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• (Members Only) MAFN Small Business CoP: Swap Meet: A Business Operations Tools Exchange

  • When
    07/27/2026
  •  
    12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
  • Location
    Online using Zoom

  Register

  Description:

  Discover the tools that power successful facilitation businesses in this interactive, community-driven exchange. Facilitators come together to share their go-to systems for managing clients, projects, finances, and more—offering real insights into what works (and what hasn’t). Walk away with practical ideas, trusted recommendations, and new ways to streamline your business operations and work smarter.

  Session Objectives

  · Share your favorite productivity hack, automation, workflow that helps you work smarter

  · Discover new tools and approaches to streamline your business operations to work faster

  · Build a curated list of trusted resources and systems to help you work more efficiently

  Duration:  1 hr.

  NOTE: This workshop will be NOT BE recorded.

  About the CoP

  The MAFN Small Business Community of Practice is a collaborative community for small facilitation business owners. We share knowledge, build skills, and spark ideas through co-creation and mutual support—helping each other grow and thrive. Our Mission: To foster shared learning that supports members in building and growing successful facilitation businesses.
  

  Speakers:  n/a

  Show details
• (Members Only) MAFN CoP: Conversations about Facilitation in Training

  • When
    07/28/2026
  •  
    5:00 PM - 6:15 PM
  • Location
    Online using Zoom

  Register

  Duration: Each session is 75 minutes 

  Interested in participating in lively conversations with your peers about where our professional practices intersect?  What can we learn from each other's professional experience, knowledge, skills and abilities?  The MAFN Conversations About Facilitation in Training community of practice explores intersections of three separate but compatible practices of MAFN members: facilitation, coaching, training.  In small-group topic-based breakout-room conversations led by rotating volunteer practitioners, we share best practices, challenges and strategies to stimulate new insight and expand our individual practices.  Topic suggestions and volunteers are always welcome. Come with curiosity; participate with passion; leave with new learning.  MAFN CoPs are member-only forums, a benefit of MAFN membership.

  You are welcome to attend as many meetings in the series as your schedule allows. They will not build on each other. 

  Please note that this is for MAFN members only. These sessions will not be recorded.

  Recipient of the inaugural 2024 NYS Justice Peer Initiative Impact Award in Training & Development, Ruth Riddick, CARC-RCP/f, is a coach and trainer with a specialization in addiction recovery and a 20-year practice at Sobriety Together.  She is co-founder and program manager of the New York Certification Board Trainer Registry, an organization of professional trainers enhancing standards in non-clinical role training.  As a curriculum developer, she has contributed to role training for Veteran Supported Recovery, CRPA-Family and CRPA-Youth trainings for professional certifications.  She serves on the Board of the New York Association of Treatment Court Professionals.  She has been widely honored for her work.

  Our guiding principles are:

  • Come open to learning

  • Bring your questions, share your expertise

  • Don’t expect closure - our shared learning is a process!

  ONLINE CoP Discussion REMINDERS

  • If you register and cannot attend, please cancel to allow someone else to come. 

  • Registration closes at midnight the day before the discussion group.

  • Registered participants will receive instructions for joining the live session and any additional details 1 day in advance and the morning of the event. Please be sure to look for the link in your email.

  • MAFN CoP discussions will not be recorded in order to support space for learning.

  • For registration or membership questions contact info@mafn.org

  Show details
• (Members Only) Rockville/Bethesda MAFN Salon

  • When
    08/03/2026
  •  
    10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
  • Location
    Java Nation 11120 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852
  • Spaces left
    7

  Register

  Topic:

  The Hard Stuff: Lessons From Your Toughest Facilitation Experiences

  Description:

  Some of the most important growth happens after a difficult session, a challenging client, or a moment you wish had gone differently. This discussion creates space to reflect on the hard lessons,unexpected insights, and professional growth that come from facilitation under pressure.

  Please note that this is for MAFN members only and there is limited space, so please register early.

  Our guiding principles are:

  ● Connection + Conversation + Community = Salon

  ● Come open to listening and sharing

  Salon REMINDERS

  ● If you register and cannot attend, please cancel to allow someone else to come.

  ● Registration closes at midnight 2 days before the event.

