Sociocracy For All’s 7th Annual Sociocracy Conference 2024
the interrelated
Annual Sociocracy Conference 2024
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Discovering the 7th Annual Sociocracy Conference 2024
The Interrelated Nature of Sociocracy
Governance is the intersection of people, their intentions, and their actions. Sociocracy facilitates better interaction and integration – aligning people with their actions and intentions, and fostering alignment among individuals.
Exploring Interrelatedness
“Related” means to “bring back” into the other realm. “Interrelatedness” extends the feedback loop in all directions, connecting everything and forming a bigger whole.
Sociocracy thrives on interdependence derived from interconnectedness and differentiation, where each system part contributes, resulting in something new.
Conference’s Focus on Interrelatedness
Interrelatedness between people: Meet, connect, explore topics, and leave refreshed in your longing for a world of dignity and shared power.
Interrelatedness between organizations: Learn from others’ experiences and improve as a movement.
Interrelatedness between movements: Explore practices that align well with sociocracy in talks and networking sessions.
This conference is unique – designed not just to inform but to foster networking, providing ample opportunities for conversations and learning from others.
Sectors Covered
Discover a transformative convergence of minds, passion, and purpose across various sectors:
- Business
- Grassroots Groups
- Nonprofits
- Associations and Networks
- Education
- Cooperatives
The 7th Annual Sociocracy Conference Program
Sessions
Welcome! Sociocracy and interrelatedness
○ 12:00-12:30 UTC
Welcoming and overview of the conference’s agenda.
Synergies among Long-lasting Decision-Making Models
○ 12:30-13:20 UTC
Whether you’re actively reshaping decision-making processes or just beginning to explore the possibilities, many established frameworks could guide your journey: do you have to chose only one?
In an participative session where you will also take the mic and share with other participants, we will engage in a journey through enduring organizational models that prioritize autonomy, engagement, and collective dynamics, thanks to real-life examples in a variety of industries and countries.
The intention is to help you gain valuable insights into Sociocracy and its compatibility with successful organizational frameworks. You will also discover practical steps to empower teams, foster a culture of shared decision-making, and an your organization towards a more sustainable and inclusive future.
In this session, we’ll illuminate the many paths through complexity, enhancing efficiency and performance in the corporate arena.
Nerds Rule (But Not Automatically)
○ 12:30-13:20 UTC
The Dala Institute is composed of self-identifying social science nerds with a penchant for feminism. We provide consulting and research services related to people and nature. The company has quickly grown from a small group of director/owners working with consultants to 13 staff based in Indonesia. As we grew, we failed to adapt to our governance needs resulting in a lack of agency among several staff who expressed feeling overworked and unheard. Seeking a more engaging and empowering approach, we embarked on a journey of exploring alternative governance models to bring us back to our purpose. In this presentation, we’ll share our story, from the initial spark of this change to the challenges and triumphs we’ve encountered along the way. We’ll discuss the perspectives of ‘experts’ on our structure, the practical hurdles we’ve faced within traditional systems & the positive impact this transformation has had on our team, fostering a sense of purpose.
Los Portales, an inside-out journey
○ 13:30-14:20 UTC
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the creation of Los Portales, a community based on inner work and Jungian dreamwork, which landed in Andalusia in 1984. Sociocracy has come at just the right time to help the project move forward even further.
In this presentation, Charlie will take you through the evolution of the project and show you how sociocracy has “naturally” become the project management tool at Los Portales : how sociocracy brought transparency and self-empowerment to the project. How the project “shaped” sociocracy so that it could truly take all voices into account. How they organized their upper circle to open up to other dimensions. How each of them practices their own internal sociocracy. And many other « hows”…
If you are interested in the field of ecovillages and ecocommunities, if you wonder how to build your organization in a sociocratic way while remaining true to its fundamentals, if you want to resonate with a human adventure, this presentation is for you.
Transforming Perspectives Together With Sociocracy
○ 13:30-14:20 UTC
Let’s face it—implementing sociocracy can be hard! Even with 100% buy-in and the best resources available, implementations can be troubled by surprise forces like unexpected resistance, confusion, and disorientation. Fortunately, researchers of adult learning have been investigating what happens in these kinds of experiences for over 40 years—they call it transformative learning. What they’ve discovered can help not only de-mystify these experiences but also support practitioners in navigating them more skillfully.
In this interactive session, we’ll apply principles of transformative learning to our own experiences of practicing sociocracy to make sense of the disorientations that come with learning that transforms. This session is for anyone who 1) has struggled to understand why, despite best efforts and intentions, practice can be so difficult; and 2) wants to discover what transformative learning can offer toward more successful sociocracy learning and practice outcomes.
