Virtual Intensive Training: June-July 2021

Our June-July 2021 VIT Offering

The Deep Dive: A personal and collective pathway toward a connected and socially-just world

Note: Registration for this event has closed

Trainer Lorraine Agular Sings a Song and Tells a Story

June-July VIT will be conducted across three weekends (all Friday-to-Sunday):

June 25-27
July 9-11
July 23-25

Times: Check your start and end time

09:00 am - 5:00 pm Los Angeles (PT)
10:00 am - 6:00 pm Denver (MT)
11:00 am - 7:00 pm Chicago (CT)
12:00 pm - 8:00 pm New York (ET)
01:00 pm - 9:00 pm Rio de Janeiro (BRT)

We hope that this format will make the intensive accessible to you by helping you balance work and family responsibilities along with your NVC learning.

Join us to learn how to:

Improve the quality of your relationships
Increase your contribution in the world
Help you remain grounded in a changing world

Overview

At the heart of Virtual Intensive Trainings (VITs), you will discover simple yet deep practices for self-connection and discernment, listening empathically through tough conversations, and finding common ground, and speaking your truth with power and compassion. Embodying Nonviolent Communication’s compassionate nature requires personal, deliberate, committed, intentional practice, honing our empathic faculties, and gently attuning to what we feel and to our present and deep needs. This is where we come face to face with our deeper selves and our greatest gifts: the motivation to heal past hurts and develop new, more skillful, inclusive responses to life's challenges.

This learning and embodiment will be accelerated by doing it together, in a virtual community created over nine days. Training virtually offers the advantages of allowing the time and space needed for learning to settle in. Each day we tune in at a certain time, practice together, and bring it directly to our homes and into our daily lives without having to travel! It also gives us ease in continuing the international quality and experience of intensive NVC trainings.

Nonviolent Communication guides us to connect to ourselves and others in the fullness of our human-ness from our hearts. In these times of limiting physical contact, this kind of heart-based connection is even more important and vital to our well-being. Each Virtual Intensive Training (VIT) offers an opportunity to strengthen our inner connection and connection to others in community, as well as an opportunity to heal, learn, grow, clarify, and restore.

The Trainers & Organizer

Certified Trainers for June-July shown above (left-to-right) Lorraine Aguilar, François Beausoleil, Azzam Talhami, and Lore Baur and Organizer Dr. Mark A. Friedman.

Our Intention

We the organizers and trainers are deeply committed to offering and holding with care the intention for co-creating this NVC learning community over our 9 days together.

We would like to invite you to do your best to be present in all activities offered, with your video on, ready to engage and interact. This VIT is a new and exploratory process in response to the public health crisis. It is also presenting new ways for people worldwide to learn and integrate NVC. Such new steps present new challenges. Let’s enter this journey together, as a community, with transparency, open hearts, and open to possibilities!

We’d like to, as much as possible, co-create with you a circle, where all voices are valued.

What happens in a VIT?

A full day of training includes 4 contact hours with trainers (2 trainer-led sessions) as well as 2.5 hours of community time (opening circle, closing circle, and home groups). We also offer a Community Room (separate Zoom line) outside of session hours, for participants to drop in as desired, for connection, meal sharing, empathy, exercise/movement/walks together, questions, fun, continued discussions, etc. Trainers can also utilize this space for continued conversations with individuals or groups.

Home groups are small, intimate groups of people in roughly your time zone. The strong request is to meet daily for 1 hour during 9 days of training, as well as between training weekends. Home groups are a place to integrate learning, engage in real-time empathy exchange, and build networks of care and connection.

An example of a typical day includes:

Opening Circle (for Community, Grounding, Connection, Intention Setting, Offerings for the Day)
Two 2-hour sessions led by Certified Trainers on a range of topics including the core curriculum of NVC as developed by the founder, Marshall Rosenberg
Home Group (for empathy support)
Closing Circle (for community, harvesting, integration, celebrating, mourning, and gratitude)
Community Room (for connection, socializing, fun, continued discussions, shared meals, shared movement/exercise, music, dance, and co-creation)s

Watch a welcome from Lorraine Aguilar, one of the trainers at this event.

