naming the agreements out loud gives people permission to share more freely and hold their own limits with real confidence — participants will sometimes announce mid-session "I am stating a need!" with visible delight. We get in touch with our own power. We become more human with one another.
Let's talk about your group
We start with a conversation — no commitment, just a chance to see if this is the right fit. I'll want to know about your group, what you're hoping to work on, and what you're working with. You'll get a sense of how I think and whether my approach feels right for your people. We'll figure out together whether what I do is actually what you need.
Already working on something you want to teach, or looking for a one-time consult on content or approach? That's a different conversation — and there's a place for that too. Virtual Lunch →