The Craft of Convening
A four-day retreat and three-month mentoring program for professionals who lead high-stakes meetings, retreats, and multi-stakeholder processes.
All-inclusive from $3,300 · Save $300 when you register by December 20, 2026
Why this program
You run community consultations, design strategy retreats, or bring together stakeholders who don’t always agree. Like most people who do this work, you’ve built your approach on the job, perhaps with training in a specific method or two.
What’s often missing is the chance to step back. Without in-depth training in designing high-stakes convenings, or time to look closely at your own practice, it’s easy to rely on what has worked before, even when the group in front of you needs something different.
Skilled facilitation matters most when people hold different amounts of power, speak different languages, or come from different cultures. And it’s getting harder. Attention is shorter, people are more stretched, and trust takes longer to build. The result is a persistent gap between the convenings people need and the ones they get.
The Craft of Convening helps close that gap. It gives you the methods, the critical lens on power, and the reflective practice to walk into any room and move a group towards meaningful decisions, clear alignment, and real trust.
across differences
and alignment
decisions
impact
Who this is for
This inaugural program is a comprehensive professional development curriculum for people who are already running meetings, retreats, consultations, or strategy processes, and want to facilitate with more skill, more focused intention, and more impact…whether or not “facilitator” is in their title.
Most participants will have 5–15 years of experience, and the program will be an opportunity to receive peer feedback and trainer guidance on your real-world challenges. The program is designed for:
Foundation staff
who design grantee convenings, peer learning cohorts, and gatherings that bring a whole field together
NGO and INGO leaders
responsible for multi-stakeholder processes, strategy retreats, and partner coordination
Sustainability, CSR
and inclusion leads
who convene across cultures, languages, and organizational boundaries
Public servants
who lead community consultations and participatory planning processes
Independent consultants
including experienced professionals who may have recently gone out on their own and want facilitation at the core of what they offer
You will learn how to
Start with purpose
Clarify why you’re convening before you build an agenda, so the design serves what’s actually needed.
Map power and
stakeholders
Design for genuine participation across language, culture, and hierarchy.
Build a working
toolkit
Draw on methods from World Café and Open Space to Liberating Structures and Presencing Institute techniques, and choose the ones that will serve your stakeholders.
Design the
whole container
Plan the space, timing, materials, co-facilitation, and what happens before and after.
Read the room
in real time
Know when to engage and when to hold back, and have techniques to navigate conflict, silence, dominance or disengagement.
Sustain your
practice
Build a reflective routine, real boundaries against burnout, and a clearer sense of your facilitation identity.
What makes this program different
A wide range of methods
Many trainings teach a single approach. This program covers many, and how to choose and adapt them for different groups.
Support after the retreat
Most trainings end when you go home. Here, you keep working with your trainers for three months as you put what you learned into practice.
Trainers who are also certified coaches
Alongside the methods, you’ll develop your own style and grow as a facilitator.
Equity throughout the curriculum
Every session addresses facilitating across language, culture, ability and power, and includes embodied practices for reading and holding a room.
From retreat to mentoring
The program is built around three questions every convener has to answer: Why are we gathering? How do we design for who’s in the room? And how do we stay grounded in whatever shows up?
Day 1 — Why We Gather
Participants arrive Monday afternoon (4:00 pm), check in to their accommodations and settle in, join the opening circle, and share a family-style dinner.
Day 2 — Design & Method
Day-long programming that focuses on how we architect convenings that generate what we need.
Day 3 — Embodied Practice & Creative Method
How do we show up fully in the room…reading energy, holding presence, and responding to what emerges?
Day 4 — Integration & Closing
Participants have a final half-day of sessions (depart by 12 pm) focused on how to sustain the work over time—the techniques as well as the inner work of the facilitator.
After the Retreat — Mentoring and Coaching
Four online sessions in small groups follow what you’re putting into practice: debriefing the first gathering you lead, working through a current challenge, and planning how to keep growing. Plus one individual coaching session.
The trainers
The Craft of Convening will be led by two senior practitioners with more than 45 years of combined experience on two continents. Both are certified coaches, and both have led convenings in multiple languages and cultures.
Aimee has spent 20+ years designing and facilitating hundreds of participatory processes, from multi-day multilingual gatherings to organization-wide strategy processes across Latin America, the U.S. and beyond. Her work has addressed issues related to Amazon conservation, urban planning, governance, sexual and reproductive rights, and civic participation. Aimee designed and taught a four-day course called “Facilitating Participatory Development” at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey for three years (2018–2020). She is a Certified Integral Master Coach™ and facilitates in English and Spanish, with working Portuguese.
World Resources Institute, The Nature Conservancy, Hivos, GIZ, UNDP, Planned Parenthood Global and Ashoka Changemakers.