International Transformative Learning Association
Sharing Power for a Just & Inclusive Food System
Clarke Bankert, T Sogoba, Kia Aoki
○ 14:30-15:20 UTC
How can Sociocracy support community-based, grassroots organizing to transform our food system? The Hampshire County Food Policy Council, perhaps one of the only food policy councils in the country to utilize Sociocracy as a governance model, will share their journey from seed –> flower –> harvest. The highlights will our origin story, as well as many real, tangible changes to our local food system and our longer-term work towards deeper systemic shifts, including culture and narrative-shifting efforts. They will also speak to some of the challenges that they continue to face as they apply Sociocracy — the ways it has opened many new opportunities for transformation, and the work still left to do to share power meaningfully and effectively across positionality, sector and identity. This session will be interactive and may be helpful for people working in the food system realm and more generally in community-based coalitions and relational organizing.
Hampshire County Food Policy Council
Deepening the circle
Kåre Wangel, JoAnne O’Brien-Levin, Marc Choyt
○ 14:30-15:20 UTC
What can indigenous wisdom traditions teach us about the circular processes of understand-explore-decide, lead-do-measureand observation-feeling-need-request?
With outset in the works of the two indigenous wisdom keepers, Paula Underwood and Tu Moonwalker, we try and reconcile the depth of traditional nine step Circle with that of three or four step circles in the methods we use in Sociocracy. How do these circular patterns speak to each other metaphysically, and what can the omitted steps tell us about the processes we think we know?
Much of indigenous wisdom is based on the application of Circle as a blueprint for coherent relationality. We will explore how Circle supports profound coherence through qualities such as radical inclusiveness, neutrality and central fire. We will present our preliminary work with some interesting findings, but mostly with a wish to hear your reactions to this attempt at broadening the methods we all use and hold dear.
Compassionate Sociocracy
○ 15:30-16:20 UTC
How do we bring heart into our sociocratic practice? How do we integrate the compassionate mindset of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) into meetings and organizational conflict engagement? Jerry will review the basics of NVC/Compassionate Communication and give examples of how they apply within facilitation, meeting practices, and organizational policies. And maybe do a little bit of live practice.
Improving Facilitation with Nonviolent Communication
○ 15:30-16:20 UTC
As a certified trainer for sociocracy and non-violent communication (NVC) I have experienced the fascinating synergies of these two in my work with cohousing projects, companies, associations over the last years. I am convinced that NVC can massively contribute to the success of organisations using sociocracy.
NVC helps us to strengthen interpersonal relationships and can boost our competency as a facilitator. If you would like to know how an awareness of feelings and needs can deepen the way you facilitate decision-making and feedback processes, this session is for you. We will focus on helpful questions you can ask when facilitating different types of rounds in the consent decision making process. We will integrate objections by exploring the needs the person expressing a concern is trying to fulfill and explore how NVC can even deepen and transform the 360 degree feedback format. Last not least, we will discover our triggers when facilitating and try out appreciative ways to interrupt circle members.
Kathrin Schmitz is a board member of Sociocracy Center Germany who has completed her trainer certification in the first round of SoFAs academy. (www.echt-im-team)
Adaptive Organizations – Power-with + Power-within
○ 16:30-17:20 UTC
Have you tried converting your team or organization to using Sociocracy, or would like to?
Implementing Sociocracy isn’t always easy! Any organizational transition comes with a natural resistance to change – even when that change is positive. That’s why Bernadette uses a holistic approach to implementing Sociocracy which includes structure, culture and capacities.
She supports her clients in becoming an adaptive organization, or a “Self-managing Developmental Organization” (SDO). By combining Sociocracy with embedded practices to create a safe and supportive learning culture (based in Kegan and Lahey’s work Deliberately Developmental Organizations and Immunity to Change), people build their capacity to use Sociocratic structures well. Her motto is, “you can’t have power-with unless you have power-within.”
Real clients will join us to share their insights, challenges and experience of becoming an SDO. We’ll leave plenty of time for a hearty Q&A so you can learn together with us!
Changing the Way We Live Together
○ 16:30-17:20 UTC
After 50 years of using a traditional governance structure, Jesus People Chicago adopted Sociocracy in the summer of 2023. This intentional community, located in a 10-story vintage hotel in the Uptown neighborhood, is comprised of 180 members and 15 mission businesses. Come and hear how they landed on Sociocracy as their governance model and how the introduction, consent, and implementation process has gone so far. They will also share how, by using Sociocracy, their members have deepened their community involvement, found their voices, and feel a new sense of agency and ownership in how they live together.