  ● Registered participants will receive instructions with any additional details 1 day in advance and the morning of the event. Please be sure to check your email.

  ● Salon discussions are live events and are not recorded.

  ● For membership questions contact info@mafn.org.

  Show details
• (Sponsor Event) Lizard Brain: August Think With Ink in Guam

  • Start
    08/10/2026
  • End
    08/11/2026
  • Location
    Hilton Resort & Spa GUAM

  
  

  August 10-11, 2026

  Hilton Resort & Spa GUAM

  Click here for more information and to register. 

  If you have ever sat through a meeting where the conversation went in circles, a few voices dominated the room, and everyone left without clear decisions or next steps, you know how frustrating bad meetings can be.

  Think with Ink™ Guam is a 2-day interactive workshop helping facilitators, consultants, and team leaders integrate visuals into group processes, so you walk into a meeting with the skills to help you and your team make better decisions.

  Day 1: The Visual Fundamentals

  Drawing skills not required!

  You’ll learn techniques to start building your visual skills, including lettering, drawing, using color in a meaningful way, organizing levels of information, and how to listen for synthesis.

  You’ll also get the materials you’ll need to start implementing your new skills right away and tips on how to use them.

  Your visual facilitation starter kit includes a textbook, a large-format sketchbook, sketchnoting materials, large sticky notes, tape, handouts including visual templates and explainers, markers, a paper-cutter, and a 25-yard roll of paper.

  Day 2: Facilitation Models, Methods & Tools

  You’ll walk away with frameworks you can use immediately in workshops, strategy sessions, and client meetings.

  Learn about:

  Visual energizers and icebreakers to support your session,

  Meeting principles and ground rules to use in every meeting,

  Visual tools for brainstorming, comparing ideas, and collaboratively deciding on a way forward.  

  Please note: this is a 2-day version of our usual 3-day workshop.

  Register here

  Show details
• (Members Only) MAFN Virtual Salon

  • When
    08/21/2026
  •  
    12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
  • Location
    Online using Zoom
  • Spaces left
    27

  Register

  Title:  It’s a virtual facilitation test kitchen!

  Description:

  For this MAFN Virtual Salon, we’re opening up our Test Kitchen! It’s a collaborative laboratory where facilitators can safely experiment with new virtual facilitation techniques before using them with clients or teams. Bring a 5-15 minute activity, test a new tool, pilot an interaction, or try an idea you've been curious about. OR, be ready to be a participant, helping out your colleagues with thoughtful feedback. Whether you're refining an exercise, exploring a new platform, or simply wondering, "Will this work?", this MAFN Salon will provide a low-risk environment to learn through experimentation. 

  Please note that there is limited space, so please register early.

  Our guiding principles are:

  ● Connection + Conversation + Community = Salon

  ● Come open to listening and sharing

  Salon REMINDERS

  ● If you register and cannot attend, please cancel to allow someone else to come.

  ● Registration closes at midnight 2 days before the event.

  ● Registered participants will receive instructions with any additional details 1 day in advance and the morning of the event. Please be sure to check your email.

  ● Salon discussions are live events and are not recorded.

  ● For membership questions contact info@mafn.org.

  Show details
• (Members Only) MAFN Coaching CoP: Coaching Clients with ADHD and Executive Functioning Challenges

  • When
    08/21/2026
  •  
    2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
  • Location
    Online using Zoom

  Register

  Title: Coaching Clients with ADHD and Executive Functioning Challenges 

  Duration: 2:00-3:00 pm EDT
  

  About the Workshop:

  Join us for a “mini panel” conversation and Q&A focused on coaching clients with ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) and executive functioning challenges. Coaches Mia Cellucci and Cynthia Gill will give a brief overview of ADHD and how it might show up in your coaching clients. They will also share techniques they have found useful in working with clients with executive functioning challenges (with the understanding that every client is unique and there is no “one size fits most” approach). Finally, we will talk about when and how to refer clients, and how to build a trusted referral network.

  As always, we will look to our coaching community to share their experiences in this area as well and look forward to an informative and collaborative conversation! 

