Author: Tenneson Woolf

Below is a sample of clients, communities of practice, and individual practitioners I have worked with that have influenced my work in amazing ways. For each I feel gratitude. With each I have felt invitation to work authentically, with clear purpose, and in great beauty.



Clients

Community / Activist Organizations

• Disciples of Christ — Art of Hosting Training for Sr. Leadership
• Greater Miami Jewish Federation — Staff Annual Planning Day
• International Disciples Women’s Ministries — Biannual Cabinet Meeting
• National Park Service, Department of the Interior — Future Search Workshop
• Office of the General Ministry and President, Disciples of Christ — Participatory Leadership Training
• Ottawa Area Intermediate School District — Future Search Conference
• Salt Lake Center for Engaging Community — Culture of Connection Initiative, Enspirited Community Workshop; Sustainability Summit; Post Election World Cafe, World Cafe Workshop
• Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance — Wildlands Dialogue Project; Faith and the Lands Conversations; Activist Summit
• Streetwork — Open Space Workshop for Workers with Homeless Youth
• Strengthening Families Illinois — Art of Hosting Training
• Tampa Bay Art of Hosting Community of Practice — World Cafe Workshop
• Utah Campaign to End Childhood Hunger — Future Search Conference
• Utah Conference on Homelessness — Future Search Conference
• Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment — Community Organizing Explorations
• Visiting Nurse Associations of America — Future Search Conference
• Worth Living, Compass Wealth Management — Art of Hosting Training

Education

• Brigham Young University Marriott School of Management
• Brigham Young University MBA OBHR Class of 2006 — Leadership Training
• Brigham Young University Theatre and Media Arts Department — Department Strategic Planning
• Canadian Labour Congress — Education Committee Training
• Canadian Union of Public Employees — Developers 2008 Planning Meeting; Strengthening Local Union Leadership Training
• Dyer Institute for Leading Organizational Change
• New York City Department of Education — Education Reform Partner Retreat
• Utah Valley University Woodbury School of Business — Summit and Planning Meeting

Health Care

• Center for Human Development — Art of Hosting Training
• Columbus Medical Foundation — Art of Hosting Training
• Navajo Health Services — Art of Hosting Training
• Providence Care — Leadership Symposium, Leadership Development Program, Conversational Leadership Workshop
• Utah Hospital Association — Community Strategizing
• Visiting Nurse Associations of America — Future Search Conference

Large Conferences

• Disciples of Christ — 2009 General Assembly World Cafe and Participative Learning
• Institute of Noetic Sciences — 2009 Learning Village and Plenary Interactive Learning
• Partnership For Education in Jewish Education — 2008 Assembly World Cafe
• Pegasus Systems Thinking in Action — 2007 Conversation Space
• Providence Care — 2009 Leadership Conference World Cafe

Corporate

• KBYU Television — Furture Search Conference
• Novell — Future Search Conference

Communities of Practice / Stewardships

• Art of Hosting
• The Berkana Institute
• The World Cafe
• Peer Spirit
• Open Space Technology

Individuals



Teresa Posakony

Chris Corrigan

Toke Moeller

Patti Case

Ben Mates

Jane Holt

John Kesler

Kathy Lung

Tamara Levine

Esther Matte

Kathleen Erickson

Sharon Joy Kleitsch

Lina Cramer

Jean Ogilvie

Kathy Jourdain

Muryah Baldwin

Roq Gareau

Christina Baldwin — PeerSpirit

Ann Linnea — PeerSpirit

Bob Stilger — The Berkana Institute

Lauri Prest —

Michael Jones — Pianoscapes

Margaret Wheatley — Margaret Wheatley, Inc.