A Spiritual Community’s Journey with Sociocracy
Brian Palmeri, Juliette Jack Banerjee, Kathy Mitchell-Garton, Fred Jaben
○ 17:30-18:20 UTC
Has your organization struggled with the mental transition from traditional hierarchy to sociocracy? In our experience, shedding old mindsets of hierarchy, decision-making, and leadership capacity have been a continuous challenge – and learning the technical elements of sociocracy hasn’t been enough. Join us as we are transparent about our successes and stumbles as our members have grappled with the paradigm shift that this change prompted. We will ask participants to share whether they have had similar experiences and how they moved through them. We’re guessing this may resonate with you too….so we’ll see you there!
Shambhala Meditation Center of Denver (SMCD)
Scars Of Traumas: The Impacts of SoFA Participation
○ 17:30-18:20 UTC
This presentation examines some of the difficulties for inclusion of members into SOFA circles, especially with the facilitation process who come from a place of trauma. Presenter will share some of her insights and learning of how identity, race, disability, and diversity impact members from participation fully within SoFA circles. Sharing of the intersectionality of individuals situation, social, and communication factors that are relevant for BIPOC Deaf members experiences attending and facilitating SoFA circles will be highlighted. Suggestions for future explorations to broaden the understanding of how SoFA Leaders can lessen the impact of such traumas that Deaf members bring to SoFA circles will also be discussed. This presentation will conclude with the presenter’s own personal example that reflects the intersectionality of a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person of Color) Deaf lived experiences through participation and facilitation of SoFA circles during the past year.
Diversity Academy for Interpreters LLC
Sociocracy in a Multi-Million Cohousing Project?
○ 18:30-19:20 UTC
How do you build a multi-million cohousing project as a self-managed group? In a project where people are investing their lifetime savings, how do you create an adequate level of safety?
Lie will present how her cohousing group has developed a governance model that could be called “Sociocracy Plus”. She will go over how her group has made some tweaks to the decision-making processes, including the creation of a “Full Circle” and a differentiation of decisions in function of their importance.
Lie will also present how her group has adopted an ‘open source’ approach to information flows: almost all of the group’s proposals and information flows are made publicly available online. She will explain how using functional online platform has increased efficiency, transparency and safety. It also makes cohousing knowledge available to serve a wider community.
Join in if you are interested in tweaking sociocratic governance and/or turning information flows into a public good!
Can Sociocracy be applied to DAO governance?
○ 18:30-19:20 UTC
How to DAO it? Can Sociocracy be successfully applied to DAO governance?
In this interactive session Nikoline Arns will go into the Decentralized (digital) Autonomous Organisations structures, gives some examples and shows some possible applications of Sociocracy applied to DAO’s. She shows us what are the main challenges and what to think of or work with.
It will be an introduction by Nikoline Arns and a possible guest, with the last half working with suggestions and experiences around this topic with the audience.
It could be interesting for DAO founders as well as Organisations (cooperatives) who would like to expand digitally or engage their community into their organisation as shareholders.
You would hopefully walk out of the session with more questions than answers 😉 because all the experiences and questions have open your mind in new ways to decentralize decision making at scale.
Sociocracy and Non-Punitive Harm Response
○ 19:30-20:20 UTC
How do we address harm and practice peer based accountability within decentralized organizations? Spring Up is an abolitionist collective of liberatory facilitators and consultants. We use Sociocracy internally, and support organizations in building accountability and feedback mechanisms (and, if they’re open to it, implementing Sociocracy!). We will share about the Conflict and Harm, Access, and Community circles we have experimented with to build a preventative and caring infrastructure for harm, as well as lessons from our mediation and consulting. This will be an interactive skill and story sharing presentation with lots of space for questions and resource sharing with participants. Come join us to learn about our experiments and share your own!
THI – The Journey of an All Volunteer Organization
○ 19:30-20:20 UTC
No staff? No funds? No governance? – No problem! – Really? Can sociocracy still get you there? In the time we have together Mary and Monika will take you on a real life Hero’s Journey of an all volunteer organization, sharing its glorious pitfalls and resilient bounce-backs towards re-defining and re-invigorating itself. After a brief story telling, participants will be irresistibly drawn into conversation with their own Hero’s Journey.
This conversation is for you if you are experiencing disruption and chaos in your organization or work-group. Be the Hero of your own journey!
