Ally Skills Workshop Train-the-trainers January 8 & 12 2018

A collage of people's faces of many different ages, genders, and races, painted on walls in rainbow colors.

December 5, 2017 ~ vaurora

Do you want to teach people how to use their power and influence to support people of color, women of all races, LGBTQ+ folks, and members of other marginalized groups? Then the Ally Skills Workshop Train-the-trainers is for you! In this five hour class, you will learn to lead (or co-lead) the Ally Skills Workshop, which teaches people ally skills – tips and techniques for using their advantages to fight inequality and oppression with simple, everyday actions.

The session was fun, welcoming, and intuitive. The experience of the trainer and depth of information provided in the materials gave me confidence that I could, with practice, also offer this training. — Amy Sawyer

Monday, January 8, 12:00pm – 6:00pm, via online video (Pacific Standard Time -0800 UTC)

Friday, January 12, 6:00am – 12:00pm, via online video (Pacific Standard Time -0800 UTC)

This is an online event using the Zoom.us video conferencing software. We will break for one hour about halfway through, with additional short breaks throughout.

Tickets are priced on a sliding scale. You can request a free ticket or ask questions about which ticket price is right for you by emailing contact@frameshiftconsulting.com.

If this date does not work for you, please add your name and information to the train-the-trainers expression of interest list.

More about the Ally Skills Workshop

The Ally Skills Workshop is an intensive 3 hour-long discussion oriented workshop. The workshop leader (or co-leaders) begin with a 30 minute introduction that teaches people the basics about ally skills and how to have inclusive, respectful, productive discussions. Then the participants split up into groups of 4-6 people to discuss specific real-world scenarios in which an ally could take action. After a 4-7 minute group discussion, each group reports out what they discussed and what questions they have. The leader guides this discussion, answers questions, and suggests more ideas.

Facilitating this workshop is easiest for people comfortable with speaking extemporaneously in public, feeling and expressing compassion for people with different experiences than their own, and kindly but firmly disagreeing with people in front of others. Having significant experience as a member of a marginalized group is recommended but not required, especially if you are co-facilitating with another person who does have this experience. You can learn more about the workshop here, including the workshop slides and the full facilitator’s guide.

[The train-the-trainers] was intimate and hands-on. I got to practice the skills I’d need to teach while benefitting from Valerie’s and others’ experience with presenting. I also made connections that I hope may mature into opportunities for collaboration in the future. — Dr. Sheila Addison

Ally Skills Workshop Train-the-trainers June 17, 2017

May 18, 2017May 18, 2017 ~ vaurora

Do you want to teach people how to use their power and influence to support people of color, women of all races, LGBTQ+ folks, and members of other marginalized groups? Then the Ally Skills Workshop Train-the-trainers is for you! In this all-day class on June 17, you will learn to lead (or co-lead) the Ally Skills Workshop, which teaches people ally skills – tips and techniques for using their advantages to fight inequality and oppression with simple, everyday actions.

The session was fun, welcoming, and intuitive. The experience of the trainer and depth of information provided in the materials gave me confidence that I could, with practice, also offer this training. — Amy Sawyer

This is an online event using the Zoom.us video conferencing software. We will break for one hour about halfway through, with additional short breaks throughout.

Tickets are priced on a sliding scale. You can request a free ticket or ask questions about which ticket price is right for you by emailing contact@frameshiftconsulting.com.

If this date does not work for you, please add your name and information to the train-the-trainers expression of interest list.

More about the Ally Skills Workshop

The Ally Skills Workshop is an intensive 3 hour-long discussion oriented workshop. The workshop leader (or co-leaders) begin with a 30 minute introduction that teaches people the basics about ally skills and how to have inclusive, respectful, productive discussions. Then the participants split up into groups of 4-6 people to discuss specific real-world scenarios in which an ally could take action. After a 3-5 minute group discussion, each group reports out what they discussed and what questions they have. The leader guides this discussion, answers questions, and suggests more ideas.

[The train-the-trainers] was intimate and hands-on. I got to practice the skills I’d need to teach while benefitting from Valerie’s and others’ experience with presenting. I also made connections that I hope may mature into opportunities for collaboration in the future. — Dr. Sheila Addison

Ally Skills Workshop Train-the-trainers in January 2017

November 26, 2016 ~ vaurora

Do you want to teach people how to use their power and influence to support people of color, women of all races, LGBTQ+ folks, and members of other marginalized groups? Then the Ally Skills Workshop Train-the-trainers is for you! In this all-day class, you will learn to lead (or co-lead) the Ally Skills Workshop, which teaches people ally skills – tips and techniques for using their advantages to fight inequality and oppression with simple, everyday actions.

Two train-the-trainers options are available, one in person and one online. Click on the links below to register:

Space is extremely limited – sign up now to reserve your place! Each train-the-trainers is priced on a sliding scale according to ability to pay. If neither of these dates works for you, please add your name and information to the train-the-trainers expression of interest list.

More about the Ally Skills Workshop

The Ally Skills Workshop is an intensive 3 hour-long discussion oriented workshop. The workshop leader (or co-leaders) begin with a 30 minute introduction that teaches people the basics about ally skills and how to have inclusive, respectful, productive discussions. Then the participants split up into groups of 4-6 people to discuss specific real-world scenarios in which an ally could take action. After a 3-5 minute group discussion, each group reports out what they discussed and what questions they have. The leader guides this discussion, answers questions, and suggests more ideas.

Better comebacks for *-ist jokes: Ally Skills Workshop in NYC

February 29, 2016February 29, 2016 ~ vaurora

Wish you had a better comeback whenever someone makes a sexist joke at work? Tired of reading racist comments on your community’s mailing list and not knowing how to respond without getting in a flame war? The first ever public Ally Skills Workshop in the New York City area is on Saturday, March 5th, from 1pm to 4pm at the Recurse Center in Manhattan (register here). In this workshop, participants spend most of the time in small discussion groups talking about real-world situations and sharing their knowledge and experience with each other.

We welcome and encourage people of all genders, races, sexualities, and ages to attend, with tickets available on a sliding scale from $25 to $150 (and free tickets for folks from the Recurse Center – DM @frameshiftllc for details). The workshop works best with a wide variety of people who can share their personal experiences as both an ally and the target of systemic oppression. Some of the scenarios we talk about include:

A woman is standing alone at an event that is mostly men. What can men do to make her feel included and welcome, without coming across as a creep?

A black person in your community is frequently criticized for being too “angry,” “aggressive,” and “abrasive” while white people who are far ruder and more aggressive are accepted. What can white people do to reverse this dynamic?

An email on your project’s mailing list starts, “Imagine you are explaining this to your girlfriend,” – and you’re pretty sure they aren’t thinking of the one out lesbian on the project. What can straight men say to stop this behavior without getting the point lost in a flame war?

Here are some things people have said about the Ally Skills Workshop:

Loved the format, it was super interactive and didn’t feel like a drag, 3 hours just flew by. — Anonymous participant

Valerie was awesome! It was interesting seeing situations many of us have encountered, and seeing hearing the right/appropriate ways to react. Being in groups and hearing peoples thoughts about the situations was cool too – there were lots of things that were brought up that I probably wouldn’t have thought of myself. — Anonymous participant

It’s kind of strange thing to say, but my favorite part about the workshop was the structure. I’ve been in a bunch of conversations and/or workshops about inclusiveness and I find that they often don’t have enough direction. – Jesse Pollak

Join us on Saturday March 5th!

Click here for a list of upcoming classes from Frame Shift Consulting.