Hosting Conversations about Questions that Matter
Introductions
There are people gathering here in the World Cafe community from literally all over the world, and it is so exciting!!! I really want to meet everyone, and I know I'm not alone. Would you please tell us a little about yourself here, just as an introduction, so we can start to learn about each other? Where do you live? How did you learn about the World Cafe? What are your interests and passions?
Thank you!
Thank you!
Tags: community, introductions, stories
Replies to This Conversation
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Permalink Reply by Amy Lenzo on -
I'll start! :-)
I'm blessed to live in northern California, right across the bay from San Francisco. I can see the city skyline and the extraordinary Golden Gate bridge whenever I walk along the bay, or drive over one of the many bridges in this area. I came here in 1999 from Brighton, a wonderful town on the south coast of England, where I had lived (and loved) for 13 years.
I've been working intensively with the World Cafe for almost 4 years now. I knew about it before, and had worked with Juanita and Ken Homer on the logistics of bringing the World Cafe to a conference I was co-organizing in 2003, and I knew several people in the community personally, but I didn't really start working formally with the World Cafe until they brought me in as a web designer and online communications consultant in late 2005, early 2006.
In learning about what needed to go on a World Cafe website I was of necessity learning about everything at once and I found myself falling in love with the people and the spirit of what was happening here. Around the same time, Juanita called a meeting of "Girl Geeks" in early 2006. The Girl Geeks were a group of women that Juanita brought together to help the World Cafe "enter the digital age", a direction she intuitively knew was important but felt unequipped to lead. That meeting marked the beginning of not only a fabulous period of fun and professional development in my own life but also a beautiful circle of friendships that have only grown and strengthened through time.
I learned more and more and soon my work became clear - to help make this incredible community and the work you are all doing in the world visible - to the world and to each other. So the virtual communications constellation was born to begin doing that - this constellation includes the World Cafe website, the newsletters, the translation of the book into new languages, the StoryNet, the blogs, our grass-roots resourcing program, our videos, our presence and participation in various social media, and now this new online community space!
As you can imagine, it is an enormous pleasure to me and the rest of the World Cafe Community Foundation team to see all of you coming together here!
My passion for spreading the spirit of World Cafe has continue to unfold and now besides my work in caring for our global communications, I have been developing our capacity to host World Cafes using the internet. My intent is to create truly hospitable space in the online environment and bring the magic and connection of the face to face World Cafe experience into the online sphere. The online world can never replace the face to face experience, nor is it meant to, but there are advantages to virtual World Cafes that are not available otherwise, as well, including the ability to connect across great geographic distances.
I think I'll stop here and leave some space for others to introduce themselves! I look forward to meeting you.
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Permalink Reply by John Inman on -
Amy I will drop an introduction in over the weekend coming up. By the way I did not sense an English accent in your writing. :-)
John
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Permalink Reply by Enrique Abadesco on -
Hi Everyone,
My name is Ric Abadesco. I'm an independent OD consultant based in Manila, Philippines. I was in the ODN Conference in SF in 2006 and heard Juanita talk about World Cafe. I've been hooked since then and have facilitated several cafe conversations in the Philippines.
I was President of the People Management Association of the Philippines in 2008 (the oldest and largest professional organization of HR and people managers in the Philippines) and have hosted a World Cafe event in our annual convention in 2007 with more than 800 in attendance. It was a blast and people really felt connected!
Amy, I really appreciate your passion and commitment to spreading the World Cafe and in setting up this website. I feel two connecting points with you --1) One of my best friends and former Exxon OD colleagues comes from Brighton; 2) my wife's family lives in San Francisco, my favorite US city.
Good to hear from everyone else...what a wonderful diverse group!
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Permalink Reply by Juanita Brown -
Hi Enrique,
How wonderful to see you here. I'm so excited to hear of what you've been doing in the Phillipines as we had NO idea that the World Cafe had spread there--and with 800 folks no less!
Can you share some stories with the community of what you've been doing there-- and especially how your event with the People Management Association went in 2007.
With warm regards and appreciation,
Juanita
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Permalink Reply by SHarie Patty on -
Hi
I am Sharie Patty form Lubbock TX. I work with college students, elementary children and their families in a fabulous afterschool program. I use World CAfe in our staff development. I learned about it from Meg Wheatley's book I think.