Trainer Team

Lorraine Aguilar (California, United States) teaches empathy-based communication skills to technical leaders, engineers and other analytical minds who want to balance the strength of intellect with the wisdom of the heart and the love of humanity. Her internationally-recognized training programs are game-based, experiential and designed for sustainable behavior and culture change.

As CEO of Working Harmony, Lorraine has trained senior leadership teams at Salesforce.com, Nissan, the United Nations, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and other organizations whose success depends on effective collaboration and innovation for the greater good. She also teaches NVC-based leadership at the University of Southern California (USC).

Lorraine speaks regularly to international business leaders on how to create positive change using NVC. A certified trainer in NVC and former engineer and corporate manager, Lorraine is internationally recognized for her development of NVC-based programs and tools that create a more inclusive, collaborative and innovative workplace.

You can check out Lorraine's website at http://workingharmony.com and her weekly gratitude program on Instagram Live at https://www.instagram.com/workingharmony/

François Beausoleil (Quebec, Canada) is the co-founder of the Empathic Leadership Institute. He trains, coaches and supports individuals and organizations throughout the world. He brings a strong business and coaching focus to his work. François is highly skilled at helping participants discover and transcend internal and external barriers so that they can live from a more fully empowered state. François’ previous career was as a musician with Cirque du Soleil – he brings creativity and music into the rooms and hearts wherever he shares his work. He has an MBA from Sherbrooke University in Quebec, is a Certified Trainer with the Center for Nonviolent Communication, and a registered corporate coach.

Azzam Talhami (United States, originally from Palestine) Azzam Talhami is a Palestinian CNVC Certified Trainer, peace-builder, and mental health advocate. He has trained hundreds of people across the Middle East, Europe, and the US in peace-building and Nonviolent Communication (NVC). Dedicated to supporting historically conflicting communities towards a just peace. Azzam founded the Holul Institute, which provides international training for peace building, Nonviolent Communication (NVC), and Conflict Resolution. In addition, Azzam founded the NVC Arabic Academy, leading in-person and online classes for Arabic-speaking journalists, psychologists, and aspiring peace-builders across the world and creating programs that train international peace organizations. Devoted to sharing the story of his people through the lens of compassion, his interests as a guest speaker and teacher include deepening the conversation around power and privilege. He has served as an on-camera political analyst, news correspondent, documentary filmmaker, journalist, and war-zone photographer for international media outlets.

Lore Baur's particular interest is exploring NVC within the context of families, communities, and institutions. She is inspired by the transformative justice movement which acknowledges that we are in complex relationships of the oppressor and the oppressed, domination and dominated, and that a plethora of social issues comes to bear in conflict.

In her community, Lore trains students and staff in Restorative Circles, is a supporter of the Catholic Worker movement, and offers NVC training to youth organizations, prisons, activists, and agencies. Lore has been a team member of the NVC Academy since 2010, and has had the good fortune to support NVC trainers and community members from around the world.

In addition to her work with NVC, Lore loves learning how the natural world works and has a strong interest in science and nature which led her to get a masters degree in science education. She has spent three decades in the classroom teaching science and supporting youth in learning. As a classroom facilitator, Lore speaks openly about topics that often go unaddressed in groups and revels in the risk and vulnerability young people undertake as they seek connection.

Lore loves animals and is known to gently move ants out of her way in the kitchen. She will almost always say “Yes!” and loves flowers, food, songs, kid humor and a good giggle fit. Lore’s core intertwined themes in life are spirituality, curiosity and transformation. Her journey has included being a parent of two children (now adults), one of which has quadriplegia. As a parent and primary caregiver, Lore advocates for the rights and awareness of the needs of people with disabilities.

Organizer Dr. Mark A. Friedman is inspired to create and live in a world of Beloved Community where authentic, joyful giving and receiving contribute to living the richest of lives. Mark is a Certification Candidate with the Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC) who has been living, knowing and sharing Nonviolent Communication (NVC) for close to a decade. Mark is also pursuing a Certification in Kingian Nonviolence with On Earth Peace. He deeply values community, contribution, education and authenticity.
Mark's journey with NVC started while shifting his professional focus from a technical to a spiritual emphasis when he reread Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication.

