Create lasting COMMUNITY CHANGE by bridging the gap between people with lived experience and system influencers.

Develop the skills and confidence to effectively address social problems and create your community change strategy.

Do you feel uncertain about how to engage people and systems for lasting and sustainable change?

Many systems, policies and practices in combination with outdated attitudes and behaviours contribute to the social and environmental challenges facing our communities and our world.

Within the context of our uncertain times and turbulent world, many leaders and community developers are seeking new ways to address deeply rooted and complex problems in our communities such as discrimination, bullying, poverty, homelessness, newcomer integration, operationalizing the TRC Calls to Action, climate action, the overdose crisis or loneliness.

navigating complex problems in our communities and world

The difficulties in nurturing community change are REAL:

  • You might yearn to contribute to positive change by operationalizing Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Calls To Action, but you don’t know where to start.
  • Despite good intentions, some of your strategies and approaches could make things worse by missing important steps that could undermine your efforts and lack relevance to the people most affected. 
  • Other change strategies are not responsive or agile in rapidly changing contexts and become useless when the unexpected happens⁠—like a pandemic, natural disasters or violent conflict.
  • When leaders, educators and community developers like you take steps to address social issues and foster community change with a fresh approach, it can be hard to know if the chosen approaches meet funding and sponsorship criteria.

  • When you and your team put significant time into developing social change strategies only to find out that the approaches aren’t working, are not agile or no one is willing to fund or sponsor your initiative, it can lead to exhaustion and frustration.  

So what do you DO when the community change you seek isn’t working?

community change strategies that don't work

Thankfully, more and more leaders recognize that “what is” does not work and yearn for a fresh approach to engage diversity, build connected communities and, together, generate meaningful action for a more sustainable and just world.

Intercultural Strategies Presents:

Roadmap For Community Change

Self-Paced Video Series

Our proven 7-step roadmap has a track record of creating lasting personal and system change and has reached over 2.5 million people. 

Jessie Sutherland shares her insights from over 30 years of designing, facilitating and supporting social change strategies locally, nationally and internationally. 


In this video series, you’ll hear from guest speakers such as Elder Larry Grant, Dr. Michael Quinn Patton, Kris Archie and many others. You’ll also hear application stories from leaders within municipal and non-profit initiatives, including people with lived experience. In the final set of videos, you’ll hear from our expert panelists on funding trends and tips to support your community change initiatives.

You’ll also get access to powerful project planning tools to build your community change strategy. When you access our readiness checklists, workplan overview, and build-your-own-budget templates, you will ensure you have everything it takes to build and implement a successful initiative. The training will also provide you with the information you need for most funding proposals.

OUTCOME:

By the end of this program...

...You will have the knowledge and tools to build an effective social change strategy. You’ll complete the first steps of your Roadmap For Community Change and receive access to a robust toolkit to gain clarity on resources needed.

Course enrollments are OPEN

Access Our Strengths-Based Community Development Process

At the heart of every social problem, you will find a group of people who, on some level, feel “pushed out.” Our approach is based on our award-winning and proven Belonging Matters framework. It is a strengths-based community development process that:

  • Engages diversity
  • Builds belonging
  • Fosters collaboration
  • Generates innovative community-based, self-organized projects
engage diversity - build belonging - foster collaboration

The Belonging Matters approach provides a framework and process in which to bring diverse cultures, individuals and sectors together to address their most pressing social issues.

Our approach is responsive and agile to rapidly changing contexts, leveraging shared values and strengths every step of the way.

Belonging Matters has been used in 8 different languages to address social problems such as:

  • Isolation
  • Poverty
  • Accessible and affordable housing
  • Disability awareness
  • Reaching TRC calls to action
  • Engaging diversity
  • Climate action
  • Newcomer integration
  • The overdose crisis
  • Patient engagement
  • Elder abuse

The Belonging Matters process is one that’s emergent and adaptable to any given social issue and can be scaled to meet the needs of a variety of communities, organizations and contexts.

What to expect when you sign up for Roadmap for Community Change:

When you register, you’ll learn the mindset and steps in creating an effective social change strategy customized to your community and organizational priorities. You’ll hear from Jessie Sutherland and guest speakers throughout the program. You’ll also have an opportunity to join 6 live Community of Practice calls over Zoom with a cohort of leaders like you who are passionate about addressing social and environmental challenges.  

