Series
Equitable Facilitation: Leading with Courage, Clarity, and Compassion
Date
July 9 – 30, 2026
Times
July 9: 10:30 am-12:30 pm
July 16: 10:30 am-12:30 pm
July 23: 10:30 am-12:30 pm
July 30: 10:30 am-12:30 pm
When we come together in classrooms, organizations, community groups, or movement spaces, we bring our histories, identities, and needs with us. We also bring the impact we carry from the systems we navigate daily. These dynamics influence whose voices are welcomed, whose needs are held, and who feels safe enough to participate in the groups we create.
Equitable facilitation invites us to guide groups in ways that make room for truth telling, restore dignity, and strengthen our shared capacity to build community together.
It asks us to engage our leadership with an open heart and an honest awareness of power, both our own and that of the people in the room. This kind of conscious leadership becomes essential when we gather across differences in identity, lived experience, or access to resources and decision making.
Why this work matters
A group grows and becomes more effective when people feel secure enough to speak honestly. From that security, group members take risks, offer ideas, and give feedback from a place of trust. When people do not feel welcomed in their full humanity, groups contract. Silence grows. Disconnection grows. Creativity and collaboration fade.
I have seen both patterns in groups around the world. Too often I have witnessed the moment when someone withdraws because they no longer trust the room. I have also seen moments when one person dominates because they are unaware of their impact. And I have seen how a facilitator who can stay grounded, name what is happening, and anchor the group in purpose can shift the entire experience.
This work strengthens three essential abilities that form the foundation of equitable facilitation.
- Self awareness: You learn to notice your own reactions and the identity lens that shapes how you see the room.
- System awareness: You notice how power, culture, and access affect participation and how these forces influence what unfolds.
- Relationship awareness: You hold care for the individual and the group at the same time, without abandoning yourself or anyone else.
What you’ll learn
Across the course, we will explore how to:
- Create spaces where people can show up as themselves
Supporting authenticity means welcoming the perspectives of all participants, especially voices that are often dismissed or minimized. It also means recognizing how dominant norms can distort or silence what people want to share. - Listen in ways that honor both the spoken and unspoken
You will deepen your capacity to track people, needs, purpose, resources, and impact. These five dimensions help us see clearly where equity is present and where it is not. - Name what’s happening with care and clarity
We will practice interrupting inequitable dynamics in real time. We will do this not through blame or shame but through grounded observations and a steady commitment to the group’s shared purpose. - Navigate conflict without abandoning yourself or the group
Conflict is not a problem to avoid. It is an opening. You will learn to use your power with integrity. Neither collapsing nor overpowering. You will learn to hold steady when tensions rise and to move the group toward deeper alignment. -
Build agreements and structures that support inclusion
We’ll explore how agreements can meet real needs, and how they sometimes unintentionally center dominant cultural expectations.
Who this course is for
This course welcomes people who gather others — facilitators, educators, leaders, activists, and anyone who wants to host spaces where honesty and belonging can coexist. You do not need any prior NVC experience. You only need a willingness to look with compassion at yourself, your power, and the systems we move within.
If you are new to my work, this course lays the essential groundwork for holding space with integrity. If you have been part of the Facilitation Clinic, you already know the power of working with real examples in community. Equitable Facilitation complements that experience by taking you deeper into the ideas that guide our choices in the room. We explore why certain interventions support dignity and connection, how power shapes the space, and what helps a group rise together. The Clinic strengthens your practice. This course strengthens the consciousness underneath that practice.
You will leave with:
- A clearer understanding of how power and identity show up in groups
- Practical tools for naming and interrupting inequity with care
- Greater confidence to hold conflict and stay rooted in purpose
- Practices that support your own grounding as a facilitator
- A way of leading that is both compassionate and fiercely committed to justice
About Your Guide
I am Dr. Roxy Manning, a clinical psychologist, Certified Trainer with the Center for Nonviolent Communication, and the author of How to Have Antiracist Conversations and The Antiracist Heart. My work is grounded in the belief that truth and humanity are not opposing forces but partners in building a more just and connected world. Over the last two decades, I have supported individuals, families, organizations, and communities in navigating conversations about race, power, and belonging. FACE Talks brings together the frameworks, practices, and relational wisdom that I have seen open pathways to understanding, healing, and meaningful change.
Course Details
Equitable Facilitation 2026
Class meets 10:30 – 12:30pm PT (find your local time) on the following dates:
- Week 1 – Thursday, July 9
- Week 2 – Thursday, July 16
- Week 3 – Thursday, July 23
- Week 4 – Thursday, July 30
- Live on Zoom
Teaching segments are recorded. Practice spaces are not recorded to protect privacy and presence.
Sliding Scale Tuition Options:
Tuition for the 4-Week Course
- $800 – Supporter Rate: If you have financial assets, or identify as middle or upper/owning class, then this is the rate for you. Paying at this rate supports the discount and scholarship fund, making this course accessible to more people including Global Majority people.
- $650 – Support Roxy’s Sustainability Rate: If you are able to contribute at this level, you contribute to more spaciousness for Roxy to continue to develop and expand her ideas and work – activities that are not paid through classes or workshops.
- $500 – Requested Standard Contribution: This is the true cost of the course. If you are able to pay this amount and still meet your basic needs, then this is the price for you to choose.
- $350 – Discounted Rate: The Discounted option is reserved for those who sometimes struggle with limited financial resources and would benefit from supported access to this learning experience.
- $200 – Scholarship Rate: The Scholarship option is reserved for people experiencing financial hardship.
If you are a member of the Global Majority or experiencing financial hardship and you need additional financial assistance to attend, please submit a request for tuition assistance.
Please Note:
- Your tuition payment is non-refundable. However, if you cannot attend, your tuition may be transferred to a future course offering.
- In the event that the course is postponed or canceled a full refund of tuition will be offered.
Share Event
Related Events
March 5 – May 21, 2026
7 Thursdays,
Unlock your potential to navigate complex facilitation challenges in our interactive Facilitation Clinic. Join Roxy Manning in an enriching experience designed for facilitators at any level. Join us to empower yourself with the confidence and skills to lead with empathy, clarity, and effectiveness. Enhance your ability to create engaging and equitable environments that inspire and motivate.
January 22 – February 26, 2026
6 Thursdays, January 22, 2026 - February 26, 2026
Based on Roxy Manning’s book, How to Have Antiracist Conversations, FACE Talks is designed to empower people, both of the Global Majority and white, with the tools and techniques necessary to engage in the Authentic Dialogue Framework, four distinct types of dialogues that facilitate connection, understanding, and collaboration in the pursuit of social justice.
April 17 – May 15, 2026
Fridays, 12:00- 2:00 pm, PT (Help us plan, register by March 6)
Join us to explore the challenges of responding to microaggressions from the perspective of the person making them, the person watching them or the person experiencing them. Learn skills to help you regain choice and effectiveness when responding to improve your chances of creating connection while attending to the needs of those most impacted. Our empathic but direct coaching will help create the shifts in awareness you're seeking.