Services Karen Gimnig Professional Facilitator

Classes and Courses

Classes offer the best return on investment of both time and money. They are an opportunity for individuals to engage with their values for group participation and build the skills needed for creating connected, trusting communities. Classes combine a dash of content presentation with a healthy dose of processing time and a lot of discussion. The format invites vulnerability, sharing and growth.

All classes are offered on zoom. Generally classes are open and include participants from different communities. Thus, in addition to the content in the class, participants have the opportunity to meet and interact with communities across the country and beyond.

Upcoming Courses with Foundation for Intentional Community and Cohousing Institute for 2025

Note: Underlined course titles are linked to registration. Other courses may not be available for registration at this time.

Foundation for Intentional Community

https://www.ic.org/

Communication and Relationship Building in Community

Feb 6 - Mar 13, Thursdays, 9am - 11am Pacific

Developing Community Values and Agreements - with Yana Ludwig

Mar 5 - Apr 2, Wednesdays 10am - 11:30am Pacific

Conflict Resolution and Repair in Community

Apr 3 - May 8, Thursdays, 10am - 12pm Pacific

Facilitation for Communities

May 7 - Jun 11, Wednesdays, 9am - 11am Pacific

Cohousing Institute

https://cohousinginstitute.org/

Facilitation

Feb 13 - Mar 20, Thursdays 2pm - 4pm Pacific

The Facilitator Series

Every community has meetings and every meeting is better if those who are participating have studied facilitation. (Note I include all participants of meetings, not just facilitators!) This class explores the role of a facilitator, the challenge and vulnerability in leading well, and strategies for facilitating meetings that build relationships and move ideas smoothly through a proposal process. It is taught in three parts with Part 1 as a prerequisite for Parts 2 and 3. (Parts 2 and 3 can be taken in any order)

Part 1 - Role of Facilitator

Part 2 - Facilitating Meetings

Part 3 - Facilitating Processes

The Conflict Series

Conflict is an opportunity for growth available to every member of every community at some time or another. Learning to do conflict well is essential to thriving as a community and as an individual within a community. This 3-part series covers basic tools for working through conflict using the Imago Dialogue process and strategies for helping others in conflict while giving participants time to explore their own experiences of conflict and discover areas where they can improve their connections with others. It is taught in three parts, which must be taken in order:

Part 1 - Communication for Conflict (Imago Dialogue)

Part 2 - Supporting Individuals in Conflict

Part 3 - Facilitating for Two People in Conflict

The Culture Series

Replacing society's individual and competitive culture with one that is cooperative and relationship-supporting takes work and learning. This series covers 12 key elements of building a cooperative culture: Self Work, Building Trust, Personality Differences, Sharing Feedback, Seeking Understanding, Vulnerability, Emotional and Cognitive Intelligence, Giving & Receiving, Individuals Need Community, Embracing Differences, Blocking, and Conscious Power. The three parts may be taken in any order.