Mark enjoys collaborating to create organizations and community. Mark is an organizer for the Candidates/Community Active Learning Forum (CALF) where he works with Certified Trainers supporting CNVC candidates on their certification path. He has served as an organizer of NVC multi-day intensive trainings in Virginia, Brazil, Italy, New York and Florida. Mark is a member of the Board of Directors of Houston NVC, serves as a contributor to the Rocky Mountain Compassionate Communication Network, and offers technical support of online NVC events (VITs, NVCfest, NVC Conference) through the NVC Academy. He has delivered trainings in NVC, created and facilitated several NVC practice groups, and participates as a member of the NVC African Diaspora Men's Group. Mark is currently co-founding Connecticut NVC with two colleagues on the CNVC certification path as they look to bring a 3-day training on NVC and Parenting to Connecticut. He is planning to create an online NVC practice group for the LGBTQ+ community.
Mark is a certified life coach having completed the Coaching for Transformation program of Martha Lasley's Leadership That Works. He is pursuing a certification in Kingian Nonviolence with On Earth Peace based on the west coast. Mark regularly serves as a coach and head coach in the Landmark Self Expression and Leadership Program (SELP).
When Mark is not coaching or sharing Nonviolence, professionally, he works as a computer scientist — previously, as a professor at Trinity College in Hartford, CT and Central Connecticut State University, and as an employee/consultant at IBM, HP & DEC. Most recently, Mark designed, developed & delivered non-traditional education to individuals with special needs, provided professional technology trainings, and developed Internet technologies and applications. Dr. Friedman received his doctorate in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison researching computer architecture, artificial intelligence and programming languages. He has B.S. and M.S Computer and Systems Engineering degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and an M.S. in Computer and Information Science from Syracuse University.
Over the years, Mark has volunteers in technical & social service organizations as a coach, instructor, organizer, committee chair, board member and creator of online & in-person conferences.
Born and raised in New York City, Mark lives outside of Hartford, CT. He enjoys theater, dining on fine foods, outdoor activities & spending quality time with friends and family.

Fees (9 days of training)

CNVC organizes Intensive Training to support the spread of Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication. In addition, the event supports sustainability for CNVC Certified Trainers and the organization. We invite participants to co-share the mission of holding needs for learning, care, inclusion, community, interdependence and sustainability.

The Registration Fees are as follows (all prices are USD; convert to other currencies):

Standard Registration: $1,700
Early bird discount: $1,394 (Register by 1 June 2021)
Returning/Alumni/Certified Trainers: $1,000
Scholarships: CNVC is dedicated to providing access, so a number of scholarships will be made available after we have reached a funding level to support the interdependent sustainability of trainers and CNVC. Apply for financial assistance.
Scholarship Fund: Your donations support accessibility for participants who have need. Donate here.

In addition to connecting with a global community over 9 days, you will...

Choose from more than 25 sessions conducted by Certified Trainers
Have access to video recordings for at least 12 months to review and refresh your learning.

Travel

Saving a lot of CO2 footprints by being online. 6,000 pounds or more!

Accommodation

You will be able to choose your personal favorite location. We highly recommend you find a place where you will be able to focus on you. A comfortable spot with high speed internet and a computer.

Requests for Support/Scholarships

Visitors and participants to previous VITs raised tens of thousands of dollars for the CNVC VIT scholarship fund, supporting CNVC's sustainability. Contributing to this fund makes this work available for people either in need of financial assistance, or living in global south economies where US dollar prices are often out of reach. Would you consider donating any amount toward our scholarship fund?

CNVC will continue to offer Virtual Intensive Trainings (VITs) through 2021 to connect, engage, and practice Nonviolent Communication in on-line, global community. We have had over 200 participants in our first VITs, from all continents attending.

This summer we plan additional 9 day intensive events in June, July and August, on-line using Zoom to support deeper learning in Community. Trainer Teams are currently being formed for VITs designed to serve: