Workshops

Hyperlocal Futures

Using hybrid techniques from writing and foresight, this workshop will help your group - family, company, activist group, club, convention, town council, etc. - figure out where you want to be in the coming years, where your current actions are headed, and what it will take to bridge the gap. It will also help you fit your goals into the context of a changing world - climate, government, technology, health - and both build resilience and find ways to make a difference. The goal is a solid, detailed vision that really means something, not just words on a page but a navigational guide.

This workshop is for groups building collective visions, and works on a sliding scale. Please reach out if you’re interested, and I’ll work to tailor to your needs and resources.

1.5 hours: Basic vision-building and first steps.
Half Day: Building a vision, exploring context, and outlining a route forward.
Full Day or Multi-Session: Building a vision, full context mapping, and full navigational planning.

Imagining Hopeful Futures

Writers and activists often want to depict and/or work toward more positive futures, but have trouble moving beyond “not like this.” This workshop will help you overcome assumptions that block positive imagination, introduce you to movements and inventors opening new possibilities, discuss theories of how change happens, and offer a space for telling stories about what positive, reachable futures might look like.

This workshop is available for groups who want to think together, events that want to get participants thinking, or sets of individual students. Sliding scale available, and online versions offered regularly - please reach out if you’re interested.

1.5 hours: Basic theories of change and starting stories.
Half Day: Theories of change, inspiring case studies, and story development.
Full Day or Multi-Session: Researching hope, writing full stories, and combining imagination with action.

Science Fiction of Social Change

It’s easy to get bogged down in the endless scroll of current news, and authoritarian stories about how the future they want is inevitable. This workshop draws on history and speculation to show how far the world can change, and open possibilities for the how and who of change. The goal is to understand how many different futures are possible, what forces constrain them, and what possibilities deserve exploration - and to start thinking and writing about how we can work toward those possibilities.

1.5 hours: What changes, what leads to change, and starting stories.
Half Day: In-depth case studies and story development.
Full Day or Multi-Session: Deep dives into understanding past change and building future histories, and writing full stories.

Want a topic tailored to your group’s needs? Let me know!