Testimonials
The workshop begins with a 'memory' lived by friends and colleagues who love, and share a vision of a leader, Donella. It impressed on me how sharp her mind, full her life, how practical her ways, how spiritual her being... Something in me was stirred by their vision, this love and compassion.
The friends and colleagues didn't stop at the grave. They embraced her full life with their own, their families, and their careers. With the seed taking root on solid ground at Cobb Hill, and a little bit of caring, they took on the challenge of leading change by finding more seeds to nurture. I am one of these.
~Nonette Royo, Community Based Forest Management Government of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
The SI coursework clicked for me. The enrichment training of SI has been something I use every day in my work, for understanding the implications of current events and in helping my Tribe to get accurate results with our policies, and in directioning our outcomes toward our long term goals of healthy communities, meaningfully enriched lives and keeping the lifeline of our culture. It has been an indescribable fulfillment to find SI and the Fellows. I treasure the insights, and the trust, and the great minds and hearts, the nourishment, and the synergy of these experiences which are now a part of everything I do. These mutual bonds are deeper than friendship and the journey is a lifetime one.
~Kathey Tibbits, Cherokee Nation, OK
I have a short list of life changing experiences and this, this isn't on the list because it's not life changing, it's life creating and that's inspiring for me and rippling through me in many ways I didn't expect.
~Michael Dupee, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, VT
Leaving the workshop, I felt a little like leaving home for the first time. Armed with the seeds of hope, values and skills – all of which I feel are just beginning to grow into life and my work as a leader. The fellowship has exceeded all my expectations and affected me in ways I did not even anticipate. I feel smaller, but more important. More overwhelmed, but hopeful. Alone, but part of a system. Without a doubt, I also I feel more aware ....of everything -- and more determined to effect change both in my personal life as well as part of my vision of connecting people around the common necessity of caring for our world.
~Agnieszka Rawa, Environmental Resources Management, VA
Superb network of sustainability professionals, unparalleled opportunity to learn systems thinking tools, restorative down time from the pressures of normal work life, compassionate, brilliant staff providing support, one-on-one coaching, and staggering levels of generosity. Plus lots of fresh Vermont whipped cream. Lots of hugging. Some crying. Possibly a sweat lodge. Not for the faint of heart or the sustainability dilettante.
~Christina Page, Rocky Mountain Institute, CO
I barely remember "before the Fellowship", due to the sense that in many ways I am not the person I was before the Fellowship. The way I see and exist in the world has changed so significantly over the course of the last two years. I actually learn differently, speak a different language, and therefore have a different effect in my work and interactions with others. I definitely did not do causal loop diagrams and stocks and flows, which is something that now comes so naturally that I use them daily. I am so much more patient now; I listen more carefully and differently. I have a much deeper sense of gratitude and respect for the incredible complexity of this vast universe.
~Michaelyn Anne Baur, ForesTrade de Guatemala, Guatemala
The Fellowship workshop taught us a means of describing complex problems in such a way that reveals the underlying drivers. When we are aware of what is causing a problem we can focus more of our productive energy on finding solutions and acting upon them, rather than addressing symptoms of the problem.
~John Fisk, Wallace Center, Winrock International
Intense, surprisingly emotional, and a wonderful learning experience. You can expect to find that there are like-minded people from many fields and backgrounds, and that the cross-sectoral learning will exceed your expectations.
~Mark J. Spalding, The Ocean Foundation, DC
Through the learning process we all found common ground but the most significant outcome of the workshop was the sense of community that it created. There are very few instances in one's professional capacity that allows one to make the type of connections with others that was achieved through this workshop. The material, the setting, the facilitators all enable us to get beyond networking and start to develop real collegial relationships and friendships. I personally feel close to this group and feel a sense of responsibility to my fellow Fellows.
~Abigail Corso, Delta Institute, IL
The Fellowship fully and truly brought me to a position to step into my leadership role in all my projects. I know these reflections and tools had a lot to do with helping me see the “system” I was involved in and how I personally can be the leverage point for them in many ways.
