Training & Professional Development
Professional development opportunities that engage and connect
We design and facilitate a wide variety of workshops, trainings, and immersive experiences that meet people where they are and create safe spaces to learn new skills. Training is a cornerstone of all of our offerings because it creates the conditions for employees to develop the skills they need to accomplish their goals.
Our training approach combines human-centered design, reflective practice, and systems thinking into every skill we share. We engage participants through interactive, “learn by doing” activities that serve to reinforce learnings, engender ownership, and build empathy between peers. Each training or workshop infuses the context of the client–whether one department within a city or a cross-departmental team at a state agency. We start with a basic infrastructure for our trainings, then build them out to ensure our content is relevant and meaningful for participants.
We have facilitated hundreds of trainings and workshops for government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Below is a list of some of our recent trainings and workshops. The list is not exhaustive, as almost all of our client engagements involve training and facilitation.
- The City of San Rafael. Co-created an innovation training and organizational development program to embed a citywide culture of innovation and continuous improvement.
- The City of Santa Rosa. Designed and facilitated a strategic planning process with the City’s Community Advisory Board and built capacity through coached implementation.
- The City of Berkeley. Designed and facilitated change management curriculum to ease the adoption of a new system-wide software platform. We then created, and are now in the process of helping to implement, a citywide change management strategy.
- California Department of Technology. Facilitate multi-day trainings for state and local government officials through CDT’s open enrollment training program, including Effective Facilitation, Presentations & Storytelling, and Human-Centered Design.
Explore our training and professional development work
Commitments to Inclusive & Accessible Learning Space
It’s been two years since we piloted our Learning Lab at the City of San José - how the time…
View Case Study ()Read Case Study:![A screenshot from Demo Day #5. On the right side is a column of participants on video while Kelli Parmley (Assistant Director Of Human Resources, City of San Jose) shares a slide. The slide is titled]()
Project SPARC
Helping student parents redesign the community college and public benefits systems
View Case Study (Helping student parents redesign the community college and public benefits systems)Read Case Study: Helping student parents redesign the community college and public benefits systems![Screenshot from the SPARC Showcase March 2022. Someone is sharing a slide with three quotes from CalWORKs parenting students who shared their experiences around mental health. On the right side are a series of pictures of SPARC Leaders attending the zoom session.]()
Sunnyvale Innovation Team, Summer 2024
Applying design thinking and equity mindsets to improve internal communications for all
View Case Study (Applying design thinking and equity mindsets to improve internal communications for all)Read Case Study: Applying design thinking and equity mindsets to improve internal communications for all![In this picture, four people are grouped around a table. Two women in the middle are half standing up, arranging a prototype made of crafting supplies, while others around the table look on or offer directions.]()
Coaching Equity-Centered Design Thinking
At the start of June, we kicked off the newest Innovation Team offered by the City of Sunnyvale. This project…
View Case Study ()Read Case Study:![Four participants laughing together while sitting around a table completing a worksheet.]()
JFF Workforce Communities of Action
Guiding a cohort of workforce boards to examine a challenge and scope practical next steps in addressing it
View Case Study (Guiding a cohort of workforce boards to examine a challenge and scope practical next steps in addressing it)Read Case Study: Guiding a cohort of workforce boards to examine a challenge and scope practical next steps in addressing it![6 members of the project team are together on a zoom call, smiling and prepping for the next session. In the picture (from Left to Right, Top to Bottom) Leah Tremblay-Adams, Brittany Henry, Genna Petrolla, Christina Garcia, Jonathan Osei, and Lee Domeika.]()
Commitments to Inclusive & Accessible Learning Space
It’s been two years since we piloted our Learning Lab at the City of San José - how the time…
View Case Study ()Read Case Study:![A screenshot from Demo Day #5. On the right side is a column of participants on video while Kelli Parmley (Assistant Director Of Human Resources, City of San Jose) shares a slide. The slide is titled]()
Project SPARC
Helping student parents redesign the community college and public benefits systems
View Case Study (Helping student parents redesign the community college and public benefits systems)Read Case Study: Helping student parents redesign the community college and public benefits systems![Screenshot from the SPARC Showcase March 2022. Someone is sharing a slide with three quotes from CalWORKs parenting students who shared their experiences around mental health. On the right side are a series of pictures of SPARC Leaders attending the zoom session.]()
Sunnyvale Innovation Team, Summer 2024
Applying design thinking and equity mindsets to improve internal communications for all
View Case Study (Applying design thinking and equity mindsets to improve internal communications for all)Read Case Study: Applying design thinking and equity mindsets to improve internal communications for all![In this picture, four people are grouped around a table. Two women in the middle are half standing up, arranging a prototype made of crafting supplies, while others around the table look on or offer directions.]()
Coaching Equity-Centered Design Thinking
At the start of June, we kicked off the newest Innovation Team offered by the City of Sunnyvale. This project…
View Case Study ()Read Case Study:![Four participants laughing together while sitting around a table completing a worksheet.]()
JFF Workforce Communities of Action
Guiding a cohort of workforce boards to examine a challenge and scope practical next steps in addressing it
View Case Study (Guiding a cohort of workforce boards to examine a challenge and scope practical next steps in addressing it)Read Case Study: Guiding a cohort of workforce boards to examine a challenge and scope practical next steps in addressing it![6 members of the project team are together on a zoom call, smiling and prepping for the next session. In the picture (from Left to Right, Top to Bottom) Leah Tremblay-Adams, Brittany Henry, Genna Petrolla, Christina Garcia, Jonathan Osei, and Lee Domeika.]()
Commitments to Inclusive & Accessible Learning Space
It’s been two years since we piloted our Learning Lab at the City of San José - how the time…
View Case Study ()Read Case Study:![A screenshot from Demo Day #5. On the right side is a column of participants on video while Kelli Parmley (Assistant Director Of Human Resources, City of San Jose) shares a slide. The slide is titled]()
Project SPARC
Helping student parents redesign the community college and public benefits systems
View Case Study (Helping student parents redesign the community college and public benefits systems)Read Case Study: Helping student parents redesign the community college and public benefits systems![Screenshot from the SPARC Showcase March 2022. Someone is sharing a slide with three quotes from CalWORKs parenting students who shared their experiences around mental health. On the right side are a series of pictures of SPARC Leaders attending the zoom session.]()
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We'd love talk to about how we can support learning and growth at you organization.
