Jane GeltchI am a participatory process host, and steward of the Art of Hosting Conversations that Matter.
I love working with organisations moving to Next Stage ways of working, and am a student of the new paradigms emerging for a more connected, compassionate future. I see my work with Purpose Partners as co-creation - working with others to bring new ideas to life. I have a growing conviction that empathy, compassion and forgiveness are the keys to a meaningful life. I love hosting and nourishing others on their path as they host and nourish me. |
Steve RymanI am a global nomad, often a Sacred Outsider, traveling the world, witnessing life’s unfolding, asking questions, listening and sharing stories, offering myself and my gifts where I can contribute. But most of all, I am continually learning what it means to be fully human and how to be more present in all situations.
I have worked for 35 years in American healthcare facilitating innovation, collaboration and change process, and developing high performing work teams. As a practitioner and steward of the Art of Hosting Conversations, I have a particular interest in frontier areas of the world and in helping to build capacity and supporting newer practitioners in their learning. |
Mel GeltchI am a collaborative organiser, designer, host and harvester of work that matters, and I care
deeply about creating spaces where people can thrive. I’m a co-founder of a collaborative enterprise, Campfire Co-op, a group of Australians working in public participation and the transformation of organisations and communities. This is also a supportive platform for practicing self organising ways of doing business. Since 2010, the Art of Hosting has become a cornerstone of the way I work and live, and I am an emerging steward of the practice. |
David NewellMy passion lies in supporting people to realise and activate their full potential - individually, and within groups and organisations. I have a background in rural development and landcare - building the capacity of people to collaborate well.
Since 2010 I have used Art of Hosting practices and way of being in all my work. I continue to explore the “Art” of this way of creating collective meaning, understanding and action. My work in the world also includes hosting men’s circles and leading contemporary rite of passage camps for boys. I am a founding member of Campfire Co-op, a collective of hosts, facilitators, practitioners and learners. |
Nick TakavadiiI stumbled onto the Art of Hosting practice in 2006 at Kufunda Learning Village which has since become my learning and home base. My career background is in designing and leading business software projects in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa.
My passion for the arts and living in harmony with nature has led me to initiate and participate in several collaborative community and environmental transformation initiatives, with the Art of Hosting and the Flow Game at their core. I am as comfortable listening to and relating to humans in prison as I am with corporate executives, and helping them seek clarity in their intentions and steps for wiser actions. I recently moved to Brisbane where I continue to seek helping and learning opportunities for positively changing the way we work and relate to each other. |
Megan RowlattPassionate about inner transformation, leadership, and hosting meaningful conversations and experiences, I love exploring and creating innovative and inspiring ways to connect people to self, others, place, culture and nature, in ways which lead to improved health and wellbeing, and a more sustainable and regenerative future.
Co-founder of Intrepid Landcare, I specialise in youth engagement and community development, environmental conservation, sustainability and connection. I have worked in natural resource management and community engagement for more than 12 years. I have embedded Art of Hosting practices not only across my work but in my life as well. I find it a beautifully powerful body of work that supports my own growth and learning, and my ability to serve others. |
Mark SpainI was born in the Snowy Mountains, grew up in Cooma and live in Canberra.
My purpose is bringing humanity and nature back into balance and harmony. I'm a co-designer and collaborator in action learning projects like the Canberra City Farm, SEE Change (Society, Environment, Economy) , Presence in Nature, Canberra Alliance for Participatory Democracy and becoming a zero emissions ACT. As part of Global Learning, I co-design and deliver innovative approaches to leadership development and culture change for business, government and community. My work is focussed on transforming business, society and self by building capacity for deep innovation. I love collaborating with people to build capacity for self-organised positive transformation that regenerates life. |
Peter PigottI come to this training to deepen my practice, skill and understanding of the works and people that make up the Art of Hosting.
Having trained in the Art of Hosting and Groundwork in the last year, I apply these practices in the work I do with the NSW Government and Landcare as a Regional Agriculture Landcare Facilitator. In my ‘other jobs’ collaborating with Intrepid Landcare, Global Learning, Habitus, Pathways and Campfire Co-op, I bring hosting and facilitation practice to leadership development and capacity building with community environment and agriculture groups and support contemporary rites of passage processes with young people. I have found purpose in the notion of building and maintaining islands of sanity throughout my life - co-creating spaces where relationship and human connection thrive. |
Jane Breaden |
Lyn Stephens |
Janet Salisbury |
I am a novice Art of Hosting practitioner, having recently awakened to the power of conversation to generate understanding and insight. I spent over 20 years working with traditional tools and approaches, driven by traditional qualifications and training.
My work was efficient, focussed, logical and structured; but never really fulfilled its promise. In early 2018 I received an unexpected invitation to explore possibility and leverage the wisdom of others, and in doing so, tackle complex problems. It filled a gap I did not know existed and I am keen to see as many people as possible benefit from these approaches. I am a senior leader in Canberra’s water and sewerage utility – Icon Water. As custodians of our precious water resources, I am always looking for opportunities to collaborate with my colleagues and the community we serve, to get the best outcomes. |
I come to this training with the hope that it will generate something interesting and new for those who attend, and in the heart of the nation.
My entrée to Art of Hosting comes largely through my connection with two other members of the hosting team, Janet and Mark. This goes back several years and involves various projects and ongoing attempts to encourage deep conversation in our community. The experience I bring is derived from my early career as a social worker in mental health, followed by management roles in the public service, then organisational development consulting mainly with NGOs in the ACT – along with the all the learning that can emerge from decades of family life. I am open to the possibilities that this training may bring and look forward to meeting the people who will share this journey with us. |
I have lived in Canberra for over 33 years, am a mother and grandmother, businesswoman, and supporter of many community groups and activities. I am a passionate advocate for dialogue in our public discourse as a way to create understanding and collaboration across different perspectives.
I am a member of the Canberra-based group A Chorus of Women who give voice to matters of concern at the heart of our communities through artistic expression (primarily song) and public conversations. I was the initiator and facilitator of Chorus’s Canberra Conversations series (2009–2014), which combined artistic expression with the principles I had learnt through Art of Hosting Conversations that Matter training to create opportunities for citizen-led dialogue, particularly about local development and environmental issues. |