To me the Fellowship was more then just learning tools. It was about making necessary changes in myself. About growth and accepting leadership in a world that needs to move toward sustainability and cannot afford lazy leaders! It is much easier in this rough world to hide behind little projects. But when our talents are there to be lent to the healing of our world, we must step into that place, as uncomfortable as it may seem, with all the challenges and countercurrents that it may bring. It is not easy to show yourself in this world. But this fellowship helped me to see that it is necessary to do all we can. No time to hide and be self protective. I’m doing that now. And I’m glad for that.
~Amalia Souza, Center for Socio-Environmental Support, São Paulo, Brazil
I left feeling a genuine connectedness between all of our work and hope for the future. I think we finally started to actually believe that it is truly our work collectively that will make the difference for [the next generation] and that the dreams that we dream together will become reality.
~Lynn Stoddard, Department of Environmental Protection, CT
I'm leaving with a new sense of self, new confidence, and just absolute gratitude for this entire experience and awe for my colleagues.
~Terrie Lind, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, CA
Skills gained
I am more patient with the ways other people think because my own mental models have become more obvious to me, and I am more ready to let things go when confronted with alternative potential models, since I'm more conscious that it is only models that guide me in the first place... not absolute truth. Watching the coaching group and seeing the valuable perspectives other people offer that I would never, ever come to on my own has also made me willing to push beyond my threshold of discomfort with collaborative work across the board, since it's yet one more arena where the ability of the group outshines the capability of the individual.
~Jennifer Sokolove, Compton Foundation, CA
• Relate to many of the world’s
challenges
• Feel confident as a leader
• Have the prospect of being a facilitator or a coach
• Feel comfortable from working from the heart
• Feel connected in my individual initiatives
~Ellen Wolfe, Resero Consulting, CA
I can lead a visioning activity, and understand how it is a necessary component to change. I also enjoy it and use it on a micro level before the start of my day. It's useful for large system change and small daily changes that may be more personal, or mundane.
~Elizabeth Luc Clowes, The Food Project, MA
• Consciously engage others in reflective conversation
and coaching… it is now a gear I can comfortably shift into.
• Use a variety of tools to analyze problems and lead a group towards
root causes.
• Speak from the heart with greater confidence.
~Ashley Lanfer, Barr Foundation, MA
Systems Thinking. Feels like I recognize patterns and can articulate a system behavior much, much better than at the outset. Both in drawing loops for myself and, with or without loops, communicating to others about systems.
Coaching. Immediately after the workshop ended I landed smack dab in the middle of a highly charged discussion … all that coaching language and mindset helped a lot in terms of what I was able to bring to that conversation. Felt “in the zone” and much more proficient at doing this, thanks I think to the practice we get.
Visioning. Not only better at it … recognizing its power & very much feeling the difference between when I sit down & consciously choose to do it before an activity or challenge and when I blow it off because I “don’t have time”. The power of doing it well is quite a revelation & extremely powerful.
~Christina Page, Rocky Mountain Institute, CO
The Fellowship has made me much more confident in addressing problems to which I see no clear solution. I now feel that solutions exist; they are just hidden somewhere in the system. I also know that if I start working the problem by trying to understand the system – and if I am willing to genuinely seek the input of others along the way – together we will be able to find clues along the way and we will eventually find these better solutions.
• I can begin to
outline and analyze potential intended and unintended consequences of
specific actions;
• I can work more effectively as part of a group: not only peers
at work but as part of larger multistakeholder situations.
• I have changed how I interact as part of these groups: from trying
to fill time in such groups with more controlled one-way presentations
to more open-ended dialogues. I am more trusting of the final outcome
and have internalized the meaning of and value of “sitting back”
as a leadership skill.
• I am more patient. I always expected an immediate reaction
to the actions that I took. Realizing that my actions take a life of their
own (one action, causes a secondary reaction, which causes another effect,
etc etc. – all of which are not necessarily within my line of vision)
has imbued me with more patience as I await to feel the secondary effects
of the path that I am on.
• Last but not least, I think that I listen more -- there is so much
to learn from listening.
~Agnieszka Rawa, Environmental Resources Management, VA
I feel I can actually think in system terms. To me it was really like magic. Don't ask me how, but you did it! Thanks!