Governance Alive, The HANDLE Institute (THI)
Meetups
Meetup: Help! I’m “the sociocracy person” in my organization
Rhonda Baird
○ 12:30-13:20 UTC
In many organizations, it’s one “burning soul” that champions sociocracy by bringing it into the organization and by supporting sociocracy internally. Is that you?
These initiators and governance enthusiast often play a double role – being a peer and being a steward. And that can bring difficult dynamics with it – with resistance and power drama and projections.
Meetup: Power dynamics. What if people resist to sociocracy?
Sanket
○ 13:30-14:20 UTC
Sociocracy changes the structure – those who previously didn’t have power step up, and those who previously had power share power. But that doesn’t “just” happen. Hierarchical and informal structures come with sneaky power patterns, and it can be a wild ride to open that can of worms – resistance to change comes in many shapes and forms.
In this meetup, we will share stories and (maybe) commiserate some. But we also want to share stories of what to do. What helped groups through the dynamics in a healthy way?
Meetup: Sociocracy and a culture of care
Audrée Morin
○ 14:30-15:20 UTC
In this meetup, we will share our thoughts on sociocracy and care with each other. What does care look like for you?
What needs of yours does care meet? What changes do you observe in terms of care when working sociocratically?
What impacts do those changes have on you?
Does it mean we are weak if we prefer a culture of care? Why or why not?
Meetup: IT tools and sociocracy
John Clark
○ 15:30-16:20 UTC
Share your experience, your questions, and your ideas around how to use IT tools, software, and the Internet to support sociocratic organizations and processes.
Meetup: How to connect better sociocracy and other friendly movements
John Buck
○ 16:30-17:20 UTC
Share your experience, your questions, and your ideas around how to use IT tools, software, and the Internet to support sociocratic organizations and processes.
Meetup: Languages and sectors
Rhonda Baird
○ 17:30-18:20 UTC
Find your fellow travelers! In these meetups, you can find people who speak the same language or are involved in the same sector as you.
Meet-up: 7 errors game
Sanket
○ 18:30-19:20 UTC
Come point out 7 errors (or more) in a sociocratic implementation proposal in this fun exploration meeting. Also take the opportunity to learn about other approaches and make connections. If you want, you can bring your own case for us to examine.
(based on the principles of the U-process)
Meetup: Random get-to-knows
Zujeil Flores
○ 19:30-20:20 UTC
“It’s like a blind date, just for sociocracy.” Sometimes we can’t plan the perfect encounter – sometimes just letting chance create its own wonderful serendipities is what it takes. Join us for random breakouts to have several 7-min conversations to meet someone new!
Training and Implementation support (group coaching)
Ask a consultant: How to start the discussion on sociocracy
Jerry Koch-Gonzalez
○ 12:30-13:20 UTC
You are interested in sociocracy, and your organization is running in a traditional way. Where do you even start? In this session, an experienced trainer will give a short overview of the most important points, and then participants can discuss how those apply to their real-life situations. What might be the most effective strategy for you in your organization?
Mini-training: Sociocracy and psychological safety
Francine Proulx-Kenzle
○ 13:30-14:20 UTC
How does sociocracy provide psychological safety? In this mini-training, we will give an impulse presentation of 10 min and then invite for conversations about this topic. Join us to learn from our trainers and your peers – and make sure to contribute with your own experiences. Many voices make for better organizations.
Mini-training: Objections practice
Zujeil Flores
○ 14:30-15:20 UTC
If we can’t say no, we are also never really saying yes. That’s why objections are the heart of consent, and making it easy to object is a shared interest for everyone. The better we get at objecting and integrating objections, the better we can become at sharing, learning and adapting what we do. In this class, our trainer will share the basics and then give opportunities to practice.
Anti-oppressive HR – a conversation
○ 15:30-16:20 UTC
What do sociocratic organizations need to keep in mind to cover the legal bases and to support people in a role-based organization? How can “new HR” be part of the regenerative movement? In this group coaching session, an experienced HR consultant will give a short set of pointers and the answer questions about the transition. Note: group coaching is not a substitute for legal advice.
Mini-training: performance reviews and selections
Thomas Kemps
○ 16:30-17:20 UTC
The sociocratic selection processes and performance reviews are wonderful ways to add peer feedback and peer accountability so teamwork can flourish. Learn how to use these simple step-by-step processes and reflect on the transformative power they might unleash in your organization.
