Engaging in Dialogues across Difference

What skills will you learn?

Participants in the Online Dialogue Facilitation Training course will have access to experiential training, resources and tools, connections to peers, and feedback on their facilitation skills, all to increase their capacity to:

Promote equity and inclusion through dialogue
Facilitate challenging conversations
Engage openly with conflict to promote growth
Support equitable and inclusive practices

How will the training be conducted?

The online trainings will include 8 weekly live group sessions using Zoom as well as recorded content to be viewed before each session.

Each 3-hour online training session will be highly interactive and will scaffold the development of knowledge and skills over the 9 sessions. It is, therefore, essential that all participants make every effort to be available for all 9 sessions.

Outline of Training Sessions

Session 1: Creating the Container for Dialogue

Session 2: Social Identities and Socialization

Session 3: Privilege/Oppression and Balancing Power in Dialogue (Multi-partiality)

Session 4: Facilitation Skills for Conflict and Emotions

Session 5: Co-working Session on Practice Co-Facilitation Agendas

Sessions 6-8: Practice Co-Facilitations and Feedback

Session 9: Taking Action, Training Applications, Closing Reflections/Affirmations

The group size will be kept small in order to provide all participants with ample opportunities to participate, ask questions, and engage in group activities. Early applications are encouraged.

Space is limited

When is the training?

The next Online Dialogue Facilitation Training will be on:

9 Fridays, from June 13-August 15, 2025

10 am - 1 pm Pacific/ 1-4 pm Eastern.

(No training on July 4, 2025)

Please use our contact form to stay in touch and be added to our notification list if you are interested in future training dates.

What is the cost?

Cost: $1595

Early Bird Discount: $1295 -- Save 20%!

(Apply/register by Friday, May 23, 2025).

*** No payment due until acceptance into course. ***

Payment plan option available.

Scholarships considered.

Anna Yeakley, PhD, MSW, and her team of co-facilitators bring over 25 years of intergroup dialogue facilitation and training experience, including extensive experience translating the dialogue model and facilitation skills to a variety of settings, from working with faculty, staff, administrators and students in higher education, with K-12 educators, with non-profit leaders, independent DEI consultants, community groups, local police, and the military. We welcome participants from a variety of backgrounds and work settings looking to build their leadership, communication, facilitation, and team building skills.

Apply for the training

Testimonials

I greatly enjoyed the online dialogue facilitation training and found it incredibly beneficial! It was wonderful to be in community with other dialogue educators and professionals, and the training definitely increased my capacity to effectively facilitate dialogue through experiential activities and practice dialogue facilitations. The facilitators of the training, Alan and Anna, were incredibly thoughtful and well-prepared and created a supportive learning environment. -- Amy Youmans, Associate Director & Lecturer Archer Center for Student Leadership Development, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

This was a fantastic course. The Anna and Alan are such thoughtful teachers who excellently model what they teach. Everything about the course, from the readings, to the curriculum arc, to the weekly experience in class really helped me improve as a facilitator.

~Masumi Hayashi-Smith, Facilitator, RISE for Racial Justice, the Intergroup Dialogue Collective, Alma Partners

This life-changing training made me so curious about the power of listening. I will be practicing what I've learned from Anna and Alan with everyone I interact with, and in everything I do. The applications, opportunities and benefits are endless!

--Spring 2023 Online Dialogue Facilitation Training Participant

I learned a lot about the method of facilitation for dialogue and for social justice. I feel way more confident about my skill at facilitating than how I felt at the beginning. Anna and Alan both created a space where it was comfortable to be vulnerable, take risks, and make mistakes.

~Summer 2022 Online Dialogue Facilitation Training Participant

Anna and Alan were excellent facilitators and teachers of interpersonal dialogue. I appreciate their wide range of experience as they were able to level set among multiple learners at different levels of experience so that we were able to contribute and learn from one another. They also had a kind and compassionate presence that sustained a safe container to talk about hot topics.

~Summer 2022 Online Dialogue Facilitation Training Participant

I can't speak more highly of this experience not only for professional growth but personal growth as well. Anna and Alan created a safe, supportive, educational space in a condensed amount of time. I high recommend this workshop because these skills are applicable in every setting.

~Fall 2021 Online Dialogue Facilitation Training Participant

Before this training, I only had a rough idea of how to run a dialogue session, in my teaching or with peers. After this, I feel like I understand how complex the process is, and I felt humbled as well as better prepared to structure thoughtful and intentional dialogue!

~Fall 2021 Online Dialogue Facilitation Training Participant

This training was a true train the trainer online facilitator training. I learned valuable skills while also getting to practice with peers and receive feedback in real-time. I would highly recommend any training with Teresa and Anna.

~Nathan C Tomson, Assistant Director of Residence Life, Central Michigan University

I would strongly endorse this online dialogue facilitation training. Anna and Teresa provide thorough and relevant instruction in a professional and safe environment. Their years of expertise were apparent as they coached and mentored our group on a variety of complex topics and skills with ease and aplomb. I look forward to future opportunities to continue learning from them.

~Erin Khang, LMSW Social Work Manager and Director of Graduate Social Work Education

The Online Dialogue Facilitation Course with Anna and Teresa has transformed the way I facilitate my online offerings. I now have a broader theoretical foundation, coupled with tried and true practical application skills, to guide my clients in deepening their social justice parenting and educational practice. Thank you for this powerful educational experience!

~Mollie Monahan-Kreishman, PhD, Founder, Social Justice Kids

Anna and Teresa are an incredible duo. This experience allowed me to connect with professionals across the globe while engaging in meaningful dialogue and skill building opportunities. This work is never done, nor is it ever absolute, this opportunity allowed me to grow, reflect and continue to engage in the difficult and rewarding work that continues to reaffirm my commitment to social justice education.

~Spring 2020 Training Course Participant

This course not only allowed me to practice ways to structure and co-facilitate intergroup dialogues, but it also did so much to build my confidence and comfort with not knowing. I'm grateful for all I learned, for all that I will continue to unlearn, and for connections to a brilliant cohort of co-facilitators (and potential future co-conspirators) that I met through this process. I look forward to taking future courses to build my next steps, but I'd also consider taking this course again in the future because I think it would never be the same course twice, and I'd learn just as much by working with a different group.

~Fall 2021 Online Dialogue Facilitation Training Participant