Schedule of Events

Thursday 10/20/11 – 11AM to 7PM

11 AM Civil Dialogue

Barbara Woods Langlais, Nonviolent CommunicationTM Trainee

This workshop on Civil Dialogue is based on the work of Dr. Marshall B. Rosenberg’s model for Nonviolent CommunicationTM (NVC). Workshop participants will gain skills to enhance effective communication, creative problem solving, and clarity in listening and speaking. It is applicable to all areas of human communication, and brings richness in relationships and life through greater self-awareness.

Barbara Woods Langlais is a long time student of Marshall Rosenberg’s work, and is on the path to certification as a trainer with the Center for Nonviolent Communication. She is also working towards a B.A. in Communication Studies.

12:30 PM – Restorative Justice and Community

Linda Baker, KSC Professor

What is restorative justice? We will discuss some of the principles and values inherent in this approach, and finish with a restorative circle that gives all participants a voice while demonstrating its healing potential during community conflict.

Linda Baker is Professor of Psychology at Keene State College where she has worked since 1994. In 2008, after attending talks and workshops by the South African psychologist, Dr. Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, she went on sabbatical to study the psychology and practice of Restorative Justice. During her year-long sabbatical she observed restorative justice in action, attended trainings, and worked with faculty and staff at Keene State to establish and train a team that would facilitate restorative justice conferences on campus. Last summer she collaborated with colleagues to establish and train a team that facilitates Restorative Circles.

2:30 PM – Divorce and Parenting Matters: The Legal Overview

Susan Lachman, Esq.

A lawyer’s perspective on the best way to approach divorce and parenting matters. Because co-litigants don’t make good co-parents, Attorney Lachman will describe options for navigating the court process in as amicable a way as possible.

Susan Lachman received her Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education from Towson University in 1990 and her Juris Doctor from University of Maine School of Law in 1997. She has been an educator and a therapist and has been in private practice in New Hampshire since 2003. Attorney Lachman practices almost exclusively in the area of domestic relations, She is a trained marital mediator, a trained and certified collaborative divorce practitioner and is currently the only trained and certified Parenting Coordinator in Cheshire and Sullivan Counties. In addition, she provides divorce and parenting coaching and “unbundled” services for those seeking case evaluation and advice but more limited formal representation. Prior to forming Hoppock & Lachman, PLLC, Attorney Lachman was an associate of Bragdon and Berkson, PC of Keene, NH.

3:30 PM – Friend or Foe: Transforming Conflict Through Intuitive Storytelling

David Sewell McCann, Master Storyteller

Most conflicts are born out of stories we tell ourselves and others. We can change our relationship to conflict by paying attention to the stories we tell and the way we listen to the stories of others. In this workshop, we will learn the storyteller’s brand of attention, affection, approach and allowance that can build empathy and help us connect to the authentic tale spinner within.

David Sewell McCann fell in love with spinning stories in first grade — the day a storyteller came to his class and captured his mind and imagination. He has been engaged in storytelling all of his adult life through art, film-making, teaching and performing. Out of his experience as a Waldorf class teacher and parent, he has developed a method of intuitive storytelling, which he now shares through workshops and through his website, sparklestories.com.

4:30 PM – Adult/Teen Communication

Kate Kerman, Talk It Out

Adults and teens face special challenges in communicating with one another. In this workshop, you will learn how to improve adult/teen interactions and build trusting, respectful inter-generational relationships.

Kate Kerman directs Phoenix Farm Learning Center’s Talk it Out programs, which provide mediation, consultation and restorative practices for young people and their families and schools. Kate trained as a mediator in 1988 through Friends Mediation Services in the Philadelphia area, trained in Parent Youth Mediation at Cheshire Mediation in 1996, and directed Youth Programs at Cheshire Mediation for over ten years.

5:30 PM – Opening Community Conversation, a Playback Theatre Performance

ActingOut

ActingOut’s theatre work focuses on improvisational acting and is generally related to youth topics/issues such as relationships, school, peers, and substance use. This performance will explore our stories of community conversation, and how we talk about what really matters.

ActingOut is a unique program of the Youth Initiatives Office of Monadnock Family Services for Monadnock area teens. The mission of the program is to cultivate resiliency, social skills and healthy development in youth through theater training. The program offers after school and in-school groups for those interested in the performing arts and/or those looking for self-expression and personal growth.