Ask a consultant: “Getting certified for sociocracy”
Jerry Koch-Gonzalez, Barbara Strauch, John Buck
○ 17:30-18:20 UTC
Interested in getting certifitied as a consultant? In this session, you can talk to board members of the International Sociocracy Certification Board and learn about the requirements and pathways to be recognized internationally as a sociocracy consultant. See https://iscb.earth/
Mini-training: Special circle structures – how to fit sociocracy into complex situations
Ted Rau
○ 18:30-19:20 UTC
Sometimes a simple structure of work circles, subcircles, General Circle and Mission Circle is not enough. We might also want to have all-member meetings, regional chapters, cross-connections and more many-to-many relationships of circles. How can we do that well? In this session, we will share some of the more wild structures and point out the important design criteria for them. This session is for experienced learners!
Ask a consultant: Boards and sociocracy
Jerry Koch-Gonzalez
○ 19:30-20:20 UTC
Boards as the legal interface hold legal and fiduciary responsibility. How does that go together with a decentralized organization? Where does the board sit in a sociocratic structure, and what other considerations does an organization need to keep in mind?
Closing Session
○ 20:20-20:30 UTC
Featured Speakers at the 7th Annual Sociocracy Conference
Abbie Kempson
What do sociocratic organizations need to keep in mind to cover the legal bases and to support people in their employment? How can HR move into anti-oppressive practice and become part of the regenerative movement?
In this group coaching session, an experienced HR consultant will give a short set of pointers and answer questions about the transition. Note: group coaching is not a substitute for legal advice.
Bernadette Wesley
Bernadette Wesley is an organizational consultant and coach, helping leaders and their teams flourish as Self-managing Developmental Organizations (SDO). She integrates Sociocratic power-with structures with developing the inner skills and capacities to use those structures well.
She is a Kegan/Lahey Certified Immunity to Change Facilitator and is Certified in Sociocracy, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), and Integrative Mind-Body Therapy with over 25 years experience bridging inner and outer transformation. She is also the Inner Development Goals (IDG) Hub Coordinator for Porto, Portugal.
Brian Palmeri
(he/him)
Brian Palmeri is a Personal Finance Coach by profession. In this role he listens and supports participants in identifying steps to reach their financial goals. In doing this work, Brian pays attention to what is said, as well as what is unsaid. This skill, along with his interest in community development, brought him to become involved in supporting the transition towards a participatory and equity-based form of governance (sociocracy) at the Shambhala Meditation Center of Denver (SMCD) https://denver.shambhala.org/ – of which Brian has been a part since 2019. Brian is currently the Leader of the Going Forward Together (GFT) circle at SMCD and is the Colorado Representative of the Shambhala Global Community Council https://shambhala.org/about/shambhala-leadership/global-community-council/. Brian’s other interests include playing ice hockey, gardening, and hiking in the Colorado foothills and mountains.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DenverShambhala/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denver_shambhala/
Charlie Lenglez
Born in Belgium, Charlie Lenglez was introduced, at the age of 20, to the Jungian psychology and dreamwork and co-founded in Spain the Los Portales community, along with his “soul family ». Passionate about working with dreams as a tool for personal development and group cohesion, he’s been involved in teaching and training for 35 years. He was trained in Sociocracy with John Buck and Gilles Charest, and participates in its dissemination in Spain. He was coordinator of the Iberian ecovillage network for 6 years and a member of the Council of GEN Europe for 3 years and and introduced the sociocratic model to these organizations.
Through what he learns every day with Los Portales and the networks, he’s deeply convinced of our responsibility as “guardians of the Planet” and of the importance of co-creating and co-learning not only among humans, but with all terrestrial and other dimensions. The time we live in is a real challenge, …and we can only make it together.
https://www.facebook.com/pascal.c.lenglez/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-p-lenglez/
https://www.instagram.com/charlielenglez/
Clarke Bankert
Clarke Bankert (she/her/they/them) is a white, mixed class, queer human originally from the Adirondack region and currently living in Western Massachusetts. She is the Senior Manager for Community Inclusion Strategies at the Collaborative for Educational Services, and in this role she facilitates a variety of community-led processes to promote healthy communities, shift power to people most impacted by health inequities, and dismantle systems of oppression that harm everyone. She is one of several co-founders of the Hampshire County Food Policy Council, and currently serves as Fiscal Coordinator for the Council. Clarke also parents two energetic and quirky kids and loves playing music with people more than almost anything else in the world.
Facebook: Hampshire County Food Policy Council
Instagram: @hcfpc
Connie Sitanggang
Connie Sitanggang focusses on operational efficiency and effectiveness.
