CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution : Podcast

On the World Cafe with Juanita Brown and Flavio Mesquita da Silva | Ep. 160

Abbie VanMeter — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:05:13 GMT

How can we turn the ‘what ifs’ into the ‘why nots’?

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Today, Abbie, Juanita, and Flavio discuss the World Cafe, including the history of how it came to be and how it continues to evolve in relationship with other approaches like Coordinated Management of Meaning and Appreciative Inquiry.

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Juanita Brown, PhD. is the Co-founder of the World Cafe with her partner, David Isaacs as well as the co-author, also with David, of the award winning book, The World Café: Shaping our Futures Through Conversations that Matter, now translated into 18 languages. For more than 40 years Juanita has collaborated as a thinking partner with senior leaders across sectors in the U.S. and abroad, crafting large-scale change strategies and creating innovative forums for strategic dialogue on critical business and societal issues. Juanita has served as a Research Affiliate with the MIT Organizational Learning Center and the Institute for the Future, and as a Fellow with both the World Business Academy and The Fielding Institute for Social Innovation. Now in her 80’s, Juanita contributes to local community resilience and social healing from her family’s legacy homestead in the mountains of North Carolina.

Since 1978, Mesquita da Silva has worked in Brazil and internationally in consulting, training, and coaching across human, social, environmental, educational, and organizational development, collaborating with nonprofits, universities, governments, businesses, and United Nations initiatives. He received the Honor to Merit for Relevant Work in the Service of Peace from Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies and a Research Scholarship Award from the Institute for Social Innovation at Fielding Graduate University for studies on the World Café.

He is a Marie Fielder Fellow and an Institute for Social Innovation Fellow at Fielding Graduate University, where he earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in Human and Organizational Systems, focusing on the World Café and cultures of peace. He also holds an M.A. in Whole Systems Design from Antioch University Seattle with his graduate project: A Holistic Systemic Approach to Peace: A Case for Design.

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Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.

Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
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Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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On Design as Experimentation, Relationality, and Reciprocity with Hannah Goss, Jotte de Koning, and Sine Celik | Ep. 159

Abbie VanMeter — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 04:01:29 GMT

Where do you see communication happening?

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Today, Abbie is joined by Hannah, Sine, and Jotte of TU Delf’s Systemic Design Lab (D-SDL) to talk about life and design as playful experiments. They introduce the four core practices articulated by members of the D-SDL: Framing Complexity, Meaningful Formgiving, Building Relationships, and Nurturing Reflexivity; and discuss centering relationality, moving from extracting to reciprocity, and embracing “doing less” in design.

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Hannah Goss is Assistant Professor of Transition Design at the Human-Centered Design department at TU Delft’s Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering. Her research focuses on how designers can stage their expertise to foster societal transitions, developing tools and methods to help designers understand and navigate complex systems change. Her PhD focused specifically on using design to foster the transition of the Dutch food system towards reducing food waste. Hannah is a member of the TU Delft Systemic Design Lab and the Food and Eating Design Lab, contributes to systemic and transition design education, and is part of the production team of Contexts—The Systemic Design Journal.

Dr. Sine Celik is an architect and design researcher. Currently, Sine is Assistant Professor of Network-driven Systemic Change at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering at TU Delft. Sine’s research is situated at the intersection of systemic design, innovation research and network studies. Her work focuses on the role of social dynamics when designing for and with complex societal challenges. She earned her PhD degree from TU Delft with a thesis on the development of innovation ecosystems from a network perspective. After her PhD, she joined Aalto University Design Factory in Finland for her postdoctoral studies, where she continued exploring ecosystems and design cultures. Sine has been actively engaging with the RSD and SDA community for over a decade and was one of the organisers of RSD10 in Delft.

Jotte de Koning is an assistant professor of design for sustainability at Delft University of Technology (TUD). Her expertise lies in the field of participatory design and sustainability. Her research is focused on co-creation processes between different actors in the transition process. She explores how methods from the field of participatory design and approaches of design thinking are relevant for different stakeholders in sustainability transitions.

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Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.

Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...

Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
...

CMM Institute Substack

CMM Institute Events Page

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Explore all things CMM Institute here.