Roadmap For Community Change

Program Flow

Speakers & Guests:

Watch the videos from the 2023-02 cohort and complete the program at your own pace; however, we invite you to progress through one module each week.

Week 1: Welcome, Orientation and Creating a Powerful Problem Statement
  • Focus: Welcome, land acknowledgement & orientation
Week 2: 3 Lenses to Focus Change Efforts
  • Focus: Foundational concepts and skills including application stories
Week 3: 7 Steps to Facilitate Community Change
  • Focus: Customizing your roadmap
Week 4: Readiness Assessment and Project Development Tools
  • Focus: Ensuring your team and organization’s readiness
Week 5: Ideas Lab (Funding Trends and Tips)
  • Focus: Focus: Funding trends & tips and integrating learning

Members only online learning portal

Gain access to your program recordings and PDF resources in our online membership platform. This online portal will help you track your progress through the modules and provides easy access to review the training anytime you need. Your materials will be available on our learning portal until January 2024.

OBJECTIVES:

By the End of Roadmap For Community Change, You Will:

Have a powerful PROBLEM STATEMENT statement premise

Use this tool to deepen your learning, strengthen how you communicate & inspire others and gain clarity on the scope of your efforts.

Discover the 3 LENSES that will help you explore social problems

Use this tool to understand social problems and discern what needs unlearning and where to focus your efforts.

Know the 7 STEPS to engage people and systems for lasting community change

Discover the clear step-by-step process to engage people and systems for catalyzing lasting change.

Identify KEY PEOPLE to engage in your social change initiative

Learn the three key groups you’ll need to involve in your process.

Understand the RESOURCES needed to implement your plan

Assess your team and organizational readiness and access project planning tools.

Hear current funding advice from experts

Listen to our panel of experts share current project funding trends and tips that address common challenges in accessing resources.

Here’s what people are saying about Roadmap For Community Change

Diane Wadden
School District 42 English Language Learning Coordinator and Helping Teacher

This deep work must be done.

For me, the most valuable part of the Roadmap for Community Change training I learned and will use is the Belonging Matters framework. Change will not succeed without focusing on the 3 beginning steps of identifying key people, connecting and engaging, and building belonging. This deep work must be done.

Attending the training, I felt the impact of hearing one of the attendee’s amazing and inspirational story. I also took away that when seeking restorative solutions, there’s an important piece on taking responsibility and including different worldviews.

The belonging lens will impact my work moving forward, knowing that creating authentic belonging is key for me with newcomer students and families.

Hieu Pham-Fraser
District Coordinator of English Language Learning

...my worldview on being an educator has shifted...

There was so much learning, but 3 concepts from the Roadmap for Community Change that I found valuable and intend to use were:

- Understanding the relationship between the personal journey and the systems journey (and seeing how we can support people who are “stuck” in the victim stage).

- Finding your KEY PEOPLE / your champions.

- Mastering the 3 lenses that Jessie teaches.

I also loved learning about the restorative lens as I know I can use this understanding in my personal and professional life. From this training, I feel my worldview as an educator has shifted… I don’t really know how to describe it, but my “victim” worldview is coming to awareness. I am eager to share what I have learned with other educators. Together, with a sound, compassionate framework, the work of dismantling systemic racism and inequity is possible.

Sarah Common
Hives for Humanity Co-founder and Executive Director

I would especially recommend this training to project coordinators and managers of community-led change work.

I found the Roadmap for Community Change course valuable and engaging, especially in my reflections, intentionally using the three lenses shared with us to reflect on processes, projects, and conflicts.

Through the training, I gained a structure for nurturing emerging values of belonging and for empowering my team in doing their work. Also, the Steps for Community-Led Change framework helped me to see what work I have done and encouraged me to cycle back to identify gaps. I would especially recommend this training to project coordinators and managers of community-led change work.

In one month, you will have a new set of skills and the knowledge to create an effective social change strategy that is responsive and agile to changing contexts.  

Below is a closer look at each week’s focus and the videos included in the series.

Community Change - problem statements
Week 1: Welcome, Orientation and Creating a Powerful Problem Statement

Watch the traditional welcome and Musqueam teachings from Elder Larry Grant.

Jessie Sutherland provides  an orientation video and an overview of the program along with the first module on creating powerful problem statements with Michael Quinn Patton, founder of Principles-Focused Evaluation.