  Learning Objectives

  By the end of this session, participants will:

  1. Understanding the clinical definition of ADHD and the  definition of Executive Functioning. 

  2. Understand how executive functioning challenges may present in coaching clients with or without an ADHD diagnosis

  3. Learn strategies and techniques for coaching clients with ADHD and/or executive functioning challenges

  4. Understand what comorbidities may present, when to refer a client, and how to develop a referral network

  
  

  About Our Panel:

  Mia Cellucci, ACC
  A Leadership & Executive Function Coach based in Greater Boston, Mia specializes in working with leaders who struggle with executive functioning, including those with attention disorders like ADHD. She completed her leadership coaching certification at the One Humanity Leadership Coaching Program at the George Washington University and is a Founding Fellow of the One Humanity Lab, a learning and innovation hub for leadership that is rooted in our shared humanity.
  

  

  Cynthia Gill, ACC

  Cynthia is a seasoned Executive and Transition Coach who has a subspecialty working with emerging adults. She supports emerging adults to build on their strengths to develop resilience, structure and opportunity. Her emerging adult clients typically are navigating executive function and/or ADHD challenges on top of the big life shifts of this time of life. Cynthia holds an Executive Certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University, is ICF ACC accredited, and was a government leader for 30 years. She is the founder of Focus Coaching LLC.

  

  Our guiding principles are:

  • Come open to learning

  • Bring your questions, share your expertise

  • Don’t expect closure - our shared learning is a process!

  ONLINE CoP Discussion REMINDERS

  • If you register and cannot attend, please cancel to allow someone else to come. 

  • Registration closes at midnight the day before the discussion group.

  • Registered participants will receive instructions for joining the live session and any additional details 1 day in advance and the morning of the event. Please be sure to look for the link in your email.

  • MAFN CoP discussions will not be recorded in order to support space for learning.

  • For registration or membership questions contact info@mafn.org

  
  

  Show details
• (Members Only) Columbia MAFN Salon: Coffee, Conversation & Community for Great Facilitators

  • When
    09/03/2026
  •  
    10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
  • Location
    Cafe Columbia 5550 Sterrett Pl Ste 103 Columbia, MD
  • Spaces left
    15

  Register

  Topic:

  Columbia MAFN Salon: Coffee, Conversation & Community for Great Facilitators

  Description:

  Join us every other month as we build a thriving community of facilitators centered in Columbia and open to members from across the region. Whether you're a longtime MAFN member or attending your first salon, you'll find a welcoming space to connect with peers, exchange ideas, share experiences, and learn from one another.

  Beginning in September, we'll gather on the first Thursday of every other month—September, November, January, and beyond—from 10:00–11:30 AM at Cafe Columbia in Columbia, MD.

  Each salon will be shaped by the interests and ideas of those who attend. We'll use feedback from previous gatherings to select future topics, experiment with new formats, and create sessions that are engaging, relevant, and designed to foster meaningful connections within our community.

  Please note that this is for MAFN members only and there is limited space, so please register early.

  Our guiding principles are:

  ● Connection + Conversation + Community = Salon

  ● Come open to listening and sharing

  Salon REMINDERS

  ● If you register and cannot attend, please cancel to allow someone else to come.

  ● Registration closes at midnight 2 days before the event.

  ● Registered participants will receive instructions with any additional details 1 day in advance and the morning of the event. Please be sure to check your email.

  ● Salon discussions are live events and are not recorded.

  ● For membership questions contact info@mafn.org.

  Show details
• (Sponsor Event) Lizard Brain: September Think With Ink in Herndon, VA

  • Start
    09/09/2026
  • End
    09/11/2026
  • Location
    Trajectory Event Center 13665 Dulles Technology Drive, Suite 150, Herndon, VA

  September 09-11, 2026 9AM - 5 PM

  Trajectory Event Center 13665 Dulles Technology Drive, Suite 150, Herndon, VA

  Click here for more information and to register. 

  If you have ever sat through a meeting where the conversation went in circles, a few voices dominated the room, and everyone left without clear decisions or next steps, you know how frustrating bad meetings can be.

  There is a better way.

  Think With Ink™ is an interactive visual facilitation workshop from Lizard Brain designed to help facilitators, consultants, coaches, team leaders, and visual thinkers make meetings more focused, collaborative, and productive.