On Reimagining Our Personal, Public, and Political Lives at the Co-Creating Social Worlds Symposium | Ep. 158

Abbie VanMeter — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 04:01:58 GMT

Welcome to the CSW Participant Podcast!

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Today, Abbie is joined by the participants of the Co-Creating Social Worlds Symposium in New York City to reflect on their experiences of this gathering. In this episode, you will hear from 11 symposium participants who stopped to speak with Abbie during the in-person symposium.

These conversations were recorded onsite at Mercy University in New York City, New York at the Co-Creating Social Worlds Symposium between January 27-28, 2026.

(Please excuse the imperfect audio quality, as this was an experiment in podcasting on the go in a crowded, public space) :)

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Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...
Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
...
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Explore all things CMM Institute here.

Mini-Series: The Stories of CSCA Podcast

CMMi — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 16:21:14 GMT

Listen in on conversations with the organizers of this year’s Central States Communication Association Convention, hosted in Minneapolis, MN. Plus, check back in after the conference for a special ‘Participant Podcast’ episode, featuring a collection of stories from the attendees of the conference on how they TRANSLATE!

Episode 1:

Kristina Scharp on the Theme of Translate

Today, Abbie and Kristina explore this year’s conference theme: ‘TRANSLATE!’ They talk what it means to translate communication scholarship, how Kristina is already steeped in a practice of translation, and what her hopes are for this conference and how attendees will experience translating throughout the week.

Episode 2:

Jeff Child on Being CSCA President

Abbie and Jeff talk about Jeff’s role as President of CSCA, including the long-term view of how CSCA evolves over time, the work of the leadership team to ensure gatherings offer opportunities to connect and learn together about how to meet this present moment, and the hope that we can explore ‘TRANSLATE!’ in a variety of helpful ways in April.

Episode 3:

Tiffany Wang On Creating Meaningful Experiences at CSCA

Abbie and Tiffany discuss what goes on behind the scenes to prepare for CSCA, Tiffany’s dual roles as Interim Executive Director and Second Vice President, and her hopes for the meaningful experiences- both academic and non-academic- that the CSCA team has worked hard to create for conference attendees.

Plus, Tiffany offers an invitation for all conference attendees to reach out to her at csca.ed@gmail.com with any accessibility or dietary needs, general questions, or requests that will help enrich your CSCA experience.

Episode 4:

Stevie Munz on the CSCA Pre-Conference

Abbie and Stevie talk about the CSCA pre-conference, why the theme of “Communicating in the Unknown: Navigating Uncertainty in a Changing Field” is so important right now, and what Stevie is looking forward to about this year’s conference and next.

Episode 5:

*CSCA Participant Podcast Coming Soon!*

On Hope, Agency, and Community at the Co-Creating Social Worlds Symposium | Ep. 157

Abbie VanMeter — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 04:00:47 GMT

What are your ‘practices for togetherness’?

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In this special episode, Abbie shares the recording of a panel she participated in, titled, ‘Hope, Agency, and Community: Practices for Togetherness’ at the Taos Institute’s Co-Creating Social Worlds Symposium. Panel facilitator, Somer Saleh, guides Abbie and her fellow panelists, Chris Hoff and Mario Ismael Espinoza, through a conversation about coalitions, wisdom keepers, interpersonal power, shared precarity, curiosity, story-seeking, imagination, and more.

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Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.

Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...

Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
...

CMM Institute Substack

CMM Institute Events Page

…

Explore all things CMM Institute here.

On Creating Invitations to Imagination with Jenn Chan | Ep. 156

Abbie VanMeter — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 16:14:04 GMT

What can you imagine for a better world?

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Today, Abbie and Jenn discuss the recent Chinese Lunar New Year, and the context of the transition from the year of the Wood Snake to the year of the Fire Horse as it relates to a shared sense of urgency, momentum, revolution. As Abbie and Jenn explore imagination as invitation, action, rehearsal, and experiment, they name a relationship between communication, stories, and imagination for designing better social worlds.