Looking forward to a cup of conversation with the world.
Sharie PAtty
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I am Lucho Jacobsen from Bogota Colombia. I am a OD consultant in knowledge mgt and org. learning. I combine large groups conversations with experiential training, like outdoors, low and high ropes courses.
We are starting a local colombian community to spread the voice as fast and effective as possible, because there will have to be loooooots of dialogue in our country to resettle peace, and crate development.
It is just great to join this community, I feel I am not alone in a field of knowledge made by practice and search for own truth.
Yours, Luis Carlos
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World Cafe, Appreciative Inquiry, OST and "Wicked Problem Solving"...
Managing Director of The Institute for Enterprise Transformation - a Think Tank devoted to non-linear thinking and non-linear (wicked) problem solving... Our next project - the reinvention of a community devastated by the loss of a major employer (10,000 people)
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Hi Amy and Hello Everyone
My name is Mireille (said like Me-Ray)
I'm a corporate educator currently on sabbatical. I will be looking for a job this fall. it's time to get back to work.
My sister is here from Montreal. So I get a chance to spend time with both my sister and my mother.
Summer here is Toronto has been up to now yucky - garbage strike (i'm not a fan of Unions) and fall like temperature. It has also been raining. My poor flowers. They looked so wonderful when I planted them. It's raining now as I write this. The positive is that I save on air conditioning and water. My grass looks fabulous Hopefully August will be better. I BBQ'd last night and we sat out under the gazebo and had a wonderful dinner. So I'm optimistic -- oh and they will be picking garbage once again.
I write for a US magzine called Training Media Review
This summer I'm writing a series on Social Media and one on Visual Communication
I'm taking a course at Webcast Academy
I'm taking another course -- Leight's Blackwell's course called FAciliatating Online This course is being facilitated by Sarah Stewart
and that's it.
Mireille
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My name is Kelley Roy and I live in Portland, Oregon. I found out about World Cafe through a small business group that is forming here. I have been doing green building development and sustainable business development for the past 4 years and recently started a consulting arm of my company, Sassafras Green Building Development + Consulting (www.sassafrasgreenbuilding.com) . I provide sustainability consulting services, including strategic business planning, grassroots marketing strategies and effective program development, to small local startups and existing small businesses throughout the Pacific Northwest. For my clients in Portland, I am creating an Advisory Board of individuals who
- have successfully started their own business
- have provided financial, legal and business development services to successful startup companies
- are strategic thinkers who have their finger on the pulse of trends in sustainability from a variety of industries (food, planning, design, building, education, real estate, retail, etc)
- have an interest in supporting sustainable small businesses in the Portland Metro Region
- are interested in being part of a support network for each other (as small business owners)
- can provide objective analysis of business concepts
Environmental protection is the foundation of my work; the focus of my education and expertise; and what keeps me motivated to make positive change in the world. If you are looking for creative ways to be more sustainable I can help. Call me now for a FREE 30 minute consultation. I look forward to working with you.
Kelley Roy
206-304-4899
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Do you know Watkins Park Tavern in Clackamas? My sister in law owns it.
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Olá! Sou Edmilson Martins.
Gosto de pensar que estamos construindo um mundo melhor para nós mesmos, para noso semelhante e nosso próximo. Isso me faz acordar cedo e começar bem o dia.
Devemos usar os recursos com sapiência, consciência e responsabilidade, sejam eles a água, a energia, o dinheiro, o meio ambiente... ...e até a palavra.
Sou o Idealizador do Boulevard Paulistano.
BOULEVARD PAULISTANO é um projeto socioambiental e cultural que tem como direcionamento
de trabalho o planejamento e execução de ações educativas e pró-ativas para adultos,
jovens e crianças, sobre a necessidade de transformação social em relação a
sustentabilidade.
Promove a conscientização, integração e inclusão social através de questionamentos
públicos e diálogos colaborativos abrigando grupos diversos da Comunidade.
[ ]´s
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Sr. Martins. Obrigado para sua introdução. Eu desculpo-me usando Babel-Fish para ajudar a traduzir. A transformação social com a discussão é crítica a desenvolver um worldview saudável. Obrigado para sua liderança em sua região.
Dennis Mixer
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
© 2009 Created by Amy Lenzo
