Senior Associates
Ren Daraio, Senior Associate
Opening up spaces where multiple perspectives, divergent points of view and orientations are supported and encouraged are just a few of the reasons Ren stays motivated to work in the dynamic field of facilitation
Of the many roles she has inhabited: program developer and implementer; project manager and instructional designer; actor; director; therapist, she receives her greatest joy being in a room of people dedicated to improving the lives and well-being of others and supporting that endeavor.
Her work has brought her into contact with multiple community initiatives, community based organizations, and public agencies.
Ren also serves as the co-director of Temescal Associates and has worked extensively throughout the Bay Area, the state of California and nationally.
Contact: ren@strategicfacilitation.com
Marti Roach, Senior Associate
Marti is a trainer, consultant and fund developer with over 30 years experience working in the public benefit and government sectors.
She brings a strong belief in the power of collaboration and participation to bring out the best results. Her education and experience have a foundation in community organizing, non-profit management and governance, and know-how in training and capacity-building.
Her passion and experience in facilitation find focus in supporting strategic thinking and planning efforts, multi-stakeholder community change projects, leadership learning communities and staff and board off-sites.
She brings broad knowledge of different facilitation approaches and methodologies including open space, appreciative inquiry, learning organization,Theory U and visual thinking. She has also developed a range of custom trainings focused on facilitation, image shift, leadership skills, board development and fund raising.
Marti is a constant learner in the art of the right question and finding new ways to understand the human brain and its power to help us see new possibilities. She believes self-knowledge and self- awareness are cornerstone tools for making social change. She brings these interests to her work and strives to help individuals groups think fresher and more creatively.
Marti is a highly experienced grant writer and producer of marketing materials. Her work has enabled youth development, health and other safety-net organizations to raise over $30 million dollars to implement program and organization plans.
Marti is a Mentor Trainer in the Institute of Cultural Affair’s ToP Methods and a Certified ToP Facilitator. She has an MSW from the University of Michigan that honed her community organizing skills. She earned her Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) Credential in 1985.
Contact: marti@strategicfacilitation.com
Associates
Karen Bane, Associate
Karen relishes supporting groups along their journey to make effective and lasting change. She works with clients to tailor a process that is truly participatory, data driven, and implementation focused. She enjoys watching a group transform, as the process harnesses the wisdom and creativity of all participants and sustains commitment to implement what has been co-created.
Karen has 20 years experience in the environmental field, primarily focused on facilitating collaboration of large, diverse stakeholder groups to preserve and restore natural resources. Karen appreciates and respects diverse perspectives having served in environmental litigation, regulatory compliance consulting, and government funding roles. Her work has included coordinating restoration projects, leading regional partnerships and sponsoring applied research. She has a passion for strategically targeting applied research to areas of uncertainty for regulators, funders, and resource managers and facilitating the adoption and use of new information to support and advance policy and practice. The scale of her work has ranged from a single wetland, a suite of projects in a bi-national watershed, to strategic planning and implementation within a bio-region.
Contact: Karen@strategicfacilitation.com
Marcia Hodges, Associate
Marcia provides organizations with critical guidance and perspective during times of transition and at moments of strategic business decisions. These are catalyst moments that can create real change and boost an organization’s momentum. With more than 30 years of executive experience, Marcia Hodges infuses organizations with a calming, supportive and knowledgeable presence while addressing organizational priorities or challenges.
Authentic conversations are why Marcia loves being a facilitator. The outcomes for the group and the experiences for each participant vary based on the desires from the organization’s leadership. Each facilitation event is unique and draws out the creativity from the group.
Marcia has held many roles in her career, primarily in the nonprofit sector. These have typically included government and/or private partnerships, where leveraging resources is so vitally important. Having key partners included in strategic planning and many other conversations is helpful so all voices can be heard.
Digging deep to identify where an organization needs strengthened is what Marcia often finds necessary for lasting evolutionary change to be sustainable. However, this varies with each organization. So, working with the leadership throughout the process helps clarify priorities.
Marcia is currently the part-time Administrative Director for the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis. She has held Interim Executive Director positions, plus CEO, COO and Director of Development roles. She is a CSF Associate, an Apprentice Trainer for Technology of Participation’s methods and a Certified Technology of Participation Facilitator. She holds a Masters Degree in Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco.
Contact: marcia@strategicfacilitation.com
Kathleen Paulo, Associate
Kathleen Paulo is a Certified Technology of Participation Facilitator, specializing in work in health and government sectors. For over twenty years, Kathleen has provided a wide range of facilitation services, including process improvement and organizational development. She especially enjoys working with groups who are pursing dynamic change efforts. She brings experience as both an internal and external consultant. Kathleen values and employs facilitation and consultation approaches that enhance the participation of the broadest range of team members and stakeholders.
Kathleen has experience working in health care, non-profit, business and government. She has a MSW, where she focused her studies on administrative skills development. In addition, she holds a Certificate in Organizational Psychology and has extensive training and application experience in a variety of facilitation and team building techniques. Kathleen works in a management position in Alameda County. She is currently a CSF Associate and a member of the Center for Strategic Facilitation’s training team.
Contact: kathleen@strategicfacilitation.com
Charlene Ramont, MPH
Charlene has a master’s degree in Public Health and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She has over eight year’s facilitation experience, the majority within the health and social sectors. Charlene also has over eight years of expertise in program management, collaborative coordination, and Collective Impact. She has was trained in Boundary Spanning Leadership by the Center for Creative Leadership and serves two collaboratives as coalition coach and facilitator. She has an extensive tools repository for assisting diverse groups in truly reaching across boundaries and working as one unit rather than siloed, independent programs or organizations. Charlene has been trained to think and act strategically, develop plans and scopes of work, and write evaluations, reports and budgets. Charlene has subject matter expertise in public health particularly Social Determinants of Health, community organizing, asset-based community development, and health equity.
Contact: Charlene@strategicfacilitation.com
Darci Smith, Associate
Ms. Smith has a proven history as both facilitator in strategic planning and seasoned statewide leadership in Head Start, early learning, youth development, and after school fields. As a national certified facilitator and trainer of the Technology of Participation (ToP) methods, she effectively uses an assortment of ToP facilitation methods “Strategic Planning; Consensus Workshops; Action Planning; Data Analysis to evoke the creativity of the group to produce effective, authentic results.
In addition to Ms. Smith’s facilitation and strategic planning expertise, she is well versed in youth development, early learning and after school field and stakeholders. For 15 years, she was the executive director for the California School-Age Consortium, a statewide professional association of after school providers and allies. Additionally, she has served as interim executive director for direct service and intermediary youth development, early childhood education, and parent education non-profits.
Contact: darci@strategicfacilitation.com