~Amalia Souza, Center for Socio-Environmental Support, São Paulo, Brazil
Action-to-outcome mapping, loops, stocks and flows, more integration between these types of skills and personal mastery skills, more awareness of my own mental models and patterns in interaction. Especially during the last workshop, I found myself saying to myself, “Be yourself, the rest will follow.” This is the antithesis of trying to look good or get it right at all costs as the key to acceptance and really speaks to the quality of genuineness that pervaded the Fellowship experience for me.
~Shanna Ratner, Yellow Wood Associates, VT
Approach and listen to those of differing views; understand irrational behavior; listen more keenly, be more open; “go there” and use emotional tension as a self-learning tool.
~Kathey Tibbits, Cherokee Nation, OK
Absolutely, my reflective conversation skills are helping me professionally and personally. I have a new sense of urgency and priority about my work. I can see systems everywhere and the opportunities to apply the tools.
Overall learnings
I don't feel alone. There are other like-minded people who are open to lifelong learning and personal growth, all with a sharedd vision of the future of this planet. I don't feel like a fish out of the ocean anymore... there are other fish like me! We need to "school together" and make our presence known. It empowers me to be bolder, knowing that if I "fail" (a temporary state of affairs) I can get support and advice from my fellow Fellows.
~Jennifer Fletcher, Trust for Public Land, MN
One of the primary learnings I came away with is that powerful individuals, governments or corporations etc. are not as villainous in our passion play as they may appear. The system’s structure and rules of the game are often a powerful driving force that dictates action and reaction.
~John Fisk, Wallace Center, Winrock International
A solution reached alone is likely only a solution for only one person. This perhaps is one of the greatest learnings…or reminders of the Fellowship. We are not alone in the system – and each part of the system sees the system differently. In fact, this realization also means that to truly effect change and achieve sustainability, we need each other:
- To internalize the fact that we are only one part of the system.
- To shed our prejudices; and
- To strengthen our strategy by integrating the diverse opinions of others
~Agnieszka Rawa, Environmental Resources Management, VA
We all have goals and beliefs that matter greatly to us. We spend our days working on issues we believe bring us closer to these goals and beliefs. We work very hard to advance the issues, to motivate others to our cause, and of course to affect change where necessary. We often do not however spend a lot of time fostering within ourselves a clear understanding of what really and truly matters to us, creating a vision and then letting others have a peak, exposing our visions to question, feedback, and improvement. Consequently, we often do not inquire of others access to these same places. At one point or another we all accept the social norm that those places are private and personal, not to be shared. Yet so much of who we are, the decisions we make, the lives we live, are influenced by these visions, how can we not share them? This workshop has begun to help me do that.
~Matt Roman, Visteon Corporation, MI
• The importance of bringing together
heart and mind.
• The power of inquiry
• The value of combining a rigorous articulation of fact with a heart-felt
and compelling call to action.
~Julia Novy-Hildesle, The Lemelson Foundation, OR
I think more consciously about how change occurs (leverage points) and how to be more deliberate and strategic in taking action toward change.
~Virginia Farley, National Park Service, VT
It is difficult but not impossible to learn and work in a way that integrates your heart and mind. Speaking, working, loving from this place does not feel easy or come naturally and requires courage. There is a lot of potential to make these kinds of moves in a community of support.
~Ashley Lanfer, Barr Foundation, MA
My primary overall learnings from the fellowship are how to be a 'whole' person, true to my own passion and heart-centered approach, and work in a practical way to engage and empower others toward sustainability. I can do this now through skills I've gained for visioning, reflective practice and systems thinking.
~Elaine Kohrman, USDA Forest Service, OR
• That balance is important
• That you can’t actually change people’s minds –
that they have to do that for themselves
• That every little bit helps
• That being effective in a grand way requires more than being scientific
~Ellen Wolfe, Resero Consulting, CA
It has spun me around and recalibrated my senses on how to think about what's going on around me! These tools are completely relevant and shockingly useful. In all honesty, I can't for the life of me understand why these tools are not taught more widely- especially in business programs. I think my facility is developing but still has a ways to go. I am noticing in myself an odd aversion to messy detail - the systems thinking tools are forcing me to confront that and work with it.
