Introducing the Collaborative Conversations Team
• Ken Homer
• Katia Petersen
• Julie Gieseke
• Mariah Howard
• LaDonna Coy
• Avril Orloff
Ken Homer founded Collaborative Conversations after a decade of collaboration with the founders of the World Café. Concurrent with his work at the World Café, Ken earned a certification in Integral Coaching© through New Ventures West - where he created their Graduate Department and where he currently serves as Adjunct Faculty.
In the mid-1990s, Ken was the Director of Research and Development at Sustainable Strategies, Inc., working on the creation of a year long adult education course to foster thriving communities.
Ken works with clients to build their competence to design and convene conversations that include all relevant voices, address complex issues and make wiser decisions that enjoy widespread support.
When he is not working, he enjoys hiking, reading, live music and chi kung. Ken is a long time member of, and serves on, the Stewards Circle for The Bay Area Society for Organizational Learning
Katia Petersen, Ph.D., is President of Petersen Argo Inc., which provides clients with the skills and tools they need to become competent social-emotional learners. With nearly a quarter of a century’s worth of experience in facilitating organizational change, Katia provides results-based coaching, training and consulting to individuals and organizations.
Katia has worked inside some of the most challenging school systems in the country. Her innovative work on education, anti-bullying and collaboration has won her accolades from students, teachers, administrators and parents. She is now bringing the lessons learned in the classroom out to the boardroom.
Katia’s work focuses on systems change, collaborative processing of organizational needs, creative planning, conflict resolution and mediation. A skilled dialogue practitioner, Katia draws upon a wide range of emergent processes that support effective group work including: World Café, Theory U, and Appreciative Inquiry. An award winning author and educator, Katia’s infectious love of learning brings out the best in all who work with her.
Learn more about Katia here.
Julie Gieseke, MA, CPCC, is a Visual Facilitator and Founder of mapthemind. Julie developed her Visual Facilitation skills through a broad range of experience. She received professional training through her internship with the Grove Consultants International (Principles of Graphic Facilitation, Visual Planning Systems and Mastery of Facilitation), being mentored by pioneering visual practitioners and with her work for Capgemini in their Accelerated Solutions Environment.
Julie received her Master's degree in Organization Management and Development from Fielding Graduate University. She is the co-developer of the first academic offering in Visual Facilitation with graduate level courses and programs at Fielding Graduate University.
As a certified Master in Neuro-Linguistics, and a certified professional coach, Julie works with groups and individuals to facilitate creative, decision-making processes that enable clients to access their fullest potential. She is inspired by the ability of Visual Facilitation to involve participants on a broader spectrum, incorporating varied learning and personality styles, which results in increased engagement, creativity, productivity and recall.
Learn more about Julie here.
Mariah Howard is a visual recorder, facilitator, dialog host, and teacher. As a visual recorder, Mariah works with non-profit organizations, corporations, and community groups to capture their conversations and presentations in the form of colorful murals. She also enjoys making visual maps, logos, and illustrations for individual clients who want a creative way to present their resumes, biographies, new projects and strategic plans.
Mariah’s work with groups includes facilitating and visually recording community and corporate dialogs, training people to host and record the World Cafe dialog process, and teaching public and private visual recording workshops that build on students’ creativity and ability to listen deeply. Her current passion is collaborating with designers, facilitators and conveners to develop meetings that draw on the collective wisdom of groups using visual metaphors and activities that highlight the gifts of of diverse learning styles.
Learn more about Mariah here.
LaDonna Coy, MHR, CPS, CDLA, is a distance learning specialist and my online producer. She has a long and rich history of working creatively to blend learning and human technologies in support of prevention and social change.
LaDonna served as the Technology Transfer Coordinator for the Southwest Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies (Southwest CAPT) at the University of Oklahoma. A former staff member of the Southwest Regional Center, she is skilled and experienced in cultivating learning events, including face-to-face trainings, conferences, satellite broadcasts, webcasts and other digital delivery venues.
LaDonna holds a Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies and a Master’s degree in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma. She is also a certified prevention specialist, and a certified distance learning administrator/instructor.
Learn more about LaDonna here.
Avril Orloff is a graphic facilitator who helps people see what they're saying by translating their thoughts into images and presenting them back in a vivid and evocative mural. Working in real time, she creates a visual record of meetings as they unfold, combining words and images to capture emerging ideas, discern larger patterns and themes, and ultimately reveal the "big picture", both literally and figuratively.
Avril has graphically facilitated all manner of meetings, conferences, dialogues and workshops for clients in community groups, corporations, government agencies and educational institutions. Whatever the setting, she brings to her work a keen listening ear, an exuberant sense of fun, and a heartfelt desire to help groups move toward their goals in the most enjoyable and creative ways possible.
Learn more about Avril here.
