Facilitation for a convening hosted by a major criminal justice funder

When a major criminal justice funder convened over forty leaders from across the country for a day-and-a-half strategy session, we were brought in to facilitate the design and flow of the gathering.

Our work began by helping the funder clarify the purpose of the convening—not just to share updates, but to surface shared priorities and identify actionable opportunities for the months and years ahead. We took time to understand the dynamics, culture, and personalities in the room, ensuring the agenda reflected not only the funder’s goals but also the leadership styles and lived experiences of participants.

We built a flexible facilitation framework that created space for both bold visioning and honest reflection, including a grounding conversation about the political and historical moment in which this work is unfolding. Through a series of structured dialogues and interactive exercises, we helped the group identify key threats and challenges in the field, surface areas of alignment, and explore possibilities for collective action. By the end of the session, participants had built a shared understanding of the current landscape and had coalesced around a handful of tangible opportunities for collaboration—leaving with clarity, momentum, and a sense of renewed purpose.