“Aimee led us through our 3-day regional workshop with a lot of professionalism and know-how. I appreciated the alternation between theory and exchange/practice, her pragmatic approach and strong presence.”
— Gisela Wattendorff
Programme Director Central America, Pestalozzi Children’s Foundation
Rachel has spent 25+ years coaching and consulting with leaders and organizations working for justice and equity. Her work spans leadership development, liberatory governance, equity in philanthropy and somatic, embodied facilitation. She designed and led The Harmony Initiative, Justice Funders’ flagship leadership program for grantmaking professionals with 250 participants over 10 years, and co-authored Justice Funders’ Choir Book and Resonance Framework. She earned her PCC credential from the International Coaching Federation (ICF) in 2009.
Humanity United, Patagonia, Pride Foundation, and International Funders for Indigenous Peoples.
“... Rachel is a phenomenal facilitator as she so adeptly demonstrated in numerous trainings with us, but particularly the intense wordsmithing of our mission and values language. She is unflappable!”
— Tanir Ami
CEO, CARESTAR Foundation
The retreat setting: Whispertree
Whispertree offers a stunning setting for The Craft of Convening retreat, nestled on 600+ acres of regeneratively managed land in Anderson Valley, Mendocino County. The property’s indoor and outdoor spaces, as well as the variety of accommodation choices, give guests ample opportunities for meaningful connection with nature and other participants during their stay.
What makes this venue experience different
Unique location, unique learning
Exclusive access to the property
The Craft of Convening will be the only group at this property during the retreat dates, helping to create a focused space with limited distractions. Participants can feel at ease utilizing all the gathering spaces and amenities on this beautiful property.
Accommodations to suit every participant
From luxury glamping tents to private rooms in the historic Toll House, as well as accessible options, participants will have a choice of pricing options while still enjoying the same beautiful property and catered meals.
Access to the best of California’s natural wonders
Beyond the comforts of their lodging, guests can visit the Yurt to find a quiet space for meditation or yoga, enjoy some nature-bathing, or hike the 6+ miles of trails boasting panoramic views of the valley.
Off the beaten path
Whispertree is about 2.5 hours north of San Francisco, with four airports within a 1- to 3-hour drive: Sonoma County (STS), San Francisco (SFO), Oakland (OAK), and Sacramento (SMF). Nearby Boonville offers a quaint pit stop with small-town charm.
Book your spot today
One price covers the full program: the retreat, three nights of lodging, all meals and materials, the four mentoring sessions, and your individual coaching session.
You choose your lodging; everything else is the same for everyone.
Explore lodging options & pricing
Select an option below to see its details and price. You’ll confirm your choice on the registration form. All prices are in USD. Travel to and from Whispertree is not included.
Coming with a colleague? Share a Barn room or a glamping tent and save. Shared rates are per person: each of you registers separately and names the other as your roommate.
Bringing a dependent? Choose the family option on the registration form (limited availability), and we’ll contact you to arrange it.
Toll House Room, bathroom en suite
Stay in one of three beautifully renovated rooms with en suite bathrooms and access to a cozy, shared gathering space.
Accessibility note: Not sure which option fits your access needs? Contact us and we’ll help you find the right fit.
Payment options explained
Pay in full or in two payments, by card or U.S. bank account. With two payments you pay 50% of the price when you register (plus a $100 administrative fee). If you register by December 20, the early-bird discount comes off your first payment. We’ll charge the second payment automatically 60 days after you register—or on January 10, 2027, whichever comes first.
If you register after January 10, full payment is required.
Pay in full
Illustrative total for the accommodation shown:
$4,000 (early-bird price)
Pay in two payments
Illustrative early-bird split, including the $100 administrative fee:
$2,100 first payment
$2,000 second payment
You’ll confirm your lodging and payment choice on the registration form.
How to register
1 Fill in the registration form
Click Book your spot to open the registration form. It asks a few questions about you, your choice of lodging, and whether you’d like to pay in full or in two payments.
If you’re booking a shared Barn room or glamping tent, add your roommate’s name (they’ll need to register separately) or ask us to match you with another participant.
You’ll also agree to our cancellation policy and sign the participant release, property rules and confidentiality agreement by typing your name.
Need the fully accessible room or the family option, or is your organization paying by invoice? Choose it on the registration form. Instead of going to checkout, you’ll see a confirmation page and we’ll contact you about the next step.
2 Pay securely to confirm your spot
When you submit the form, you’ll be taken to a secure checkout page for the option you chose.
Your place is confirmed once your payment goes through. If your organization is paying by invoice, your place is confirmed once we receive payment.
3 Welcome!
After paying, you’ll be taken to our welcome page and receive your payment receipt by email.
Within two business days, we’ll send your official confirmation email and welcome packet with everything you need to know before the retreat.
