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In person trainings

These materials cover trainings that OFA training staff delivered in person during larger conferences, events, or professional development trainings. These training modules include experiential learning activities to have folks apply and workshop the delivered skills in real time with fellow training participants. Some are short focused sessions, others are extensive multi-day professional workshops for organizing directors or training professionals.

United State of Women: Sheroes of Organizing

This training was delivered at the United State of Women Conference in 2018. The training highlights the leading role women have played in grassroots organizing, historical and systemic barriers to women participating in politics, and goes over how to set an organizing goal for first-time organizers.

Power of Pink: Motivational Interviewing

This training was delivered at Planned Parenthood’s 2018 Power of Pink conference, and focuses on the motivational interviewing framework and applying it to conversations with family, friends, and neighbors. Using a technique borrowed from clinical psychology, motivational interviewing helps practitioners to identify contradictions in what people are saying—highlighting assumptions that are being made and stating them in a non-judgmental way. Research shows that when people are able to state their own contradictions, they are more likely to change their behavior. Though challenging, this training provides useful techniques to apply in personal and professional contexts.

Organizing Director Summit

This 2016 summit brought organizing directors from different progressive organizations to discuss new intersections between organizing and data, how data informs smart and effective decisions about your organizing program and created a space to share best practices.

National Trainer Retreat

This is the entire extensive folder of the curriculum for the 2014 5-day national trainers retreat. This retreat was designed for progressive training professionals. Notable sessions are Lateral & Upward Management, Day 3-6-Six Steps to Building a Kick-Ass Training Program, Crafting Effective Debriefs, and Giving and Receiving Feedback.

Coaches Huddle Spring 2017: Management/coaching

This is an in-person training session that covers fostering a culture with teams, encouraging and challenging team members, situational leadership, check-ins, managing project managers, and planning orientation events. The activities included in this session are meant to be done via the workbook and discussion.

Coaches Huddle Fall 2017: Leadership

This is an in-person training session that includes an interactive leadership simulation activity, explores archetypes of leadership, and includes an “open-space” activity to discuss challenges with other participants.