Toke Moeller — Interchange

Monica Nissen

John Kesler

Ramona Sierra

Terri Martin

Peggy Holman

Maria Scordiolu

Sarah Whiteley

Nancy Fritsche Eagan

Angela Amel

Tim Merry

Debbie Frieze

2008

2007

June 28, 2007
Visions of the Land
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
Salt Lake City, Utah

June 30 – July 8, 2007
Family
Fairmont Hot Springs, British Columbia

August 22-24, 2007
Satir Innovations Forum
Litchfield, Connecticut

September 9-12, 2007
Art of Hosting
Louisville, Kentucky

October 26-27, 2007
BYU MBA OBHR Class of 2006 Community of Practice
Aspen Grove, Utah

November 3-4, 2007
Systems Thinking in Action Pre-conference Workshop
Seattle, Washington

November 5-7, 2007 — Systems Thinking in Action Conference
Seattle, Washington
Photos

November 16-18, 2007
Art of Hosting
Bangor, Pennsylvania

More and more people are looking for alternative, environmentally friendly transporation. I’m one of them.

For me, this means using what I already have, a 1988 mountain bike, to get to and from more of the places I need to be at. I did need a few things — a lock, a helmut, a seat pad, and a carrier on the back.

For the most part I just like it. It feels good. But also, over time, I’ve noticed a deepening of reasons for me to ride a bike.

1) Yes, gas is getting very expensive, now over $3 per gallon. Filling up our car now takes $50, a jolt from the $25 -30 that it was a few years ago. Riding my bike to my office, a distance of 10 miles each way, could save $10-50 per month.

2) Yes, a little exercise doesn’t hurt either. Well, actually it can. But it is a benefit that I’ve been wanting to weave into a more regular pattern anyway. Gotta get there — why not make it exercise.

3) What started as a desire to not pollute as much quickly spun to a new level — being in a more cooperative relationship with the environment. I’m not sure all of what that means, but what feels strong is a partnering realtionship. My little steps may not change the world that much, but they do change me. Health through exercise creates healthy muscles, lungs, etc. I also sense health through willingly collaborating might even be more lasting.

4) This one came through my first ride to my office, riding a bike invites a different relationship to time. American culture is so oriented to speed and efficiency. In so many ways, riding a bike is not efficient. It took me 45 minutes to get to work, without trying to race. In my car it would have taken half the time. My cell phone rang / vibrated three times while I was riding. That all had to wait. In my car, I would have answered and had those calls taken care of before arriving at work. I don’t think I can let go of all of the efficiency / speed connections here, but I have to say that I really liked the invitation to break through the speed obsession. It was nice to smell, see, hear in ways that I wouldn’t in my car.

I have a lot of reasons that bike riding is inconvenient. And some are more serious — even riding on the side of cars is dangerous. And let’s not forget the negative impact of inhaling exhaust. But in the end, the lasting impact for me is the commitment to collaborate and deliberately choose another kind of relationship to time. All beautiful surprises for the simple step of riding a bike.

New Beginnings is a gathering in the Mormon church that welcomes 11 year-old girls into a religious-based development program for 12-18 year-olds, the Young Women’s organization (YW). Tonight Zoe, Kari and I attended New Beginnings.

Their values are impressive: faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, and integrity. The program challenges each young woman to accomplish particular goals over the next six years related to each value. The YW leaders offered several stories to inspire the new and existing young women.

To encourage Zoe to reflect on what she was hearing, I asked her what she liked most about the evening. “When Sister Stevens talked about the tsunami.” The YW volunteer president, Lenore Stevens, had described the conditions preceding the tsunami that devastated Thailand in 2005. The tide receded drastically before the tsunami crashed upon the land. Zoe reflected the intended point clearly — “To watch for the warning signs and to move away.”

This message was a well-delivered story of warning, supplemented with several religious practices to move toward, including reading scriptures, praying, and serving others.

As I listened, I found myself thinking about what “moving towards” could also be? What are other practices that celebrate and welcome us in to a full aliveness and beauty in the soul’s journey?

Here are a few that feel important to me:

Use our hands in the earth – plant a garden, work the soil, feel the dirt.
Take a walk – five minutes, fifteen minutes, or a couple of hours to feel the different rhythm of being outside.
Sit under the moon – just listen, just empty out.
Listen to friends – and take turns speaking honestly with them – Zoe shared this with me after a particularly moving experience with ten of her friends last week. Lots of wisdom in those simple words.
Be curious – embrace inquiry. Is life not filled with wonderful mystery.
Create together – projects, conversations of learning. Creating is a fundamental need and, I believe, instinct for human beings.

I wonder what others feel about moving toward that celebrates and opens us to abundance in life?