Summary:  

In this podcast, Jeff Carolin, a lawyer, talks about his journey of moving away from the adversarial legal system towards transformative justice and conflict transformation. He shares his experiences of feeling unfulfilled and disconnected from his work in the legal system, and how he found a sense of purpose in working with restorative justice networks and connecting with organizations like Bloom. Overall, Jeff's story highlights the importance of empathy, emotional vulnerability, and restoration in conflict resolution.  

A little note, Jeff acknowledges that he got confused at one point in the podcast when he tried to attribute an MLK quote to Lilla Watson (whose name he had forgotten). Both of these inspirational leaders share(d) a vision for our collective liberation." 

Bio: 

Jeff is fascinated by human relationships and the systems they are embedded in. During 10 years of practice as a criminal defence lawyer for some of the most marginalized people in our society, he has seen up close the harm to relationships that systemic inequality can give rise to, and the further harm that our adversarial system can cause to all involved as it attempts to dispense "justice". He has also supported mediation and transformative justice processes that prove that another path is possible -- that healing and hope can emerge from the darkest of moments. These experiences have inspired him both to evolve his practice towards conflict mediation & transformative justice facilitation, as well as to deepen the work he has been doing upstream of conflict & harm for 15 years by supporting groups of people transform the way they relate to themselves and each other in the context of inequitable systems. For more, check out jeffcarolin.ca. 

Adaptagen host, Nadia Chaney, is a seasoned facilitator and the founder of Toolsi, an on-demand facilitation training program. For more information go to www.nadiachaney.com 

Dutch Harry VanDerVelde is a visual, multi-dimensional thinker. Like all of us, he tries to understand what (his) life is about. He likes to vizualize the ultimate way things should work.  Among other, he makes infographics about organisational issues. The visuals allow insight for its customers through images that reflect their situation from a refreshing out of their box point of view. He combines his analytical and graphic skills to make things professionally clear. Specifically, abstract and /or complex situations and organisations. His approach is to draw any given situation of problem. A sound concept is a mental image by its nature, so in principle it can be represented by a clear picture of it. So drawing out any situation quickly reveals its flaws. Aspects that are not clearly defined stay blurred and impossible to represent. Also the blank spots become visible. The impact of the work is still surprisingly impactful. 

Since 1976 Harry has pioneered the field of graphic facilitation and visual thinking. He worked for profit, non-profit and governmental organisations. Ranging from one person enterprises to large multi national corporations. Currently he focusses on scaling collaboration and on the grammar behind visual thinking. 

A note from Nadia: 

Harry is a pioneer in visual facilitation. His method was developed through a combination of instinct, attraction, and logic. While designing workflows for factory floors, call centers, and businesses, he created a highly effective method. Today, he is more focused on existential and community questions, but his visual analysis still fuels his visionary practice. I am grateful to have learned his brilliant technique and excited to share it with you all! 

Ez Bridgman helps organizations and individuals connect to their playful vitality in their most important and challenging moments.

Through collaborating, making decisions, navigating conflict, establishing priorities and communicating in an enlivening and uplifting way, he supports groups to open up doorways to liberatory organizational cultures and personal empowerment.

This shift is not easy. We are taught to be ashamed of our true selves, to constantly seek approval & validation from others, to stay within the status quo, and to fear judgment. Within our organizations, we are taught that creativity is for a select few.

He says, when we open ourselves up to working, learning, connecting and being in an embodied, playful & creative way, every moment becomes a delightful opportunity to explore and grow.

For more info about Ez, you can visit his website at: www.ezbridgman.com

A note from Nadia:

Ez is one of my dearest friends. We actually recorded this podcast right after the one I did for his amazing podcast, Shadow Playground. The flow was so smooth I haven’t had to cut or change a single moment of the recording. Ez is one of the deepest listeners, and most curious and playful people I know. His work is full of joy and yet he can help groups achieve incredibly profound transformation.

The Adaptagen Podcast is available on Spotify for all to hear, but if you listen at https://facilitate.toolsi.ca (it’s part of Toolsi Free) you can post your questions and comments and I will be sure to respond.

Tai Jacob and Cat have been part of an enormous project called Justice Trans. Over sushi with Tai a couple of years ago I was fascinated to hear about the facilitated community research process they were designing. It’s a very specific use of facilitated space, and one that comes with its own challenges and constraints. This podcast is brimming over with insight and tips into how to do community research in a way that is respectful, radical, and defensible.

