The Circle Way Board is a group of voluntary stewards committed to growing and evolving applied practice of The Circle Way throughout the world. This group works in friendship to foster support and connection among people interested in applied circle.
The board fulfills the mandate to sustain legal and fiduciary responsibility of a 501c3 (USA) not-for-profit entity to receive and send resources.
The board does not manage nor represent the network of practitioners. It does not certify practitioners. It does not seek to control direction, but rather encourages people everywhere to animate learning, extend reach, and to give life to and further the use of circle.
If you would like to be considered as board steward at next opening (approximately every two years), please contact one of the current board members.
Current Board Members
Paniguvluk, Stephanie Papik, B.Sc., is of Inuit and Irish ancestry and has been a visitor to Lekwungen territory on Turtle Island for the majority of her life. Stephanie is blessed to honor her ancestral routes of both lineages through circle. Stephanie was first introduced to circle practice, when she had the opportunity to be part of the MORE Mentoring Program, a Government Non-profit Initiative, that involved developing leadership through the use of circle. This path deepened after spending two days with founders Christina Baldwin and Ann Linnea in a Peer Spirit two-day course in Vancouver and her life was forever changed. From that point forward, Stephanie uses circle both in her personal and professional life as a tool for self-governance both on an individual, family and community level. Stephanie uses circle as a tangible and impactful way to create the heart, mind, perspective and culture shifts that enable the process of Reconciliation in British Columbia.
Stephanie is grateful to share the gifts the Creator generously provides, and to share the ancestral teachings that have been passed on to her. The Circle Way is an opportunity to give back a little, as a humble gesture of gratitude for circle enriching and healing Stephanie’s soul.
Diane S Jordan has more than 20 years of executive leadership and management consulting experience in nonprofit, profit, and healthcare sectors. She is an award-winning leader in organization and professional development, change management, executive coaching, employee relations, diversity and inclusion. As a facilitator, she designs and delivers content and techniques to engage small and large groups in problem solving, decision-making, promoting and creating energy. She inspires individuals and teams to lead from aspiration, increase accountability and decision-making, and deliver sustainable results.
Diane’s desire to make a difference in the world took her on a journey that led her to historic and culturally rich Liberia West Africa. There she owned a business, served as midwife, volunteered with World Health Organization, and witnessed the coup d'état.
Richard Rivera is President of Renew & Redesign Consulting an organizational consulting firm, specializing in organizational change/transformation, strategic development and human resource training for nonprofit, government, and healthcare organizations. As a Circle Way practitioner, Richard integrates The Circle Way methodology into all dimensions of his consulting work. Mr. Rivera’s expertise includes specialized services around racial equity, leadership development, executive coaching, strategic development, board development, team building, employee engagement, and organizational assessments.
Richard is a global steward of the Art of Hosting Conversations that Matter and has facilitated these trainings at the NYU Wagner School, the Baruch Graduate School of Public Affairs, the Center for Social Innovation and numerous child welfare and school programs in NYC. Mr. Rivera currently serves as lead consultant for the Baruch Graduate School of Public Affairs, Executive Programs. At the Adelphi University School of Social Work, Mr. Rivera serves as an organizational change strategic plan consultant and executive coach. He also served as coach/facilitator for Columbia University’s Management Development Program. As a member of the Drucker Foundation’s “Organizational Assessment Tool” team, Richard has conducted presentations to board and executive leaders across the nation.
Mr. Rivera received his M.S.W. degree from Columbia University, School of Social Work.
Sarah MacDougall, Ed.D., is an elder in The Circle Way community. It has been her privilege to serve on The Circle Way board since its inception in 1998. One characteristic of this board has been and is an openness to spirit, a willingness to listen for what needs to happen next and then act! This is a working board. It fills Sarah’s heart with joy to witness and be involved in the transition of The Circle Way to the next generation(s).
Nancy Fritsche Eagan (www.peoplepotential.org) is founder and President of People Potential and has provided consultation and training services to public and social sector organizations for over 20 years. She applies her direct services and management experiences in government and the social sector to her work. She is a specialist in change strategies, relationship and community building, leadership development and project management. Nancy designs meetings to foster meaningful conversations in support of collaborative and inclusive processes. Nancy is known for her ability to create and customize services and interventions that are suited to the needs of each organization.
Amanda Fenton (amandafenton.com) worked in the co-operative sector for nearly seventeen years with thirteen of them in Human Resources, including HR consulting, leadership and organizational development, change projects and collaborative strategic planning processes. She is a co-teacher of The Art of Hosting and The Circle Way, and is skilled in designing participatory gatherings using circle-based methods such as The Circle Way, Open Space Technology, World Cafe, Collective Story Harvest and others to host and harvest conversations for thoughtful change, working with non-profits, churches, schools, other organizations and networks.
Board Member Criteria:
Brings diversity aligned with the Board purpose, e.g. ethnicity, location, culture, experience, perspective, wisdom, age, gender.
Appreciates and upholds the Board Principles & Values (see below) and values of The Circle Way.
Commits to participate in monthly 2 hour Zoom meetings and 2-four day annual retreats.
Assumes a portion of the work dedicated to furthering the Board’s purpose and vision.
Commits to annually contribute monetary donation and/or “in kind” service to The Circle Way.
Board Principles & Values:
We embrace abundance and generosity.
We radically work in right relationship from a place of wholeness, diversity and human goodness, trusting this will evolve the conversation into action.
We care for one another and all beings.
We live The Circle Way.
We live in ambiguity and complexity, trusting in spirit.
We tend to the balance of the sacred covenant and the economic flow.
We work in mutual reciprocity.
We use the “advice process” (Frederic Laloux, Re-inventing Organizations) and work in interconnected/interdependent autonomy.
We follow our energy and appetite.
We radically practice “ask for what you need and offer what you can.”
We seek succession and sit in relationship with those coming to support the future of The Circle Way
We learn as we go, exercising bold leadership to keep us moving forward.
We share responsibility for inflows and outflows (sacred economy).
We commit to represent and actively invite all forms of diversity in the work of The Circle Way and as it grows into the next generation of teaching and practice (so people can find their people in what we do).
We are a board for the purpose of 501c not-for-profit status, and a working community for the purpose of moving The Circle Way forward in the world.