Dr. Suzette Garay
(they/she/ella/one) Dr. Garay is a Deaf Person of Color (DPOC) and a third generational Latina(E) from South America, Nicaragua and a third member of a family who was born Deaf. She holds the following degrees: BA, MA. PSY.S, and a Ph.D. Her major areas of studies are Special Education with an emphasis on Deafness and Learning Disabilities, Psychology, and teaching of American Sign Language. She is currently a retired Educational Psychologist and teaches online diversity training courses and has facilitated with SoFA and recently became a certified facilitator through SoFA Academy. She also co-owns a private online website working with many families, individuals, and private business owners about interpreting, accessibility, diversity, and advocacy more specifically with diverse Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind consumers. Dr. Garay can be reached at www.thediversityacademy.com if interested in having trainings or workshops.
Fred Jaben
Fred Jaben is a retired community organizer and organizational consultant. He has been a member of the Shambhala community since 1995 and has served as a volunteer Director or Co-Director of the Shambhala Meditation Center of Denver (SMCD) for 10 years. Fred serves as a part of the Going Forward Together (GFT) circle helping to implement SMCDs version of sociocracy.
Jerry Koch-Gonzalez
Jerry Koch-Gonzalez has been a certified sociocracy consultant since 2012. With his partner Ted Rau, he co-founded Sociocracy For All in 2016 and published the book Many Voices One Song: Shared Power with Sociocracy in 2018. Jerry is also a certified Nonviolent Communication trainer since 2008 and lives in the Cherry Hill Cohousing community in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.
JoAnne O’Brien-Levin
JoAnne O’Brien-Levin is co-auther of Business Revolution through Ancestral Wisdom about the applicability of the circle in business and has studied with Tu Moonwalker and Paula Underwood.
Juliette Jack Banerjee
Juliette Jack Banerjee is a citizen of the world, currently living and pondering life in Colorado. After many years in nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations nurturing improvements in women’s economic and social health and well-being, she is currently a personal chef, teacher of kitchen arts and nourishment, and community gardener. Her dedication to spiritual community keeps her involved with the Shambhala Meditation Center of Denver where she is involved with several circles, and committed to the process of transitioning the center to less/no hierarchy and more diversity, inclusion, belonging, and social justice.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DenverShambhala/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denver_shambhala/
Kåre Wangel
Kåre Wangel works with Sociocracy and Non-Violent Communication in a consultancy coop in Denmark. He has previously researched Nordic ‘Ting’-governance as a precursor to Sociocracy.
Karl Sullivan
Karl Sullivan has been a member of The Jesus People Community since 1985. He has worked in multiple areas of the community throughout his years at JP, currently serving as the Building Manager of Wilson Abbey (the JP ministry building), the ED of Everybody’s Coffee (a JP mission business) and the Art Director for the community. Karl is a member of multiple Sociocracy circles, most notably the JP General Circle. He is also a spiritual director and facilitator of Ignatian spirituality retreats. Karl and his wife, Sarah, are parents to two adult sons, Karl David and Kaleb.
Facebook: Karl Sullivan
LinkedIn: Karl Sullivan
Instagram: @dukeleto
Kathrin Schmitz
Kathrin Schmitz enjoys working with companies (IT, pharma, consulting, agriculture), cohousing projects/intentional communities, associations, non-governmental organisations and networks as a certified trainer for sociocracy and non-violent communication. For many years she worked in a typical hierarchical environment in a consulting company, also in leadership positions. For seven years she lived and worked in Asia. Kathrin is so passionate about sociocracy and non-violent communication that she quit her career and secure employment in 2018 to work as a freelance trainer and consultant – she has never regretted it. For the last four years, Kathrin has been a board member of Sociocracy Center Germany: Kathrin Schmitz – Soziokratie Zentrum Deutschland, she was also active in SoFA for many years and finished her sociocracy trainer certification with SoFA.