This is the first time I’ve interviewed two people at once for the Adaptagen Podcast! I met Tai Jacob quite a few years ago, and just met Cat as we began this interview. It was a wonderful experience, not only to learn about the work they’ve dedicated themselves to, but also to experience the dynamic between them as colleagues and co-facilitators. Humble, quirky, self-possessed, brilliant and funny, they were both an absolute delight to interview. I can’t wait to hear what you think.

Cat is an emerging academic and artist weirdo, and established non-profit leader based in Regina, Treaty 4 territory, who strives to bring her dyke politics to work. Cat was previously the Development Director at JusticeTrans, the Programs and Operations Manager at UR Pride—a 2SLGBTQ+ non-profit in Regina, and was the Chair of TransSask—a non-profit organization with a mandate to provide supports for Two Spirit, trans and non-binary people in Saskatchewan. Cat is also a founding member of the Saskatchewan Trans Health Coalition, and a member of the Capacitor Advisory Council, which oversees a universal basic income pilot program for Two Spirit, trans, non-binary and gender diverse artists and digital creators in Saskatchewan. Outside her work, Cat enjoys painting portraits of people she is in community with and creating Super-8 films documenting her queer family and life.

Tai Jacob is currently a law student at Osgoode Hall Law School. They are a Board Director at Mazon Canada, the national Jewish response to hunger that supports initiatives that educate Canadians and foster effective solutions to end hunger. Prior to this, they were the Executive Director at JusticeTrans, a national non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access to justice for Two Spirit and trans people across Canada. Tai received her MA in Geography from McGill University in 2020, where she did research with trans and gender nonconforming refugees about their experiences with the Immigration and Refugee Board. He has over five years of experience working in advocacy for refugee and migrant justice, trans and queer liberation, anti-poverty work, and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion efforts at various organizations, companies, universities, and grassroots groups.

To learn more about creative facilitation, go to https://facilitate.toolsi.ca

Brigid loves co-creating spaces with a bit of magic in the air; where people are able to show up, share, challenge, connect, disagree, grow, get a bit uncomfortable and feel heard.

She works in cultural programming and production, and as a strategic consultant, program designer and facilitator - she loves a little infrastructure to foster connection and make the complex accessible.

Note from Nadia:

This is the end of the first part of the Bloom Series, where I’m interviewing all the members of a Montreal-based boutique consulting firm (www.bloomworld.org). There have been some new hires since I started...so we’ll get back to Bloom soon. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and working with Brigid for many years, in three cities and with at least four different orgs. Her facilitation is courageous, sensitive, honest and loving. In this podcast, I think you’ll hear all of these qualities quite unmistakably. This is a podcast about being true, being yourself, being direct. Brigid has this rare leadership quality. She says, “I aspire to tell you the truth because I love you and I want to stay connected to you, and I can see something is going on. The work is figuring out how to say it, so it can be heard and received.” Brigid shares a lot of specific tips on how to actually achieve the beautiful balance between agency and boundaries. Near the end, Brigid breaks down the panic/stretch zone framework in an incredibly generous and intelligent manner that really inspired me.

I am a community facilitator, theatre artist, life-long learner and creative soul. I have spent the last 15 years connecting and collaborating with diverse communities by co-creating learning environments that are founded upon shared values of diversity, love, respect and self-empowerment - embracing a vision of solidarity, social justice and change from the inside-out. I invite learning that engages the mind, body, heart and soul, drawing on our personal and collective experiences and inner wisdom for the purpose of community connection, clarity and capacity building. Through the blending of participatory, creative and embodied practices, I am able to support groups in creating space for each other - to reflect, share, learn and heal alongside one another for personal, collective and organizational change.

I support grassroots movements, social justice organizations and government sectors through processes of equity, inclusion & diversity; peacebuilding & conflict transformation; community healing and participatory leadership.

I am a freelance consultant as Weaving Connections (Toronto, Nova Scotia & Egypt) and currently collaborate with Bloom Consulting (Toronto), Branch Out Theatre (Toronto), Interplay (Oakland, CA).  I have a MEd in Adult Education and Community Development at OISE.  In my spare time I can be found in one of three homes - dancing ecstatically in Toronto, playing in the waters of rural Nova Scotia or connecting with my ancestral roots in Egypt.

