Authentic Engagement: Expressing Difficult Truths in a Thoughtful Way, Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement (DANA)

About

Authentic engagement teaches how to say difficult truths in a thoughtful and insightful way. This training focuses on a five-step process for authentic engagement: use focused listening, initiate self-inquiry, respond vs. react, say what you need and check with the others. Exercises expand participants’ understanding and mastery of the skills.

Brief Bio: Lisa Bleich, managing partner of Signal Fire Consulting, believes in every person’s capacity to grow, change and connect. Lisa’s commitment to social change has fueled her work as an executive leader at Baltimore nonprofits, including the Alliance for Community Teachers and Schools; Creative City Public Charter School; and Fusion Partnerships. Signal Fire Consulting works to transform the way organizations make decisions and engage the community.

Brief Bio: Ako Changa Onyango, lead facilitator, is a state-trained mediator. His work covers diversity and inclusion in organizational change, historic context of inequity, and the business case for change. Changa advocates for cultural preservation and produces music and art events. He is a coach with University of Maryland's Positive Schools Center, where his specialty is DEI training/implementation in school communities. He is a contributing columnist on culture and community and a Baltimore grass-roots organizer.