The architect
of alignment.
Founder of Facilitate Co. Certified ToP® Facilitator and Mentor Trainer. Lumina Spark Practitioner. Co-owner, Great Plains ToP. Helping leaders and teams navigate what matters most — across the Great Plains and virtually.
Why this work.
Why these methods.
I spent years watching organizations stall — not because they lacked talent, but because they lacked a process that could handle the weight of their own complexity. Strategic plans gathering dust. Leadership teams exhausted by circular conversations. "Harmonious" meetings that avoided the real issues. Leaders carrying the full weight of an organization's momentum alone.
I realized the answer wasn't another consultant giving them the answers. It was a facilitator who could design the container for them to find their own.
I chose the Technology of Participation® (ToP®) because it's the most rigorous method I've found for honoring every voice while moving a group toward a decision. It doesn't seek to bypass friction — it provides the structure to use that friction as fuel for innovation. I integrated Lumina Spark because I learned that for a team to navigate the future together, individuals first have to navigate themselves. Self-awareness under pressure isn't a soft skill — it's the foundation of every high-functioning team.
Today, Facilitate Co is the synthesis of that journey. I operate as a solo practitioner by design — every client gets my direct oversight and personal accountability. When the work calls for scale, I draw on a trusted network of certified ToP® practitioners who share the same standards and commitment to the work.
Whether I'm guiding your board through a transition, facilitating a statewide coalition, or training your staff to lead their own groups — the goal is the same: to build your capacity so you thrive long after I have left.
- ✦Certified ToP® Facilitator (CTF) — Institute of Cultural Affairs
- ✦ToP® Mentor Trainer — authorized to certify other facilitators
- ✦Lumina Spark Practitioner — Spark, Team, Leader & Emotion
- ✦Founder, Facilitate Co
- ✦Co-owner, Great Plains ToP® LLC
- ✦Co-founder, Great Plains ToP® Community of Practice
What each one actually means.
Credentials matter only when they translate into how the work gets done. Here's what each of mine brings into your room.
ToP® Mentor Trainer
One of a select few practitioners globally qualified to certify other trainers through ICA Associates. This isn't about running a better meeting — it's about operating at the highest level of process mastery, and being trusted to train the next generation of practitioners.
Certified ToP® Facilitator (CTF)
The gold standard in participatory process. It means I don't give you the answers — I design the conditions for your team to uncover them, then move them toward decisions they'll actually execute. Neutral to outcome. Rigorous about process.
Lumina Spark Practitioner
Using Lumina Spark to turn individual self-awareness into a measurable team asset. Not personality testing for its own sake — a diagnostic lens for how people show up under pressure, and how teams can adapt to each other with intent.
Co-Owner, Great Plains ToP
Co-owner and facilitator of the quarterly Great Plains ToP Community of Practice. Committed to the growth of participatory facilitation across Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, Iowa, and Montana — and to building a peer community for practitioners across the region.
Four principles that shape
the way I work with groups.
These aren't things I say. They're things I do — in every room, with every group, every time.
Mission, vision, and values.
The philosophical core of this work. Not positioning language — working principles that anchor every decision, from how I facilitate to which engagements I accept and which I turn down.
What I stand on. And what I stand for.
Five values, one foundation. Integrity is the ground everything else is built on. The other four describe how the work is done when that ground is solid.
When the work calls for more than one person.
Facilitation and training are collaborative by nature. When an engagement calls for it — a multi-day training, a statewide planning process, a complex team dynamic — I work with a trusted network of credentialed ToP® practitioners who share the same standards and commitment to the work. You get the personal integrity of a solo practice and the scalability of a team.
Great Plains ToP®
Great Plains ToP® is two things. It's an LLC I co-own with fellow practitioners — the business structure that supports our regional training work. And it's a community of practice I co-founded for ToP® facilitators across the Great Plains — a place to connect, learn, and strengthen the whole region's facilitation practice.
If you're a facilitator in the region interested in connecting — I'd love to introduce you.
Let's find out if we're a good fit.
The best engagements start with a real conversation — not a proposal. Tell me what you're working on, and what you need.