Join us tomorrow (Thursday) from 2-3 pm EST (11 am Pacific) for an “NCDD Confab” call on the role of dialogue & deliberation practitioners and organizations in Haiti, and in disaster recovery in general.  Featured guests on the call are BJ Diamond and Marieann Shovlin of the Global Facilitator Service Corps and John Engle, co-founder of Haiti Partners, and Larry Schooler will facilitate.

BJ and Marieann will talk about GFSC’s work helping communities deal with crises.  John Engle will talk with us about his work fostering participatory leadership and discussion-based education in Haiti before and since the hurricane.

We’d greatly appreciate it if you would RSVP for the call ahead of time by emailing Larry at or me at , but here are the call-in details in case you don’t get a chance:

1-605-475-6350 (long distance call to Midwest U.S.)
Access Code:  444839

This is one of a new series of “NCDD Confab Calls” where we’ll be exploring dialogue & deliberation’s role in current issues, learn about exciting projects and interesting methods from fellow NCDD members, and just get to know each other a little better.

Here are some more details about our featured guests and the facilitator/initiator of the call…

John Engle is co-founder of Haiti Partners (www.haitipartners.org) and cofounded Beyond Borders and its Haiti-based partner organization Limyè Lavi Foundation in 1993. He makes regular trips to Haiti, where he lived from 1991 to 2004. John moved to Vero Beach in 2007 to establish a Florida office. He focuses on participatory leadership and discussion-based education. He has been a consultant with organizations including World Bank, Amnesty International, and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Mozambique. He serves on missions board of Community Church of Vero Beach where he attends, and also works with Harvest Time, a small non-profit funding education and grassroots initiatives in Cite Soleil, Haiti.  (Check out the videos posted at http://www.haitipartners.org/the-blog/ documenting John and other Haiti Partners’ efforts in Haiti since the disaster.)

BJ Diamond is GFSC’s Executive Director, and Marieann Shovlin is GFSC’s Board Secretary. The Global Facilitator Service Corps (GFSC) is a network of volunteers who use facilitative techniques to build community self-reliance and resilience around the world. We provide training, mentoring, materials and the exchange of ideas, experiences and techniques. Often, GFSC intentionally creates ripples as an initial group of trained professionals shares tools and techniques with community members, continuing to increase the community’s capacity to address its challenges.

Larry Schooler oversees community engagement, public input, and conflict resolution projects for the City of Austin, working in conjunction with the Mayor and City Council. He previously served as the policy director for Austin City Councilman Lee Leffingwell; his work included conflict resolution, research and policy development, media relations, speechwriting, and constituent service. He is the author of a forthcoming book on the first Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the United States and related projects elsewhere. He is a pianist and co-founder of jazz trio “Three Piece Suit.” He has taught religious studies at several synagogues. He has also worked as a reporter for NPR stations across the country and as a freelance reporter for National Public Radio, Voice of America, and magazines.