Workshops & Training

Our workshops and training sessions allow for difficult and intensive work within a model that makes participants feel safe enough to stay invested and engaged throughout.

Each workshop combines personal and group experiential learning, conceptual theory, and opportunities to practice new approaches.

Our excellent client satisfaction is the result of:
  • The expertise of our consultants
  • The strength of our theory
  • The non-judgmental atmosphere we create
  • Our commitment to addressing the specific needs of our clients—for individuals or organizational groups
TINA CHERY, President and CEO of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute describes the impact of the PACE training.

PACE Workshop Level I 

PACE (Personal Approach to Change and Equity) Level I is the foundational workshop offered by VISIONS. When you complete this course, we believe you will have the skills necessary to:
  • Identify previously unconscious biases and misinformation in yourself, in others, and in organizations.
  • Communicate more effectively across difference.
  • Recognize personal, interpersonal, institutional and cultural barriers to inclusion.
  • Understand the ongoing personal effects of historical and contemporary exclusion and oppression, for example, the effects of sexism on both men and women.
  • Facilitate change in groups and organizations to create a supportive environment of inclusion.
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Upcoming PACE I Workshops

PACE Workshop Level I
October 16-19, 2018
Boston, MA
PACE Workshop Level I
January 22-25, 2019
Pasadena, CA
PACE Workshop Level I
April 9-12, 2019
Boston, MA
PACE Workshop Level I
June 18-21, 2019
Oakland, CA
PACE Workshop Level I
July 16-19, 2019
Boston, MA
SANDY THOMPSON, founder of the Winchester Multicultural Network, explains the 20-year impact of VISIONS on her work.

PACE Workshop Level II

PACE (Personal Approach to Change and Equity) Workshop Level II advances the skills learned in Level I, adds new skills and gives participants the opportunity to practice in order to gain increased comfort and fluency in their use.

In Level II, participants:
  • Review material from Level I, focusing on areas in which they desire more guidance and practice in using the tools and material.
  • Learn about and try on using worldview differences.
  • Explore group identity development and its impacts on cross-cultural. interactions and organizational change.
  • Practice facilitation skill and intervention strategies (Transactional Analysis/Gestalt theory, cooperative problem solving, and other personal and community change models).
Valerie Batts
Valerie Batts, Ph.D., Co-Founder & VP of Training and Development

Ongoing Skill Building Supervision

VISIONS regards diversity and inclusion training as an ongoing process.
In response to clients’ request for continued learning, support and feedback, VISIONS has Ongoing Skill Building courses for individuals and small groups who have taken the PACE Level I training. Current courses include Ongoing Supervision (offered annually in several locations) and TA (Transactional Analysis) 101 (offered every two years).

In Ongoing Supervision, participants:
  • Explore specific personal and organizational challenges around inclusion.
  • Practice applying core tools and facilitation skills to these challenges.
  • Deepen their learning of worldview theory, group identity, cooperative problem solving, and TA theory.
  • Challenge personal unconscious biases within a cooperative peer context.


UPCOMING Supervision Sessions

Atlanta Supervision, 2019
Jan. 17-18; April 11-12, July 18-19, Sept. 26-27

Boston Supervision, 2018-2019
Sept. 20-21, Dec. 13-14, Mar. 7-8, May 16-17

California Supervision, 2018-2019
Oct. 21-22 (Pasadena)
Oct. 9-10  (Oakland)
Mar. 7-8   (Pasadena)
June 9-10 (Oakland)
MICHAEL BROWN, Community Organizer and Consultant shares the value to him of the Ongoing Skill Building program.

Customized Training

As a standard practice, VISIONS tailors core training materials and course emphasis to fit participants’ needs. However, VISIONS also offers training, seminars and workshops for specific client needs around diversity and inclusion issues.

Examples of these might be:
  • A presentation, talk, or interactive discussion for a school group, organization event, board of trustees, work group, or management team on a particular topic related to cultural identities, difference, unconscious bias, or a challenging diversity-related issue.
  • A full or half-day seminar designed to create “buy-in” to an organization’s diversity and inclusion initiative.
  • PACE (Personal Approach to Change and Equity) Workshop designed exclusively for an organization or community, both in curricula, timeframe and location.
  • YES! Kit training for organizations that have purchased these materials and desire additional expertise and support.
Richard Hinton, human resources professional at Shawmut Design and Construction, explains the benefit of VISIONS customized training.
“I appreciate how you helped me be able to identify where I have gotten myself stuck and now I see how I can address it.  I feel a sense of empowerment to move myself and consequently my work.”

Leslie, Workshop participant
Consultant Jo Bowens Lewis at a VISIONS workshop
Consultant Jo Bowens Lewis at a VISIONS workshop.