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Jennifer Chan (she/her) is a second-generation Chinese-Canadian settler, born and raised in Tkaranto, Turtle Island. Jenn is an oldest daughter of immigrants from Hong Kong, she is a Mama to two wonderful humans, a partner to her high school sweetie, a fiercely loyal friend as well as a sister and an Aunt, she is also a Double Virgo who lives with ADHD. Jenn weaves her deeply personal perspectives and worldviews into her work as the CEO of the Department of Imaginary Affairs.

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Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.

Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...

Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
...

CMM Institute Substack

CMM Institute Events Page

…

Explore all things CMM Institute here.

On Episodes, Boundaries, and Marginalization with Gerald Midgley | Ep. 155

Abbie VanMeter — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 15:18:14 GMT

What is your practice of systems thinking?

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Today, Abbie and Gerald explore the ongoing practice of defining and redefining systems; the relationship between boundaries and meaning-making; the impact of moral forces on naming the ‘sacred’ and ‘profane;’ the inter-relational complexity that goes beyond otherness and belonging: the twin myths of non-intervention and non-communication; the connection between reason and emotion; and the emergent nature of systems.

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Gerald Midgley is an Emeritus Professor of Systems Thinking in the Centre for Systems Studies, University of Hull, UK. He also holds visiting professorships at the University of Birmingham (UK), the Australian National University and Linnaeus University (Sweden). He has held research leadership roles in both UK academia and New Zealand government, and has undertaken a wide variety of public policy, public health, natural resource management, community development and technology foresight projects. Gerald was the 2013/14 President of the International Society for the Systems Sciences. He has written or edited almost 400 papers and 12 books, including “Systemic Intervention: Philosophy, Methodology, and Practice” (Kluwer, 2000); “Systems Thinking” (Sage, 2003); “Community Operational Research: OR and Systems Thinking for Community Development” (Kluwer, 2004); “The Handbook of Systems Thinking” (Open Science, 2023); and “Systems of Marginalization and Identity” (Routledge, 2026, in press).

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Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.

Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...

Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
...

CMM Institute Substack

CMM Institute Events Page

…

Explore all things CMM Institute here.

On Exploring Systems, Perspectives, and Complexity with Christian Baron | Ep. 154

CMMi — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 05:01:02 GMT

Where are you able to identify opportunities to make new choices in the systems you live, work, and play within?

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Today, Abbie and Christian talk trying out practical methods for system thinking, balancing simplicity and complexity, using the 5M structure (motivate, meet, map, make, manage), and inviting playful exploration of choices with groups.

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Christian Baron, PhD, is a freelance consultant, trainer, and systemic coach. As founder of zusammen-weiterdenken, he supports clients in creating sustainable value and navigating organizational transformation. With experience in research leadership and mid-sized industry, he applies systems thinking and systemic methods to make complex situations more workable. His practice focuses on clarity, collaboration, and long-term impact. He is the author of Methods for Systems Thinking: 65+ Practical Approaches for Exploring Systems, Perspectives, and Complexity.

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Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.

Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...

Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
...

CMM Institute Substack

CMM Institute Events Page

…

Explore all things CMM Institute here.

On Reflexivity with Abbie VanMeter | Ep. 153

CMMi — Wed, 24 Dec 2025 05:01:30 GMT

What have you learned in 2025?

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Today, Abbie offers one last, short episode for Season 4. In it, she explores her own reflections on the past year and hopes for the coming year. She invites listeners to join the conversation however they can- emailing storieslived.storiestold@gmail.com, commenting on YouTube, subscribing and following the CMMi Substack, and joining the CMM LinkedIn Group.

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On Unlearning Ableism with Jamie Shields and Celia Chartres-Aris | Ep. 152

CMMi — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 05:01:17 GMT

How can you be proactive in your inclusivity?

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Today, Abbie, Jamie, and Celia explore disability through the lens of a communication perspective, talking about transforming exclusion into inclusion in every space, changing narratives to focus on “the problem” as an inaccessible society rather than any one disabled individual, unlearning our internalized ableism as a necessary step for all of us, becoming proactive rather than reactive in our inclusive accessibility practices, and creating space for more stories that acknowledge both the systemic nature of ableism with the individual experiences of disability.

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Jamie Shields is a multi-award-winning Disability, Speaker, Trainer and Consultant, Content Creator and Disability Advocate, Registered Blind AuDHD Rhino, the UK’s 2nd most influential grassroots Disability advocate.