Community Change - Focus Lenses
Week 2: 3 Lenses To Focus Change Efforts

In our second week, Jessie will review the program and process and explore three conceptual lenses that are critical in any effort to facilitate personal, community and system change including reaching the TRC Calls to Action. You will also hear from Rachel Plamondon-Assu on how she applies the lenses in her work in harm reduction.

Listening to this session will ensure you have the reflective learning practices for both unlearning what gets in the way of genuine change as well as the key lenses to understand social problems and know where best to focus your efforts.

community change - steps
Week 3: 7 Steps to Facilitate Community Change

During our third week, Monica-Walters Fields anchors our work together with a land acknowledgement and a call for the courage to change. Jessie will introduce you to our Belonging Matters 7-Step Model for Community Change. This model bridges the gap between people with lived experience and system influencers in a way that facilitates both personal and system change.


You’ll also hear application stories from Carol Sheridan and Marvin Louie about their experience of building bridges between Oliver Parks & Recreation and Osoyoos Indian Band. In addition, we’ll feature the CPABC’s Vancouver Island Cerebral Palsy Awareness project and their team, including Melissa Lyon, Patrick Aleck, Luka Garvin and Denzil Muncherji, as well as one of the collaborating partners, Maria Sampson from the Victoria Native Friendship Centre.


You’ll also meet Jeanne Morton who will share how she uses the Belonging Matters in her work to support people living with disabilities in residential, vocational, and community based services working for government, non-profit and private agencies.


Listening to this session will ensure you have the knowledge and feedback to create your own 7-step plan to facilitate change. There will be time during monthly Community of Practice calls to apply your learning to your unique context.

community change - tools
Week 4: Readiness Assessment and Project Development Tools
During our fourth week, you’ll access our proven team and organizational readiness package (values alignment, team skills, organizational capacity) and project development planning tools. Jessie Sutherland will share some of her “fails” and how it led to this readiness assessment package and step in the model. 


Claudine Matlo has hosted this model 5 times and will share her experiences when readiness has not been taken into consideration. Gordon Holley will share his expertise in using the project development planning tools (workplan, build-your-own-budget and other templates).

Listening to the session will provide you with the knowledge to ensure your team and organization are ready to implement your social change strategy.
community change - ideas
Week 5: Ideas Lab (Funding Trends and Tips)
In the final week, you will hear about the current trends in philanthropy and corporate sponsorship from our expert panel, Kris Archie, Meseret Taye and Charmaine Hammond. In addition, our panelists will share resources and connections to funding sources they are aware of that are aligned with community change approaches that value people with lived experience and collaboration. There will be time to ask questions about your most pressing challenges around funding and sponsorship proposals.

Listening to this session will provide you with critical information and strategies for building collaborative relationships with funders and corporate sponsors to ensure you have the resources to implement your community change plan.
Roadmap For Community Change - online training - membership portal
Digital Handouts, Recordings & Membership Access

Receive PDF digital handouts providing reflective learning practices and step-by-step guidance to integrate what you learn into your unique context.

Access video recordings of all sessions so you can listen as often as you like to deepen your learning at your own pace.

Receive ongoing access to your recordings and materials on our membership website until January 2024.

Bonuses

Receive these gifts to support your community change process.

Bonus 2
30-Minute Personalized Roadmap Review

1:1 Call with Jessie Sutherland

In the final week, you'll be invited to book a private 30-minute call with Jessie Sutherland to either review your Social Change Strategy plan and address questions relevant to your specific context. 


To get the most out of this session, email Jessie your social change strategy and questions ahead of time. This way, she will review them and give you the best she can offer.


On each 30-minute private call, we will:

  • Dive into what matters most to you
  • Share knowledge
  • Provide feedback when asked
  • Generate options
  • Identify your next best step

($247.00 Value)

Jessie Sutherland - Personalized Roadmap Review
Bonus 1
Community of Practice Online Group Call

(1 Month of Access)

Six weeks following your registration, you’ll be invited to a Community of Practice group call to connect with others who have taken our courses to learn from and with each other. This call provides an opportunity for you to ask questions, share success stories, and seek feedback on challenges.
 
