Acknowledgments

I want to say a big thank you to each of the following people. If you know them or their work, you'll see their influence throughout this site.

And of course they're not responsible for where I've gone with what they've taught me.

 

Kate Kain
Kate and I founded the Child Assault Prevention Training Center together and then spent ten very challenging years work in close partnership. From Kate, more than anyone else I've known, I've learned what it means to take a stand for what you believe in. More about her here.

 

Ricky Sherover Marcuse
I knew Ricky through her "Unlearning Racism" programs. She was a master of deep advocacy.

In her workshops, she took us by the hand and walked us back through our personal histories to find our earliest, most primal feelings of protest against injustice. Then showed us how to use those feeling to become a valued ally for anyone being mistreated or exploited.

And she taught us how to reach people on the other side of our issues, not to 'educate' them or hammer them into agreement, but to touch their hearts and find their own genuine sense of protest that might be hidden there.

Ricky died of breast cancer in December 1988. She had so much more to teach and she would have loved teaching it. I still mourn her passing and still hear her voice offering wisdom in tough moments.

 

Marshall Rosenberg
Marshall is the author of Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Compassion, and the founder of the NVC movement. I love the way he guides people very much at odds through the hazards of hurt and anger to common ground where they can be okay with each other. And then tell the truth about what they need. And from there, create relationships that last.

Marshall says that NVC is conceptually simple but putting it into practice might be one of the most challenging things you'll ever do. And that's my experience of it.

Sometimes people say to me, "Forget Marshall, his style is too goofy, and, good grief, those songs!" If you don't warm to his style, I understand, but still I'd urge you not to miss out on the substance of NVC.

 

Laura Whitworth
Laura was one of the founders of the Coaches Training Institute and was my guardian angel when I went through certification there. More than once she had me in tears as she stood with me on the edge of a breakthrough, helping me take that one deciding step over the edge.

She died of breast cancer in February 2007 and is missed by many thousands of us who were her students.

 

Jim Camp
Jim is one of the top negotiators in the country and now handles deals that are in the billions of dollars. I was in his training program for three years. I think I was his slowest student ever, but I loved every minute of it.

In Jim's system, negotiating is first about building relationships, which is why I think it's such a good fit for nonprofit leaders.

Jim wrote the book No: The Only Negotiation System You Need for Work and Home. But I have to tell you, the book doesn't begin to capture the experience of Jim in person. If you ever have a chance to work with him, I recommend it. And look out, because he'll put you through changes.

On this site, you'll see Jim's work illustrated most clearly on the pages about Asking for money, Asking for support, and Discovery interviews.

 

Michelle Gislason
Michelle was my thought partner extraordinaire for six years as we co-led the series "Thriving as an Executive Director" at CompassPoint in San Francisco. And we're still cooking up things together.

She's a dynamite coach and I'd recommend her to everyone except she's so in demand it's very hard to get time with her. She's an expert on helping women leaders ask for what they need, and get it. And she's the author, along with Judith Wilson, of the book Coaching for Nonprofit Managers and Leaders.

 

 

© 2009  Rich Snowdon