Celia Chartres-Aris is a Disabled Government Advisor, Founder & Investor, Multi-Award Winning Campaigner and Lobbyist, Researcher, Policy and Legal Expert, Speaker and Consultant, recognised as the UK’s most influential Disabled person.

Together, they are the founders of Disabled By Society, a 100% Disabled owned and led business transforming exclusion to inclusion. 17% of the world’s population identifies as Disabled, making us the largest minority group in the world. Despite this, ableism is one of the most under addressed, under-discussed, and underrepresented conversations in society. Society is failing to unlearn our inherent ableism. Everyday, Disabled people face aggressions, encounter inaccessible barriers, are excluded, overlooked, treated as a burden, or seen as a problem to be fixed. As a result, Disabled people are often left to manage internalised ableism in this ableist society. We are on a mission to change this. We cant sit back and do nothing. We partner globally across all sectors to remove the ableism ingrained in cultures, recruitment, products and services, policies, and everything in between. We make the uncomfortable comfortable, ending cycles of oppression and creating an inclusive society that is accessible, empowers, represents and provides opportunity for everyone. Our ground-breaking research and policy work has fed into reviews and cited across the world as never-before-seen data by and for the Disabled community. And through policy, lobbying, consultancy, training, an award-winning podcast, Celia and Jamie deliver award-winning solutions that transform Disability exclusion to inclusion. Having worked with some of the biggest brands and charities in the world, creating systematic change for the 2 billion people affected by ableism.

Order Jamie and Celia’s book, Unlearning Ableism: The Ultimate No-Nonsense Guide to Understanding Disability and Unlearning Ableism.

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On Stories, Learning, and Exploration with Claudia Westermann and Chris Speed | Ep. 151

CMMi — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 05:01:20 GMT

What makes you a designer?

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Today, Abbie, Claudia, and Chris explore radical changes in learning around systems thinking and design over time, along with the implications for future designers, which includes all of us. This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience as part of the RSDX Online Festival on Sunday, October 5, 2025. Join the RSDX Zoom Event here to watch the recording of Claudia and Chris’ presentation ‘Configuring Incompossible Futures’.

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Claudia Westermann is an artist-researcher and licensed architect. She is Associate Professor of Creative Practice in the School of Design and the Built Environment at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, a member of the German Chamber of Architects, Vice President of the American Society for Cybernetics (ASC), and co-editor of the journal Technoetic Arts. Claudia Westermann’s projects have been widely exhibited and presented, including at the Venice Biennale, the Moscow International Film Festival, ISEA Symposium for the Electronic Arts, and the Center for Art and Media (ZKM) in Germany. She has received awards for her practice and teaching, including two provincial and three national awards. For her visionary engagement fostering systemic education, research, and practice, she received the Margaret Mead Prize from the American Society for Cybernetics in 2024.

Chris Speed FRSE, FRSA is Professor of Design for Regenerative Futures at RMIT, Melbourne, where he works with communities and partners to explore how design supports transitions toward regenerative societies. He has a strong record of leading major grants and educational programmes with academic, industry and third-sector collaborators, applying design and data methods to address social, environmental and economic challenges. From 2022 to 2024, he served as Director of the Edinburgh Futures Institute, where he led the transformation of the historic Old Royal Infirmary into a world-leading centre for interdisciplinary teaching, research and innovation. Between 2018 and 2024, he directed Creative Informatics, a £7.4 million UKRI-funded cluster that supported data-driven innovation in the creative industries. From 2012 to 2022, he was Co-Director of the Institute for Design Informatics at the University of Edinburgh, which he helped build into the College’s largest research centre and a nationally recognised leader in interactive media. In 2020, he received the University of Edinburgh Chancellor’s Award for Research and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

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On Metadesign, Emergence, and Futures with Hannah Jones and Mathilda Tham | Ep. 150

CMMi — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 05:00:43 GMT

In what ways are you a designer?

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Today, Abbie, Hannah, and Mathilda explore the dissonance between prioritizing the present and/ or the future; the discomfort (and learning) that comes with awkward spaces; the power of storytelling for expanding our imagination; and the importance of designing with emergence in mind. This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience as part of the RSDX Online Festival on Friday, October 3, 2025.