  In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how to use simple visuals, structured facilitation methods, and participatory tools to help groups see what they mean, organize ideas, make decisions, and move forward with confidence.

  And no, you do not need to be an artist. Drawing skills are not required.

  Over the course of the workshop, you will practice practical techniques for lettering, drawing, using color, organizing information, listening for synthesis, creating visual templates, designing agendas, and leading visual facilitation experiences. You will also walk away with materials and frameworks you can use immediately in workshops, strategy sessions, client meetings, and team conversations.

  The workshop is led by Brian Tarallo, Managing Director of Lizard Brain, author of Surviving the Horror of Online Meetings, Certified Master Facilitator, Certified Master Visual Practitioner, and recipient of an IAF Facilitation Impact Award.

  If you are ready to stop surviving bad meetings and start leading sessions that make ideas visible, engage more people, and help teams make better decisions, this is your opportunity.

  Space is limited to 24 participants, which means you will receive individual feedback, support, and plenty of hands-on practice.

  Register here

  Your next meeting does not have to be another hour of circling the same problem. Learn how to make the work visible, guide the conversation, and help your group move forward.
  

  Show details
• (Members Only) Rockville/Bethesda MAFN Salon

  • When
    09/14/2026
  •  
    10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
  • Location
    Java Nation 11120 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852
  • Spaces left
    12

  Register

  Topic:

  Use AI Smarter: Practical and Ethical Ways Facilitators Can Work Better

  Description:

  AI can be a powerful thought partner for facilitators, helping with agendas, discussion guides, debrief questions, and more. In this conversation, we’ll explore how to use AI in ways that are efficient, thoughtful, and responsible, including where it adds real value and where facilitators still need strong judgment, discretion, and care.

  Please note that this is for MAFN members only and there is limited space, so please register early.

  Our guiding principles are:

  ● Connection + Conversation + Community = Salon

  ● Come open to listening and sharing

  Salon REMINDERS

  ● If you register and cannot attend, please cancel to allow someone else to come.

  ● Registration closes at midnight 2 days before the event.

  ● Registered participants will receive instructions with any additional details 1 day in advance and the morning of the event. Please be sure to check your email.

  ● Salon discussions are live events and are not recorded.

  ● For membership questions contact info@mafn.org.

  Show details
• (Partnership Event) MAFN & NOVA Scribes: AI Facilitation Design Dialogue

  • When
    09/18/2026
  •  
    12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
  • Location
    Online using Zoom

  Register

  Duration:  60 minutes

  MAFN & NOVA Scribes Partnership Event

  AI Facilitation Design Dialogue

  Join MAFN and our partner, NOVA Scribes, with our guest speaker, Andy Pearson from SessionLab, for an inside look at how the latest AI-powered features are transforming the way facilitators design workshops, meetings, and learning experiences.

  Even if you’re not a SessionLab user, Andy will share how to build agendas faster, generate activity ideas, improve session flow, and incorporate proven facilitation practices with less effort. Andy will demonstrate how AI can support inclusive design, strengthen group dynamics, surface best-practice recommendations, and free facilitators to focus on what matters most.

  Whether you're new to SessionLab or already use it regularly, you'll leave with practical techniques for designing smarter, more effective sessions in less time.

  Free and open to anyone who plans group events and workshops. No prior experience required.

  ONLINE WORKSHOP REMINDERS

  • Registered participants will receive instructions for joining the live session and any additional details 1 day in advance and the morning of the event. Please be sure to look for the link in your email.
  • Workshops begin promptly at 12:00PM Eastern. 
  • This workshop will NOT be recorded.
  • For registration or membership questions contact info@mafn.org.

  Show details
• (Members Only) MAFN CoP: Conversations about Facilitation in Training

  • When
    09/29/2026
  •  
    5:00 PM - 6:15 PM
  • Location
    Online using Zoom

  Register

  Duration: Each session is 75 minutes 

  Interested in participating in lively conversations with your peers about where our professional practices intersect?  What can we learn from each other's professional experience, knowledge, skills and abilities?  The MAFN Conversations About Facilitation in Training community of practice explores intersections of three separate but compatible practices of MAFN members: facilitation, coaching, training.  In small-group topic-based breakout-room conversations led by rotating volunteer practitioners, we share best practices, challenges and strategies to stimulate new insight and expand our individual practices.  Topic suggestions and volunteers are always welcome. Come with curiosity; participate with passion; leave with new learning.  MAFN CoPs are member-only forums, a benefit of MAFN membership.

