Together: A Gathering for Facilitators (Vancouver)

Skillful facilitation has the capacity to transform spaces and communities. There’s a special kind of power that is felt when people come together in circle, to speak truth, and to practice better ways of being in dialogue.

Building on the success of its inaugural offering, Hollyhock Leadership Institute, in partnership with the SFU Wosk Centre for Dialogue and the Dialogue and Civic Engagement Certificate program, is once again offering a unique opportunity to co-create such a transformative space.

Together, We Will:

• Develop and deepen networks of mutual support and collaboration with fellow facilitators
• Explore and apply diverse facilitation practices and frameworks
• Gain valuable insights to further their growth as facilitators
• Cultivate a sense of joy and connection in the learning process

As a result of the 2024 and 2025 programs, past participants have:

• Enhanced their facilitation skills, leading to more impactful and transformative group experiences.
• Expanded their professional networks, fostering new opportunities for collaboration and growth.
• Deepened their understanding of group dynamics and dialogue, enabling them to navigate complex conversations with greater skill and ease.
• Left feeling inspired and empowered to create positive change in their communities.

Join us for this enriching experience and discover the transformative power of skillful facilitation!

Please Note: This program takes place in Vancouver, BC. Participants are responsible for their own lodging and meals.

Daily Schedule

Monday-Wednesday, May 25-27, 2026
9:30am – 4:30pm daily

2026 Guest Facilitators

Aftab Erfan (she|her) is a scholar-practitioner, currently serving as the Executive Director of the Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University (SFU), and Associate Member at SFU School of Public Policy. Previously, she was the inaugural Chief Equity Officer at the City of Vancouver, and Director of Dialogue and Conflict Engagement at University of British Columbia (UBC). Aftab holds a PhD in planning from UBC, a Masters in planning from McGill University, and a BSc in environmental sciences from UBC. She has extensive experience as a process designer and facilitator, specializing in hosting dialogues on contentious issues with warmth and creativity. Her experience spans 15 years and five continents. Aftab holds numerous honours, including BC500: most influential business leaders in British Columbia (Business in Vancouver), Research for a Better Life: The Storytellers Challenge (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council), and Best Published Paper Award Shortlist (Association of European Schools of Planning). She is a board member of the Vancouver Foundation, a mother of two boys, and an insatiable reader.

Aslam Bulbulia (he/him) is a 4th generation South African-Indian living on the lands of Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. He is currently working to bring restorative approaches to workplace conflicts drawing on training from Deep Democracy facilitation, mediation, restorative justice, equity, Islamic spirituality and decolonization. His dream is to be in a world where we have the fluency and skills to heal, be in better relationships and make better decisions together.

Beth Cougler Blom is a facilitator and learning designer who, along with her team at BCB Learning Inc., works with client organizations to help them design and facilitate great learning experiences and meetings, both in person and online. Beth is the author of Design to Engage and Everyday Acts of Facilitation and is the host of the Facilitating on Purpose podcast. Learn more about Beth, her team, and their work at bcblearning.com.

Jesi Carson is a design-led engagement practitioner, working at the intersection of participatory democracy, creative pedagogy and collective action. She is Design Director of Participedia, Board President of the Vancouver Design Nerds Society and Co-founder of the Global Classroom for Democracy Innovation. Grounded in “design justice” principles, such as designing with rather than for communities and centering historically marginalized perspectives, Jesi’s work connects research, community building and civic imagination across local and global contexts.

Jocelyn Macdougall delights in convening interesting, passionate and creative people who are striving to make the world better. As the founder of Sticky Nickel Consulting, Jocelyn works with clients across many intersecting justice and liberation movements to build brave containers, facilitating people in dialogue and building strategies for impactful change. She sees every gathering as an opportunity to practice the conditions necessary for collective liberation. For Jocelyn, the arts are a price-of-admission component of a sane, healthy society, as they uniquely enable self and social reflection. As one of the vocalists in Vancouver’s hottest funk & motown band, Queer As Funk, she offers audiences and their connection to joy and to one another, building bridges across difference through the revolutionary power of radical queer friendship and great music.

Leonie Smith is a first-generation Canadian of Jamaican heritage. Her work is centred around her vocation, which is to support people from traditionally and historically marginalised populations to show up in the places that they live, work, and play in their full humanity. She is founder of The Thoughtful Workplace, People of Colour for Nonviolent Communication (POC4NVC), and Necessary Trouble Collective (NTC). Leonie works as an organisational consultant, executive coach, restorative and transformative justice mediator and trainer sharing principles of non-violence and Nonviolent Communication. She has over 20 years of experience in senior management positions in nonprofit organisations in communications, fundraising and human resources. Leonie is also a certified trainer in Nonviolent Communication, through the Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC) and a certified Facilitator and Trainer with Sociocracy for All. She resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and works internationally.

Susanna Haas Lyons, M.A., facilitates collaboration for impactful key decisions and stronger organizations. She has 20+ years international leadership experience in designing, facilitating, managing and evaluating complex civic engagement efforts.

Bridging online and face-to-face methods, Susanna has helped build alignment on challenging policy topics including land use, energy, healthcare, emergency management, and housing. She also provides training for better conversations between the public and decision makers, as an instructor for Simon Fraser University’s Dialogue and Civic Engagement certificate program, and for agencies across North America. For a decade, Susanna served as a judge for the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Canada’s annual Core Values awards that recognize excellence and innovation in public participation.

Offered in Partnership with