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Hannah Jones is a design educator and researcher with over 20 years of experience in co-designing sustainable, inclusive futures. She currently supervises PhDs with a focus on metadesigning at University of Wales Trinity St. David, Wales, UK. Her teaching practice, research and workshop facilitation brings together metadesign tools and approaches inspired by her research at Goldsmiths, University of London and designing thinking and intersectional approaches to designing from her time working at Stanford University at the Institute for Design (d.school).

Mathilda Tham is Professor of Design at Linnaeus University, Sweden and affiliated with Goldsmiths, University of London.Her metadesign research seeks to develop uncompromisingly systemic and holistic approaches to living within Earth’s limits, connecting environmental issues with social justice and mental health, and individual needs with global sustainability. It has resulted in: new ways to meet around the infected forest issue, new rituals to integrate different generations, a recipe book for making homes within Earth’s limits, new professional designer roles, new policy initiatives. She is co-creator of + Change education and research environment, co-author of the Earth Logic Fashion Action Research Plan and co-founder Union of Concerned Researchers in Fashion. See www.mathildatham.com.

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On Relating Systems Thinking and Design at RSD14 | Ep. 149

CMMi — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 04:01:00 GMT

Welcome to the RSD14 Participant Podcast!

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Today, Abbie is joined by the participants of the Relating Systems Thinking and Design (RSD14) Conference in Toronto to reflect on their own experiences of both the online and in-person conference, the stories and contexts around design that they bring with them, and the conversations they are a part of and what they hope is next for this community. In this episode, you will hear from 13 conference participants who stopped to speak with Abbie during the conference itself.

These conversations were recorded onsite at OCAD University in Toronto, Canada at the RSD14 Conference between October 16-18, 2025.

Please excuse the sometimes wonky audio quality, as this was an experiment in podcasting on the go in a public space :)

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On Collaboration, Performance & Chamber Music with Annie Fullard and Dorianne Cotter-Lockard | Ep. 148

CMMi — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 04:01:24 GMT

In what ways are you an artist?

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Today, Abbie, Annie, and Dorianne discuss ‘The Art of Collaboration: Chamber Music Rehearsal Techniques and Team Building,’ Annie and Dorianne’s new book that introduces themes of co-leadership and empathy which are relevant for all small group communication. Particularly, Abbie, Annie, and Dorianne talk about ‘We Presence,’ LBAD (Live, Breath, and Die), and “trying out everyone’s ideas as if they were your own.”

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Violinist Annie Fullard, celebrated for her “gleaming artistry, bravura, and sensitivity,” stands as a pioneering force in chamber music education and advocacy. As Director and Sidney M. Friedberg Chair of Chamber Music at The Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University, and Distinguished Artist and Charles and Mary Jean Yates Chair in Chamber Music at The Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University, she continues to shape the next generation of chamber musicians while advancing the art form’s reach and impact. Annie is co-author, with Dorianne Cotter-Lockard, PhD, of the highly anticipated guidebook ‘The Art of Collaboration: Chamber Music Rehearsal Techniques and Team Building’ (Oxford University Press, February 2025). Beyond the concert hall, Fullard views the empathy and connectivity of chamber music as a metaphor for the kind of communication that we should strive for between cultures and nations. As a founding member of the Cavani String Quartet, Fullard has earned international recognition through extensive touring and prestigious honors including the Naumburg Chamber Music Award, the Cleveland Quartet Award (Eastman), and top prizes at the Banff International, Fischoff, Coleman, and Carmel Chamber Music competitions.

Dorianne Cotter-Lockard served as a divisional C-level leadership team member of a Fortune 100 company. She holds a PhD in Human and Organizational Systems from Fielding Graduate University, an M.B.A. from New York University, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music. Dorianne teaches theories and applications of mindful leadership, ethics in healthcare, and creativity at work, and supervises student research at Saybrook University. She is a faculty member at Munich Business School, developing and teaching leadership and organization courses for the Conscious Business Education initiative. She conducts research on the topics of team collaboration, leadership, spirituality in the workplace, coaching, and music education through the Institute for Social Innovation, Fielding Graduate University, and is a member of the International Consortium of Integral Scholars. In addition to her consulting and coaching practice, Dorianne serves as faculty to certify SQ21 Spiritual Intelligence coaches, is certified through the International Coach Federation, and is a certified Emotional Intelligence coach.