  You are welcome to attend as many meetings in the series as your schedule allows. They will not build on each other. 

  Please note that this is for MAFN members only. These sessions will not be recorded.

  Recipient of the inaugural 2024 NYS Justice Peer Initiative Impact Award in Training & Development, Ruth Riddick, CARC-RCP/f, is a coach and trainer with a specialization in addiction recovery and a 20-year practice at Sobriety Together.  She is co-founder and program manager of the New York Certification Board Trainer Registry, an organization of professional trainers enhancing standards in non-clinical role training.  As a curriculum developer, she has contributed to role training for Veteran Supported Recovery, CRPA-Family and CRPA-Youth trainings for professional certifications.  She serves on the Board of the New York Association of Treatment Court Professionals.  She has been widely honored for her work.

  Our guiding principles are:

  • Come open to learning

  • Bring your questions, share your expertise

  • Don’t expect closure - our shared learning is a process!

  ONLINE CoP Discussion REMINDERS

  • If you register and cannot attend, please cancel to allow someone else to come. 

  • Registration closes at midnight the day before the discussion group.

  • Registered participants will receive instructions for joining the live session and any additional details 1 day in advance and the morning of the event. Please be sure to look for the link in your email.

  • MAFN CoP discussions will not be recorded in order to support space for learning.

  • For registration or membership questions contact info@mafn.org

  Show details
• (Members Only) MAFN CoP: Conversations about Facilitation in Training

  • When
    11/24/2026
  •  
    5:00 PM - 6:15 PM
  • Location
    Online using Zoom

  Register

  Duration: Each session is 75 minutes 

  Interested in participating in lively conversations with your peers about where our professional practices intersect?  What can we learn from each other's professional experience, knowledge, skills and abilities?  The MAFN Conversations About Facilitation in Training community of practice explores intersections of three separate but compatible practices of MAFN members: facilitation, coaching, training.  In small-group topic-based breakout-room conversations led by rotating volunteer practitioners, we share best practices, challenges and strategies to stimulate new insight and expand our individual practices.  Topic suggestions and volunteers are always welcome. Come with curiosity; participate with passion; leave with new learning.  MAFN CoPs are member-only forums, a benefit of MAFN membership.

  You are welcome to attend as many meetings in the series as your schedule allows. They will not build on each other. 

  Please note that this is for MAFN members only. These sessions will not be recorded.

  Recipient of the inaugural 2024 NYS Justice Peer Initiative Impact Award in Training & Development, Ruth Riddick, CARC-RCP/f, is a coach and trainer with a specialization in addiction recovery and a 20-year practice at Sobriety Together.  She is co-founder and program manager of the New York Certification Board Trainer Registry, an organization of professional trainers enhancing standards in non-clinical role training.  As a curriculum developer, she has contributed to role training for Veteran Supported Recovery, CRPA-Family and CRPA-Youth trainings for professional certifications.  She serves on the Board of the New York Association of Treatment Court Professionals.  She has been widely honored for her work.

  Our guiding principles are:

  • Come open to learning

  • Bring your questions, share your expertise

  • Don’t expect closure - our shared learning is a process!

  ONLINE CoP Discussion REMINDERS

  • If you register and cannot attend, please cancel to allow someone else to come. 

  • Registration closes at midnight the day before the discussion group.

  • Registered participants will receive instructions for joining the live session and any additional details 1 day in advance and the morning of the event. Please be sure to look for the link in your email.

  • MAFN CoP discussions will not be recorded in order to support space for learning.