~Michael Dupee, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, VT
How Fellows describe the Program
A journey to discover one’s strengths and weaknesses as a leader; and an opportunity to grow personally and professionally by capitalizing on one’s strengths, integrating new tools & skills, drawing upon the support of other accomplished experts, and reconnecting with one’s passion for the things that matter in this world.
~Agnieszka Rawa, Environmental Resources Management, VA
Excellent program focusing on those aspects of leadership that are most difficult to otherwise obtain through training; aspiration, listening, passion, wholistic systems analysis, inspiration, etc. Conducted by team that is incredibly effective, passionate, caring and a joy to be with. Ability to benefit from and be inspired by world leaders in a very intimate setting. Workshops provided profound personal breakthroughs in a setting and structure that was incredibly enjoyable and rejuvenating.
~Ellen Wolfe, Resero Consulting, CA
A tremendously nurturing way to build new intellectual and emotional skills in a supportive and soul-enriching environment.
~Julia Novy-Hildesle, The Lemelson Foundation, OR
The opportunity to hone a particularly useful analytical skill for changing the world in concert with deepening practices of developing your vision, while hanging out with amazing people, in a beautiful place, eating fabulous food. That's the elevator version!
~Valerie Langer, Second Harvest Paper Project, Tofino, British Colombia
It is a blend of intellectual, problem-solving, skills based program with inspirational tools and topics, especially the connection to Dana’s legacy. It has some experiential and self-reflective work, but the primary emphasis is on systems thinking.
~Virginia Farley, National Park Service, VT
A transformational experience through which you develop skills to maximize your potential in sustainability work, deepen your connection to the earth, and expand your network of peers. You learn how to see what's possible, through visioning exercises, and make it happen, through the tools of systems thinking, and reflective conversation. Through coaching, one on one and through groups, you are also able to fine tune your steps towards your goals.
~Elizabeth Luc Clowes, The Food Project, MA
A fabulous opportunity to learn new ways of thinking and being that will make you a more effective leader and contributor to a sustainable future. The Fellows Program provides luxurious space to reflect, regroup, and experiment with new approaches in a truly supportive atmosphere with lots of intelligent, committed learners (including SI staff). I left the fellowship with energy, hope, and renewed commitment as well as a whole new set of deep and valued connections.
~Shanna Ratner, Yellow Wood Associates, VT
I would give the fellowship very high marks. We were steeped in Dana’s contribution and encouraged to think deeply about her approaches to change and to explore and determine our own. We were engaged with tools and methods for both systems analysis and for self-discovery or personal mastery. As a result, we are better equipped to provide leadership for positive change.
We formed a solid set of relationships with other fellows that will support our work for the rest of our lives.
~John Fisk, Michigan Integrated Food and Farming Systems, MI and Consultant, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Who should apply
People that are up to big things in their lives but at the same time feeling stuck or at a platuea in their ability to accomplish what they are committed to. People who are open minded rather than being attached to existing methods and techniques. Self-motivated leaders who otherwise do not have fully complete structures for progress in their initiatives. People committed to personal mastery.
~Ellen Wolfe, Resero Consulting, CA
People who are open to not just building thier cognitive/anaytical skills but also to self-improvement, self-reflection. People who are action-oriented, pro-active verses people who focus on seeing others as the source of the problem.
~Julia Novy-Hildesle, The Lemelson Foundation, OR
People who are interested in moving forward both in terms of heard and heart and who are courageous.. frustrated, perhaps and ready to try new things and with enough authority/freedom in work to try out System Dynamics tools.
~Ashley Lanfer, Barr Foundation, MA
I would recommend it to people who have jobs that require them to work on solving complex problems. Also, to people who are at a stage in life were they want to learn new skills, and reflect on their work and aspirations. Policy makers, scientists, program managers, etc.
~Virginia Farley, National Park Service, VT
The Fellows program is not your typical professional development opportunity - it represents a chance to acquire new approaches that will bring you clarity, renewed passion for your work, and a sense of community.
~Elizabeth Soderstrom, Natural Heritage Institut, CA