Her homepage (English translation is not ready yet, but Kathrin is ready to deliver all trainings and workshops in English, too – in person or online): www.echt-im-team.de
Kathy Mitchell-Garton
Kathy Mitchell-Garton is a textile artist in Lakewood, Colorado. In her work she explores the intersection of landscape, environment, history, and family using found textiles, photographic images, thread and beads. In addition to her art making, she has worked in non-profit administration and libraries. She holds an MFA from Naropa University and an MLS from Indiana University. She has been involved with Shambhala for over 20 years and is currently serving as head of the Programming Circle.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DenverShambhala/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denver_shambhala/
Kia Aoki
Kia Aoki is one of the co-founders of the Hampshire County Food Policy Council (HCFPC). Her past experience with homelessness, as well as her current experience as a long-time resident of public housing, inspired her to become involved in the HCFPC during its formation stage so that she could transform the food system to better serve the needs of her community. Kia is a multifaceted leader in the Food Policy Council – she participates in a number of circles, serving as facilitator, coordinator, delegate and scribe. She has also served in a newly created role as Community Liaison, to recruit, support and engage community members to participate in the HCFPC. She also works on projects related to community-led solutions to economic oppression and community based participatory assessment and research.
Kristen Del Simone
Kristen Del Simone is a U.S.-based educator, trainer, consultant, and coach specializing in leadership development and team effectiveness. Her research and practice are primarily focused around networked and distributed approaches to leadership that cultivate and leverage collective intelligence and wisdom in groups and teams.
Kristen’s interest in sociocracy and other methods of decentralized management and organizational governance stems from her own intuitions and desires for better and more humane ways of doing and being together. She has experienced both successful and failed (and oftentimes mixed!) implementations of self-management frameworks like sociocracy and continues to believe these frameworks hold great potential for generative and transformational change.
Leander Roth
Leander Roth (they/he) is Spring Up’s mythematician and co-founder. He lives on Ute, Arapaho, and Cheyenne unceded lands in Denver, CO. Leander is a systems thinker and conflict strategist who enjoys supporting organizations in building shared power and decentralization. They also love supporting founders in organizational design. Leander is a European-American (white) transmasculine settler committed to learning and unlearning in the service of collective liberation.
Stas Schmiedt
Stas Schmiedt (they/them) is a Queer, Nonbinary, Black-Italian also based on Ute, Arapaho, and Cheyenne unceded lands in Denver, CO. In addition to being a Co-Founder of Spring Up, Stas is also the “Imaginatrix” and Lead Curriculum Designer. Their interwoven backgrounds in conflict intervention, speculative fiction writing, transformative and restorative justice, cooperative governance, as well as abolitionist and anti-violence organizing make them a dynamic and adaptive leader, speaker, and facilitator.
Instagram: @timetospringup
Twitter: @timetospringup
Lie Heymans
Lie is one of the co-founders of Cohousing The Reef, a group that is building a 20-30 unit cohousing in Brussels (Belgium), a densely populated capital in the heart of Europe.
Facing an incredible challenge – 90% of all beginning cohousing groups fail – and having no particular experience or expertise to fall back on, she quickly developed a passion for all possible governance and working methods that can help the group to turn their dream into a reality.
Lie is a student of the Sociocracy Academy and is on the trajectory to become a certified trainer.
Facebook: The Reef – cohousing in Brussels
Lorraine Margherita
Lorraine Margherita is a bilingual organizational consultant renowned for her transformative work with top-tier, multicultural corporations. With a focus on collective dynamics, she helps them remove the barriers between decision and action.
Her book, “Shared Decision-Making in the Corporate Arena”, reached the top 10 list in the category of decision-making at the time of its release, with interviews and readers in more than a dozen countries.
More than 6,000 leaders have propelled their teams forward under her engaging guidance in the world’s most prominent corporations in Europe, the Americas and Australia. She enjoys helping her clients shine while infusing excellence and structure into her co-design approach.
She’s a thought leader in a wide range of collaborative practices including Systems thinking, Open Space Technology, DISC, and Appreciative Inquiry.
Marc Choyt
Marc Choyt, a social entrepreneur, activist and writer, has been mentored for decades by indigenous wisdom keepers. He pioneered ethical sourcing/Fairtrade in the jewelry business, applying Circle wisdom to foster a more regenerative economic model. He now explores broader questions, such as how we integrate Circle with our western cultural heritage and how can Circle help us to think differently, to make decisions based not in anthropocentrism, but on the coherence of Nature? Marc is in the final stages of completing his book, Think Like A Circle, with the intention of teaching Circle thinking to individuals, communities and businesses.
Mary Robson
Mary Robson is President of The HANDLE Institute, a non-profit organization that takes a Holistic Approach to NeuroDevelopment and Learning Efficiency. As a Certified HANDLE® Practitioner and Human Potential Life Coach, Mary improved the quality of life for over a thousand individuals and families struggling with life, learning, social and sensory challenges. A woman of the land, Mary lives in the beautiful Australian wilderness of New South Wales, and holds a BS in Health Sciences from Boston University.
