Mid-Atlantic Facilitators' Network - 2026 Conference: "New Frontiers in Facilitation"

New Frontiers in Facilitation

2026 MAFN Conference

WHEN: Friday, April 17, 2026 | WHERE: Mason Fuse Center - 3401 Fairfax Drive Arlington, VA 22201

Don't miss out on this opportunity to Explore | Sharpen | Connect

We’re bringing the MAFN community together in person this spring - Join us!

What You will Experience

Expect a day filled with fresh ideas, meaningful conversations, and the energy of being in community. Attendees will direct their own agenda around the content themes through interactive workshops and meaningful opportunities to connect and network before and after the conference.

CONTENT Themes:

Business development in dynamic times
Technology shifts in facilitation
Facilitating amid polarization and conflict

Who Should Attend and Why

If you lead groups, facilitate change, or guide learning, New Frontiers in Facilitation is designed for you. This one-day, in-person conference brings together facilitators, trainers, educators, coaches, mediators, and organizational leaders to explore cutting-edge practices in business development, technology in facilitation, and working across divided contexts. Beyond the sessions, the conference emphasizes intentional networking to help you build meaningful connections that last well beyond the event. Join us and leave inspired, equipped, and connected for the future of facilitation.

At-a-Glance Schedule

Registration & Coffee Networking from 8:30

Plenary
- Rae Ringel - Rupture & Renewal, How Facilitation Evolves in a Polarized AI-Driven World
Six workshops in three parallel sessions (the opportunity to join three in the program)

Bola Audena - Scaling with Purpose: Building a Thriving Facilitation Brand in the Age of AI

Carly Chomer & Kim Fredrich - Make Your Business Development Meaningful Not Mechanical

Christine Gerson & Eboney Dixon-Crump - Clarity, Curiosity and Connection: Coaching Through Polarization & Communicating Across Differences

Jennie Toner-Algin - Find the Beat: Using Musical Techniques to Reduce Polarization and Navigate Group Conflict

Mike Burns - AI and Facilitation: Asking Not What It Can Do, But What It Should Do

Nikki Frias - Building Bridges in Conflict and Uncertainty with Applied Improv

Lunch & Networking

Parallel sessions
- Knowledge Cafe: Join table hosts for skills-based learning

Open Space: Join fellow participants to reflect on key learnings, collaboratively explore emerging questions, and engage in self-directed dialogue with peers.