  • For registration or membership questions contact info@mafn.org

  Show details
• (Members Only) MAFN CoP: Conversations about Facilitation in Training

  • When
    01/26/2027
  •  
    5:00 PM - 6:15 PM
  • Location
    Online using Zoom

  Register

  Duration: Each session is 75 minutes 

  Interested in participating in lively conversations with your peers about where our professional practices intersect?  What can we learn from each other's professional experience, knowledge, skills and abilities?  The MAFN Conversations About Facilitation in Training community of practice explores intersections of three separate but compatible practices of MAFN members: facilitation, coaching, training.  In small-group topic-based breakout-room conversations led by rotating volunteer practitioners, we share best practices, challenges and strategies to stimulate new insight and expand our individual practices.  Topic suggestions and volunteers are always welcome. Come with curiosity; participate with passion; leave with new learning.  MAFN CoPs are member-only forums, a benefit of MAFN membership.

  You are welcome to attend as many meetings in the series as your schedule allows. They will not build on each other. 

  Please note that this is for MAFN members only. These sessions will not be recorded.

  Recipient of the inaugural 2024 NYS Justice Peer Initiative Impact Award in Training & Development, Ruth Riddick, CARC-RCP/f, is a coach and trainer with a specialization in addiction recovery and a 20-year practice at Sobriety Together.  She is co-founder and program manager of the New York Certification Board Trainer Registry, an organization of professional trainers enhancing standards in non-clinical role training.  As a curriculum developer, she has contributed to role training for Veteran Supported Recovery, CRPA-Family and CRPA-Youth trainings for professional certifications.  She serves on the Board of the New York Association of Treatment Court Professionals.  She has been widely honored for her work.

  Our guiding principles are:

  • Come open to learning

  • Bring your questions, share your expertise

  • Don’t expect closure - our shared learning is a process!

  ONLINE CoP Discussion REMINDERS

  • If you register and cannot attend, please cancel to allow someone else to come. 

  • Registration closes at midnight the day before the discussion group.

  • Registered participants will receive instructions for joining the live session and any additional details 1 day in advance and the morning of the event. Please be sure to look for the link in your email.

  • MAFN CoP discussions will not be recorded in order to support space for learning.

  • For registration or membership questions contact info@mafn.org

  Show details
• (Members Only) MAFN CoP: Conversations about Facilitation in Training

  • When
    03/30/2027
  •  
    5:00 PM - 6:15 PM
  • Location
    Online using Zoom

  Register

  Duration: Each session is 75 minutes 

  Interested in participating in lively conversations with your peers about where our professional practices intersect?  What can we learn from each other's professional experience, knowledge, skills and abilities?  The MAFN Conversations About Facilitation in Training community of practice explores intersections of three separate but compatible practices of MAFN members: facilitation, coaching, training.  In small-group topic-based breakout-room conversations led by rotating volunteer practitioners, we share best practices, challenges and strategies to stimulate new insight and expand our individual practices.  Topic suggestions and volunteers are always welcome. Come with curiosity; participate with passion; leave with new learning.  MAFN CoPs are member-only forums, a benefit of MAFN membership.

  You are welcome to attend as many meetings in the series as your schedule allows. They will not build on each other. 

  Please note that this is for MAFN members only. These sessions will not be recorded.

  Recipient of the inaugural 2024 NYS Justice Peer Initiative Impact Award in Training & Development, Ruth Riddick, CARC-RCP/f, is a coach and trainer with a specialization in addiction recovery and a 20-year practice at Sobriety Together.  She is co-founder and program manager of the New York Certification Board Trainer Registry, an organization of professional trainers enhancing standards in non-clinical role training.  As a curriculum developer, she has contributed to role training for Veteran Supported Recovery, CRPA-Family and CRPA-Youth trainings for professional certifications.  She serves on the Board of the New York Association of Treatment Court Professionals.  She has been widely honored for her work.

  Our guiding principles are:

  • Come open to learning

  • Bring your questions, share your expertise

  • Don’t expect closure - our shared learning is a process!

  ONLINE CoP Discussion REMINDERS

  • If you register and cannot attend, please cancel to allow someone else to come. 

  • Registration closes at midnight the day before the discussion group.

  • Registered participants will receive instructions for joining the live session and any additional details 1 day in advance and the morning of the event. Please be sure to look for the link in your email.

  • MAFN CoP discussions will not be recorded in order to support space for learning.

  • For registration or membership questions contact info@mafn.org

  Show details