Monika Megyesi
Monika Megyesi is co-founder of Governance Alive, a consulting and training organization that helps human systems be more agile, inclusive and resilient — in short, more alive! As a certified mediator, facilitator, trainer and sociocracy consultant, Monika co-creates relational spaces and self-optimizing systems that draw upon Transformative Social Technologies. A world citizen, Monika speaks 3 languages and holds a M.S. in Conflict Management.
Nikoline Arns
Nikoline is from the Netherlands but has lived in many cultures, one of them is the Web3 culture. where the ethos is radical decentralisation of power. After having built several offline coops And practised Sociocracy with pioneer organisations in the education sector. She is now applying these values and tools in the digital realm. She just founded CitizenLab, where she builds decentralized, private and open source tools for advocacy. (Blockchain and AI) She is currently based in Barcelona and her personal website is: nikoline.arns.nl
twitter/x @nikoline_nik
farcaster @nikoline_nik
Oreon Trickey
A long-time resident of Chicago, Rev. Oreon Trickey is a seasoned urban ministry practitioner, spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and Enneagram consultant. She joined the Jesus People Community in 2019, where she serves on the Everybody’s Coffee steering committee, provides pastoral care and counseling, and holds the Leader role of the Governance Improvement Circle. She is also a member of the Chaplains Circle and the Everybody’s Coffee Circle. Oreon plays a mean blues guitar, loves to laugh deeply, and appreciates a serious cup of coffee.
Facebook: Oreon Trickey
LinkedIn: Oreon Trickey
Instagram and X(twitter) as oreont
Rodd Myers
Rodd Myers practices environmental social science and Connie Sitanggang focusses on operational efficiency and effectiveness. Both are staff at the Dala Institute in Indonesia.
T Sogoba
T Sogoba (they/them) is a non-binary, Black Muslim from Boston, MA and a first generation Malian- American. They have experience in facilitation, community building, organizing, and program planning. They believe in centering community in every aspect of their life, and finding and highlighting moments of joy. T is passionate about creating and supporting space to be authentically “Blackity Black” and unapologetic about their identities. T serves in the role of Capacity Building Coordinator and Storykeeper in the Hampshire County Food Policy Council. Outside of working towards liberation and dismantling whiteness, they spend time managing their cat’s instagram, sneaking new plants into their apartment, and working on interior design projects for their friends. Pre-Covid you could find them at brunch, on picnics, and traveling.
Ted Rau
Ted is an advocate, trainer and consultant for self-governance. His main focus is sociocracy. After his PhD in linguistics and work in Academia, he co-founded Sociocracy For All and spends his days consulting, teaching and leading the member organization as Executive Director. Ted identifies as a transgender man; he has 5 children between 10 and 19. A German citizen he, has lived in Massachusetts since 2010. He is co-author of two books on self-governance, Many Voices One Song (2018) and Who Decides Who Decides (2021).
Achieving Deeper Transformation Through Collaboration
A deeper transformation is only possible if we all work together.
The annual sociocracy conference’s purpose is to bring together people who use sociocracy!
Register for the 7th Annual Sociocracy Conference
Purchase a ticket
To sign up for the conference, simply purchase a ticket.
We offer sliding scale pricing for tickets. If you’re unsure how much to contribute, check out our questionnaire.
General Admission
This ticket gives you access to all live conference talks and recordings. Available for 2 months on the event platform.
Ticket Pricing: Minimum $60 | Recommended $80-120 | Pay it forward $160-$240
We are committed to affordability.
Given the vast inequality on our world, affordability is something we care about. If you would like to attend our conference but have a hard time affording the ticket, you can contact [email protected] to get a discount.
Event Details
This is an online event. The conference will happen online via Zoom Events on May 16th, 2024 at 12:00 – 20:00 UTC.
05:00-13:00 Seattle | 08:00-16:00 NYC | 13:00-21:00 London | 14:00-22:00 Berlin
How to Support the Conference
This conference is organized sociocratically by working members of Sociocracy For All.
Consider supporting us so we can continue to organize transformative events like this.
Ways to Support
- Purchase a Ticket: Secure your spot and contribute to the success of the conference.
- Gift a Ticket: Spread the sociocracy spirit by gifting a conference ticket to someone you love. Or by purchasing the Pay-it-forward price so we can finance low-cost tickets for someone else.
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- Social Media Advocacy: Extend the reach further by promoting the conference on social media platforms.
- Make a Donation: Support Sociocracy for All through financial contributions.
Contact Us
If you have questions about the conference, please contact us at: [email protected]