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On A Relational Approach to Disorganizing with Kate Lockwood Harris | Ep. 147

CMMi — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 04:01:13 GMT

What does it look like to connect everyday interactions to broader social dynamics? To use our knowledge of interpersonal communication to create the kinds of organizations, communities, and systems we want to make?

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Today, Abbie and Kate talk about a relational approach to disorganizing systemic violence in organizations, exploring themes from Kate’s new book Transforming Trauma to discuss different ways of knowing (and not knowing) in our bodies, minds, and relationships; flexibility and agility in organizations when responding to trauma; and recognizing discourses that create fearful or curious responses to uncertainty.

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Kate Lockwood Harris, PhD, is an internationally recognized communication scholar, writer, and consultant. Her award-winning research focuses on the relationship between violence and communication. In her most recent book, Transforming Trauma: A Relational Approach to Disorganizing Systemic Violence, Dr. Harris shows how trauma gets stuck in an organization’s practices and policies—not just in its people. Moreover, she offers guidance for addressing this organized trauma.

In addition to this work, Dr. Harris has published more than 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and chapters in edited collections, and she regularly speaks to audiences in the United States and across the globe. Most recently, Dr. Harris has been authoring the monthly public essay series, CommuniKate with Kate Lockwood Harris. Each essay shows how shifts in everyday interactions can create not only thriving relationships and organizations but also a more just world. Dr. Harris offers individual coaching for people who want to grow their personal and professional communication skills, and she consults with organizations to build climates where violence is rare and where people flourish.

Kate Lockwood Harris is Associate Professor of Communication Studies and a McKnight Presidential Fellow. She uses critical, feminist, and intersectional perspectives to answer the question, “How are violence and communication related?” Dr. Harris assumes that violence is a symptom of inequity, so she pays close attention to gender, race, and related systems of difference. Her research on organizational responses to sexual assault has been widely published in management, communication, cultural studies, and feminist outlets.

Her first book, Beyond the Rapist: Title IX and Sexual Violence on US Campuses (Oxford University Press), was recognized with the 2020 Book Award from the European Group for Organizational Studies.

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On Social Therapeutics and Performance Activism with Lois Holzman | Ep. 146

CMMi — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 13:58:22 GMT

How do we embrace the unknowability of being alive?

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Today, Abbie and Lois explore social therapeutics and performance activism as avenues for “performing beyond ourselves,” embracing life as play (and play as life), and creating stages- not of development- but, for development.

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As director of the East Side Institute, the research and education center for social therapeutics and performance activism, Lois Holzman has broadened its reach globally across geographical and practice/profession boundaries. As both academic scholar and popular writer, her work builds on the insights of Lev Vygotsky and Ludwig Wittgenstein, particularly on “language-ing” as relational activity, as an important component of an expended practical critique of the individualistic bio-medical model of emotional distress. Lois is the author of A Developmentalist's Guide to Better Mental Health: Navigating Everyday Life Dilemmas.

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On Communication, Interactions & Systems with Laura Fruggeri | Ep. 145

CMMi — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 13:51:23 GMT

What CMMish tools help us to end a conversation in a different place than where we started?

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Today, Abbie and Laura explore the stories of Laura’s evolving approach to therapy, including the introduction of paradox and counterparadox developed by the Milan Center; the adoption of a more strategic approach to communication from a pragmatic perspective; the shift in seeing the therapist as both observer and participant; and the centering of interaction as the place where social realities are relationally co-constructed.

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Laura Fruggeri is director of the Centro Bolognese di Terapia Familiare (Italy), where she works as teacher, researcher and psychotherapist. She is consultant and supervisor of teams working in the mental health services. She has given seminars in many international Training Institutes and Universities. She has consistently presented at national and international conferences. She is author of numerous articles, essays, and books in Italian, English, French, Spanish, and German. The latest book, “Psychotherapeutic competencies”, written together with Francesca Balestra and Elena Venturelli, was published in 2022 by Rutledge (London).