NOTE from NADIA

Naty and I have not yet had a chance to facilitate together, but the very first time we met we started making plans! A kindred spirit, most certainly, and a powerful and potent presence in so many ways. This podcast episode follows the journey of a very seasoned facilitator, who is asking humble and subtle questions.

facilitator | ze/hir/they/them

Yami Msosa is a Black genderqueer Malawian arrivant currently living in Tkaronto who grew up as a visitor on Algonquin Territory. As a creative, strategic consultant and facilitator, they love building containers for connections to be forged, and holding space for individual, community, and systems transformation. They joined Bloom in January 2020 as a collaborator. You can find out more about them at yamimsosa.com

Note from Nadia

Meeting Yami was such a wonderful surprise. We’re both part of the Bloom team, but we have never had a one on one before this podcast. I was so happy to discover some of the shared resonance, especially the tarot! And that we both grew up in Ottawa. This podcast gets underneath the work of facilitating equity from a place of authenticity and self-knowing. It’s charming and inspiring, critical and hopeful…I can’t wait to hear what you think.

Francesca Allodi-Ross has spent the last 10 years pursuing parallel paths in law and facilitation. She recently left her work as a lawyer to become Executive Director of Romero House, a community of welcome for refugee claimants in Tkaronto/Toronto. Francesca loves building community, supporting social change, and dancing every day.

A note from Nadia

I’ve known Francesca for some years now. My experience of her is of someone sensitive and thoughtful, very tuned in to a group’s ripples, and always willing to support people and processes! Francesca’s journey to facilitation is an incredibly inspiring story about how a vision that is born out of necessity can come to life. Francesca first saw the need for facilitation and mediation in a group home and took a long journey to find the tools she needed. Also, Francesca’s background as a workplace dispute litigator gives her a very piercing insight into the need for holistic management of group dynamics. This podcast is incisive and inspiring. Can’t wait to hear what you think!

Show notes:

Romero House is a community of welcome for refugee claimants:

YES Jams bring together 30 outstanding changemakers for a week of networking, skills sharing and community building:

We Shall Be Known, a song by MaMuse:

Shilbee Dhalla-Kim, passion coach:

Centre for Courage and Renewal (Parker Palmer, Circles of Trust):

AORTA (Anti-oppression resource & training alliance):

Rehana, M. ED, has a passion for transformative learning, systems change and building capacity for generative dialogue across difference. She has over 15 years of experience in facilitating participatory, arts-based and equity-centered change, and is always learning & unlearning! Rehana is deeply serious and deeply playful at once, believing in the need for thoughtful strategies that center creativity, play, embodiment and the imagination to open up fields of transformation and jump into the practice both personally and collectively. She practices Art of Hosting, Theatre of the Oppressed and InterPlay, and holds a Masters in Sociology and Equity Studies in Education. She served as National Facilitator for Righting Relations, a heart-centred, national network of adult educators, community organizers and Indigenous Peoples of the world working for radical social change through decolonization and popular education.

A Note from Nadia

If you’re interested in collaborative leadership, this is a very special series. I have interviewed all of the Bloom Consultancy (except myself haha). I’m excited to share these with you for a few reasons: 1) Bloom’s method is flexible, responsive and emergent. The courage and presence required to facilitate like this is something very special. 2) The collaborative team work in a hierarchical for-profit organization is also quite rare and 3) The practice of living the work internally so that is ripples out to the clients is so authentic and disciplined, I’m absolutely thrilled to be part of this team and wanted to share it with all of you!

Rehana Tejpar is a dear friend, and the co-founder and leader of Bloom. Her way of working comes from a deeply spiritual and community-minded approach not only to work, but to her whole life. Her personal practices are rigorous and constantly deepening. She carries her big community and family responsibilities with a dancer’s grace and a childlike sweetness, but also with the edge and sharpness of a visionary change-maker (and she’s trained as a clown, so there’s often a surreal edge lurking beneath!). Rehana has made my life easier and lighter in so many ways, I’m endlessly grateful for her example and her friendship.

Moyo Rainos Mutamba, MSW (Social Justice and Diversity) Ph.D. (Social Justice Education) is an Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ARDEI) consultant, leadership coach, and scholar. He finds joy and meaning in supporting organizations to achieve deep cultural shifts. He specializes in integrating ARDEI principles and practices in organizational policies and operations to create cultures of belonging. Additionally, Moyo facilitates in university classrooms as a lecturer of social work (diversity, equity, inclusion, leadership, mental health) at the University of Waterloo and Community Development at the University of Toronto.

A Note from Nadia

Moyo is a new collaborator for me, and by both first impression and reputation I am so honoured and excited to work together! This interview is full of gems, in particular his theory of conflict as an essential aspect of the human experience, and his view on knowledge-practices, as opposed to knowledge as an object. Hearing Moyo’s story and knowing about the incredible change work he has done and will do inspires me to dig deeper and be more diligent in self-reflection and systems shift.