Jeanie creates an experience that is honest and enlivening.
I am a facilitator, adaptive leader, systems thinker, transformational coach, creative educator, instructional designer, engaging presenter, naturalist, and artist.
I am a systems thinker and solutions-oriented problem solver. This means I draw from all stakeholders when formulating strategies to help achieve a vision. I believe in the wisdom of the group, the power of collaboration, and the importance of skillful leadership.
I am a daughter, a sister, a granddaughter, and an aunt. I am a dancer, a nature lover, an SUP paddler, a ritualist, a thinker, and one who is practicing not knowing in her mind, but knowing in her body.
I am committed to clear and compassionate communication, conscious listening, thoughtful process, good questions, and collaboration. I help folks integrate their lived experience, information about the current situation, and their inner knowing, so that the vision and next right steps emerge.
My goal is to create the conditions for groups and individuals to reveal their most important concerns and discover their most liberating ideas, in order to find their most aligned path forward.
My thinking and practice are informed by many teachers, knowledge systems, and experiences.
Inquiry-based teaching and learning (Advisor Jimmy Karlan) MS Environmental Science with Secondary Science Teacher Certification ‘04
Experiential Education (Kalamazoo Nature Center ‘99-’00) (Whale Camp ‘01-’02)
Outdoor Education (Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center Fellowship Naturalist ‘01)
Biology (Kalamazoo College BA Biology ‘99) and Ecology (Antioch University New England ‘04, Tom Wessels) (Wil Reding)
Wilderness Awareness School (John Young) - Kamana I - Nature awareness, reverence, skills, and knowledge. ‘01 (discontinued program)
Decades of practice as a science teacher, naturalist, outdoor guide, and field biologist
Systems Thinking - I taught Moving Toward Sustainability at the Community College of Vermont for 8 years and systems thinking was a the core of this course, ‘07-’14. Systems Navigator Cohort with Rotary Charities of Traverse City for the 7 month Constellating Change Series presented by the School of Systems Change, ‘24.
Sociocracy - “A governance system…for organizations that want to self-govern based on the values of equality” - Facilitation training with Sociocracy for All ‘19, and self-study with the Sociocracy manual, Many Voices One Song
Liberating Structures (Keith McCandless and Henri Lipmanowicz) - A set of flexible and robust tools and processes that support high involvement, creativity, and co-creation in meetings and gatherings Certificate
Theory U (Otto Scharmer) - “An awareness-based method for changing systems” Change makers, leaders, and groups come together with their whole selves to sense into the emerging future and create solutions that create the world we want to live in. Completed the U-lab 1x, ‘23 Certificate, U-Lab 2x, ‘24,
Scribing, a practice of Theory U - A “visual practice that…maps out ideas while people talk, [so] they can see a picture unfold right in front of their eyes. The drawing establishes connections within content, aids with insight, and supports decision-making.” “It weaves words and pictures to facilitate group learning and cultural memory, and is now embraced around the world as a popular social art and meeting tool.” Scribing Essentials Certificate, ‘23.
Social Presencing Theater - A body-based system, and tool of Theory U, for engaging in problem-solving and systems change. Accessible to all and able to reveal deep insights into the dynamics of current situations and future possibilities. Completed the year long Practitioner Development Program in 2024 Certificate.
XCHANGE Approach (Jon Berghoff) - Toolkit and framework for facilitation, training, and group coaching that combines Appreciative Inquiry, Heart Math, Theory U and many other approaches to “Unlock Collective Intelligence At Scale” 3-Day Training ‘21
AJ& Smart - Design Sprint Masterclass
Team-building - Group challenges, games, and initiatives, including high ropes and low ropes courses. Contrived situations that bring out deeper patterns of personal, interpersonal, and group dynamics in a safe and controlled environment.
Joanna Lindenbaum/Applied Depth Practitioner Institute: Sacred Depths Transformational Practitioner Coach Training - Certified Coach ‘21, Verification; Into the Depths Group Facilitation and Ritual Training ‘20; Curriculum Lab ‘19
Ritual (Melissa Moon-Goddess) - Witchcraft course
We Are The Culture Makers (Kelly Diels) - Yearlong immersion into “Building a Culture Making eco-system for more Money + Justice” ‘23
Environmental Leadership Program - Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Learning Organizations, and Strengths-based Leadership, National Fellow ‘17
Nonviolent Communication (Marshall Rosenberg) - Study group ‘08
Embodiment Practices: Authentic Movement, Modern Dance, Yoga, Contact Improv, Ecstatic Dance, Yoga Dance, Kirtan
Nature Drawing - 20 years of daily to weekly practice, Teachers: Clare Walker Leslie, John Muir Laws, Published in: Northern Woodlands, 7Days Kids, 7Days
Intuitive Art and Expressive Journaling - mixed media, 30-60 minutes uninterrupted, sometimes an idea, question, pain, problem, inspiration, or lesson to explore, sometimes nothing in particular, let go of trying and just do, since July 2020
Thinkers and Practitioners of Radical Influence (not mentioned above) : Resma Meneken, Kimberly Johnson, Glennon Doyle, Brené Brown, Cara Jones, Bari Tessler, Melissa Moon-Goddess, Starhawk, Evelyne Verrat, Donella Meadows, Peter Senge, EO Wilson, William McDonough and Michael Braungart, Mari Andrew, Nick Wilkes, Heather Fitzgerald, Lydia Russell
Places that have shaped me: Northwest Lower Michigan, the Great Lakes, Vermont, Grand Manan Island and the Bay of Fundy, South Carolina, Southeast Minnesota, Zion National Park, Glacier National Park, Ecuador’s Mountains, Rainforests, and Galapagos Islands.