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On Practicing Leadership Playing Dungeons & Dragons with Tom Watkin | Ep. 144

CMMi — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 14:53:15 GMT

How do games like Dungeons and Dragons enable us to practice a CMM-informed way of relating, participating, and communicating?

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Today, Abbie and Tom explore Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) as a powerful practice and metaphor for developing more relational, emergent, and collaborative ways of being and leading, touching on the value of experiential learning in scenarios our brains will remember as real; the need (both in game and out) to coordinate across different meanings being made in each of our own imaginations; and the opportunity to transform and be transformed by collective storytelling and world building.

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Tom Watkin is a passionate business leader and writer who bridges the imaginative world of Dungeons & Dragons with real-world leadership and teamwork development. He is the creative force behind the DnD at Work blog, where he explores how roleplaying games can be powerful tools for honing soft skills like communication, collaboration, strategic thinking, and emotional intelligence in a safe, playful environment.

Beyond the blog, Tom is a business leader in the environmental sector with experience across Australia, Europe, New Zealand and Asia. He's led teams in small business, startups and large multi-nationals. He is also the author of Business Development Begins Here, aimed at helping technical professionals navigate the complexities of work winning and business expansion. He advocates for “Steward Leadership” — guiding organizations toward long-term success through thoughtful and ethical leadership.

In essence, Tom fuses his extensive background in business leadership with his love for gaming, creating a unique, experiential path for leaders and teams to grow stronger—one adventure at a time.

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On Creating 'Grains of Empowerment' for Women and Girls with Mil Niepold | Ep. 143

CMMi — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 19:49:11 GMT

Who isn't being invited to the conversation?

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Today, Abbie and Mil explore ways to create “grains of empowerment” that enable every individual to participate in community-based solutions to our global problems, beginning with each of us asking the question “who is missing?” in every space we enter; systematically inviting people with differing perspective, identities, and experiences to the table; and naming the invisible patterns of communication that keep us from hearing each other in conversation.

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As a board director, mediator, and international ESG supply chain strategist, Mil Niepold, has spent her career at the intersection of partnerships, policy, and sustainability—architecting inclusive, bottom-line solutions that address climate change while improving human rights at the same time.

Career-wide, Mil has served on, and chaired, ESG-related advisory boards, helped Fortune 500 companies launch integrated gender and climate supply chain strategies, and advised more than fifty companies, governments, and NGOs on climate-resilient human rights due-diligence strategies, with a particular focus on women’s empowerment and the elimination of child and forced labor.

A lifelong consensus builder, she has mediated more than forty multi-stakeholder dialogues on complex economic and social issues such as agricultural policy, climate-resilient livelihoods, child and forced labor, rural land use, and gender policy.

Mil has made policy reform recommendations to six governments around climate, gender, and human rights, and led teams in designing and delivering international sustainability, negotiation, and leadership trainings.

Recognized for expertise in social inclusion, Mil has appeared as keynote, panelist, and presenter with institutions such as University of Pennsylvania Law School, Climate Investment Fund, U.S. State Department, World Bank, and the United Nations.

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On Observing Mindfulness, Innovation & Complexity with Mattia Vettorello | Ep. 142

CMMi — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 04:01:15 GMT

How do we create better social worlds at the intersection of mindfulness, innovation, and complexity?

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Today, Abbie and Mattia consider the responsibility humans have to mindfully engage with tools like artificial intelligence by prioritizing our own imagination; the lessons we can learn from experiences of uncertainty and ambiguity; the need for us to practice thinking in an agile way as we look to the future; and the role we have as participant-observers.

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Mattia Vettorello is a results-driven team leader with over 13 years of experience in design-led innovation and first principles thinking, specializing in early-stage validation, product development and design operations. Recipient of the international Innovation Management Award from the International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM) for creating the Innovation System Roadmap: a pioneering tool to optimize investment decisions on early stage ideas, to influence flexibility into the development process and to equip teams with future-thinking capabilities. He regularly publishes thought leadership and speaks at international conferences on anticipatory innovation, ecosystem business model & Ai as a co-thinker.

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