Practical details
Getting there
Whispertree is located at 12378 Boonville Rd, Boonville, California in Anderson Valley (Mendocino County).
| Airport | Approx. drive to Whispertree |
|---|---|
| Sonoma County (STS) | 1 hour |
| San Francisco (SFO) | 2.5 hours |
| Oakland (OAK) | 2.5 hours |
| Sacramento (SMF) | 3 hours |
When you register, let us know if you’re interested in carpooling or a shuttle. If there’s enough interest, we’ll offer a shuttle from SFO and/or Sonoma County Airport (STS) for an additional cost, which we’ll confirm by January 25, 2027.
Please send us your flight details by the same date, and we’ll put people who want to carpool in touch.
Accessibility
All of our gathering spaces, including the Barn, yurt, and bathhouse, are wheelchair accessible, and one private room is fully ADA-accessible. To book the fully accessible room, choose it on the registration form and we’ll contact you to set it up. You can also tell us about any other access needs on the form, and we’ll follow up privately.
Cancellation policy
If you need to cancel
To cancel, email us at katherine@co-inside.com.
Cancellation fees are dependent on the following schedule:
| Cancellation date | Refund policy |
|---|---|
| Within 48 hours of registering (and before January 1, 2027) | Full refund, minus payment processing fees |
| On or before November 30, 2026 | Full refund minus a $400 cancellation fee |
| December 1–31, 2026 | Full refund minus a $600 cancellation fee |
| January 1, 2027 or after | No refund |
Please note, the $100 administrative fee for the two-payment option is non-refundable. As of January 1, your second payment will still be due.
Can’t make it?
You can transfer your place to someone else until February 8, 2027, even after the refund deadlines have passed. A $250 transfer fee applies, paid by the person transferring, and the transfer is confirmed once the fee is paid.
The new participant takes over pending payments, your lodging option, and will be responsible for signing the release forms. Any reimbursement between you and the new participant is arranged between the two of you.
If we need to cancel or postpone
If not enough people register, we’ll let you know by January 20, 2027, and refund everything you’ve paid.
If the retreat is prevented from being carried out by circumstances beyond our control, such as wildfire, severe storms, an evacuation or a public health order, we’ll move it to new dates within 18 months and your registration will carry over.
If you can’t make the new dates, you can transfer your place to someone else at no fee, or receive a credit toward a future program. Under no circumstances are we able to refund travel costs, so we recommend you secure your own travel insurance.
Frequently asked questions
What if I want more information before I sign up?
You can sign up for a free online information session to meet the trainers and ask questions:
Wednesday, December 2
9:00–9:45 AM PT
Thursday, December 10
11:00–11:45 AM PT
We may hold an additional session in January depending on interest.
You can also send an email to Rachel Humphrey (rachel@rachelhumphrey.com) or Aimee Maron (aimee@co-inside.com) with any questions.
Are scholarships available?
We are currently unable to offer scholarships for this first cohort. However, to make the program more affordable, we are offering early-bird pricing, shared occupancy accommodations, and split payment options.
Can I come with colleagues?
Yes, and coming with colleagues means you’ll leave with a shared approach you can use together. If interested, colleagues can also share a Barn room or glamping tent at a lower per-person price. Each person must fill out the registration form. If your organization is paying, choose “My organization will pay by invoice,” and we’ll send one invoice for everyone, plus a letter for your professional development budget if you need one.
Can I share a room if I’m coming on my own?
Yes, register for a shared glamping tent or shared Barn room and let us know on the registration form that you’d like us to match you with a roommate. We will assign them before arrival. If for some reason we can’t find a match, you’ll have the space to yourself at the shared price.
Can my organization pay by invoice?
Yes. Choose “My organization will pay by invoice” on the registration form.
We’ll send the invoice within two business days and hold your spot for 14 days.
We can also provide a W-9 on request, and a short letter for your professional development budget.
Questions? Contact Katherine Pierront, COO of Co-Inside, at katherine@co-inside.com.
Are travel costs covered?
No. The program fee covers the retreat, lodging, all meals and materials, and the online mentoring and coaching. You’ll arrange and pay for your own travel to and from Whispertree.
We’ll put participants interested in carpooling in touch after January 25.
If there’s enough interest, we’ll offer a shuttle from SFO and/or Sonoma County Airport for an extra cost.
See the Getting there section above.
What if I miss a mentoring session?
We’ll set the dates for the group sessions together before the retreat ends, so they work for as many people as possible.
If you have to miss one, let your trainer know ahead of time. Sessions aren’t recorded, so everyone can speak openly, but we’ll share notes afterward with the main themes, resources and next steps.
What’s the weather like in late February at Whispertree?
Days are usually mild, in the high 50s°F, and nights cool to around 40°F. It’s also the rainy season, so expect some wet days.
Tents are on elevated platforms and have both heaters and mattress heating pads. We recommend you bring layers and a rain jacket.
Ready to hone your convening skills?
