Participatory Meeting Design and Facilitation - Virtual, Hybrid, and Face-to-FaceDesign and facilitation for virtual, in-person, and hybrid meetings, retreats and planning events. Design of equitable spaces for diverse groups to build shared understanding, reach consensus about goals, plan for action, and implement decisions. Experience in policy, program and product development and facilitation of sensitive, controversial, or complex issues. Collective Impact & Multi-Stakeholder System ChangeGuidance and support for large, multi-stakeholder collective change efforts, from ideation to implementation, including development of shared goals and measurements, gap analysis and alignment, and design of backbone and support structures.Stakeholder & Community EngagementMulti-modal stakeholder outreach and participation efforts, with experience in surveying, interviewing, focus groups, digital/asynchronous decision making tools, virtual facilitation, and large scale events.Participatory Strategic PlanningStep-by-step guidance through organizational assessment, strategy development, and implementation planning. System MappingCollaborative processes to engage a wide spectrum of stakeholders in evaluating large-scale systemic issues, mapping key factors, identifying leverage points, and developing intervention strategies. User Centered Design & InnovationDesign and facilitation of interactive product, program, and policy design, prototyping, and testing.Adult Learning, Curriculum Design, Training and DevelopmentDesign and delivery of made-to-order interactive, outcome-oriented training. Special expertise in virtual and online training, intercultural communication, and facilitative leadership.

Initially hired to increase outreach and enrollment for a vocational training school serving the Chicagoland area, including design of marketing and sales plan and materials as well as all recruitment. Position grew to include policy and process design; curriculum development; strategic improvement efforts in certification and employment outcomes; contracts management; grantwriting support; staff training and development; and information systems.Highlights include:* Increased enrollment rates by over 60% within first 3 months and vastly increased visibility of school in target markets.* Implemented policies that improved completion, testing, and certification rates by 15%.* Renegotiated contracts to save over $15,000 within first month.* Led cross-functional team of SharePoint designers, educational program managers/instructors, and data analysts to create online student data management system.* Created school process wiki, enabling collaboration, real-time updates, and easily accessible, non-linear guidance and training for staff.* Created school catalogue and policy manual.* Designed and rolled out 3 new learning tracks.

Supported a full time staff of 100+ in 7 offices in 5 states. Promoted rapidly from HR Specialist to Generalist and then Manager, overseeing staff of 2. Responsibilities included full cycle recruitment; compensation and benefits; performance management; training and development; employee engagement; HRIS setup and administration; grantwriting support; special projects management.Highlights included: * creation and implementation of interactive, hands-on, web-based training courses on various Microsoft and Cisco technologies such as Sharepoint, Outlook, and GoToMeeting; * design and rollout of employee-driven employee recognition tool aimed at increasing staff satisfaction and retention in a high-stress, high-turnover industry;* redesign of new hire orientation and on-boarding process to foster greater collaboration and communication between diverse agency departments and programs;* implementation and rollout of new HRIS software;* development of HR internship program;* collaboration with IT team to develop HR best practices for employee on-boarding and data management;* creation of internal employee newsletter to increase employee engagement and recognition.

Facilitated English, GED, and career development classes for diverse, multi-level adult learners, integrating course content into a collaborative curriculum development process to co-create original, highly customized training modules with students.Highlights include:* facilitation of a student-developed curriculum on financial literacy, resulting in significant positive financial outcomes for participants including debt resolution, retirement investment, and the launch of a small business. Similar modules were developed around healthcare and civic involvement.* impressive achievement gains of 2-4 instructional levels on standardized tests in 8-16 weeks of instruction.

Initiated and managed a participant-driven adult education and community engagement program to serve over 500 participants each year with a volunteer staff of 40.Responsibilities included strategy and program development; curriculum design; instructor recruitment, training, and scheduling; program performance measurement and quality assurance; student engagement; marketing and community outreach; budget oversight; day-to-day operations. Over time, trained and developed a leadership team of current and past program participants and instructors to assume management, allowing me to function in an advisory role.Highlights included:* development of a collaborative ESL curriculum with a focus on community engagement and activism, resulting in a number of student-driven efforts on immigration reform, domestic violence prevention, fair housing education, financial planning, healthcare access, and more.* design and production of a Freirian curriculum framework enabling amateur instructors to facilitate participatory and collaborative classrooms with highly effective language learning outcomes.

Led a multilingual team of 5 in facilitating multi-level English classes focused on whole-family literacy at community sites throughout Chicago. Conducted classroom observations, performance reviews, and personal mentoring towards professional goals for staff.Notable projects include:* creation of a non-linear curriculum framework for students to make autonomous decisions on the content and technique of their own learning and track their own outcomes. * designed and facilitated a self-directed 5-week training course for 19 new instructors.* created online and video marketing material.

Facilitated adult English instruction for classes of 25-35 beginning-level students. Achieved pass and progression rates of over 85%. Graduates have since continued to complete college-level courses and degree work at the City Colleges. Was asked to return from 2010-2011 to instruct ABE/GED courses as well.

Planned and taught short term English classes for individuals, groups, and organizations with students of diverse ages and cultural backgrounds.Highlights include:* design of a 16-hour per week, tactile, play-based curriculum to teach foundational phonics reading skills alongside spoken English to a group of 40 refugee children, age 4-16, all recently arrived from international conflict areas.* grants awarded by UNICEF and the Global Fund for Women to provide intensive services to Romanian victims of sex trafficking.