On the 60-minute group call, you’ll gain:

  • Hive-mind insights that you can generate and share with other leaders and community developers on the call.
  • Jessie's expert input, inspired by 30 years experience and drawing on her proven process and the award-winning Belonging Matters framework and model.
  • Deepening of your capacity to nurture community change so you can avoid the pitfalls that often come with facilitating change.
  • Opportunities to ask questions that can help you personalize your learning for your leadership and community context.
  • Sharing opportunities to discuss your successes and challenges.
  • Potential networking benefits of connecting with other leaders and community developers on the call.
  • Increased clarity on where to focus your efforts in facilitating change.

($47.00 Value)

Community of Practice: Group Calls

About Jessie Sutherland,
Director

An international speaker, trainer, and consultant, Jessie Sutherland works with organizations and communities to engage diversity, build belonging and ignite intercultural collaboration.


Recipient of BC Community Achievement Award (2023), her approach creates sustainable community change that effectively addresses complex social problems.

Jessie Sutherland - TEDx Speaker
Jessie Sutherland - 2023 Community Award - BC Achievement Foundation - seal
Jessie Sutherland - Director of Intercultural Strategies

Jessie’s work has been delivered in over eight languages and has taken her across Canada and around the world to support communities in their efforts to address challenging issues including workplace inclusion, poverty, homelessness, the overdose crisis, elder abuse, reconciliation, youth engagement and more. Many of her clients go on to win awards for their work in engaging diversity and fostering collaboration for sustainable and lasting change.

As founder of the organization Intercultural Strategies, Jessie helps leaders and groups build cultures of belonging to create change in an inclusive and positive way. She is the innovator of the award-winning Belonging Matters framework and community change model designed to change mindsets, deepen interconnections, impart greater social capital and build stronger communities.

Jessie holds a M.A in Dispute Resolution, is a TEDx speaker and author of the book, Worldview Skills: Transforming Conflict from the Inside Out.

Here’s what people are saying about Jessie Sutherland...

Rachel Plamondon-Assu
Senior Manager of Peer and Harm Reduction Services at RainCity

Jessie is fabulous!

Jessie is fabulous! I found the most valuable part of the Roadmap for Community Change training was using the “3 lenses” tool that Jessie teaches. The training also impacted my worldview, reminding me that there are hundreds of years of “world view” imposed on community members.

Among my take-aways is the understanding that if we want to participate in restorative processes and use a belonging lens, it’s important to base our mindset and actions in inclusiveness, creating space for others, giving them a safe platform for their voices, and making sure they feel seen, heard, and appreciated.

Dianne Milsom
Board President of Richmond Addiction Services Society

Jessie skilfully brought together diverse parts of our community...

Jessie skilfully brought together diverse parts of our community to guide us through education and problem solving about how to tackle the opioid crisis in Richmond. She was well prepared, engaging, and inspired us to work together.

Aditi Pathak
UNESCO MGIEP

What sets Jessie apart is her ability to walk the extra mile to ensure a great learning experience for her participants.

What makes Jessie a great trainer is that she is not only kind and compassionate, but also a very good listener with excellent communication skills. She listens to her audience and responds to them very thoughtfully. What sets Jessie apart is her ability to walk the extra mile to ensure a great learning experience for her participants.

What I have seen while working with students, is that the belonging lens helps them to internalize the issue of global citizenship; they don’t see it as an external issue, thus helping them to understand it better.

Hear how Carol Sheridan’s worldview expanded while working with Jessie in the Belonging Matters framework.

About Our Guest Speakers

Week 1

Elder Larry Grant

Musqueam Elder Larry Grant

Musqueam Elder, Larry Grant, is an Adjunct Professor at the First Nations and Endangered Languages Program (UBC) who has been recognized for his continuous intercultural work and for helping to revitalize the hun’q’umin’um’ language.

Dr. Michael Quinn Patton

Dr. Michael Quinn Patton

Former president of the American Evaluation Association and Founder and CEO of Utilization-Focused Evaluation, Dr. Michael Quinn Patton is known for his numerous books on evaluation and is recognized as an award-winning leader in evaluation theory and practice.

Week 2

Rachel Plamondon-Assu

Rachel Plamondon-Assu

Rachel Plamondon-Assu is an Indigenous woman from the We Wai Kai nation. She brings her connection to culture and decades worth of experience in harm reduction and peer-lead community work creating opportunities for other people with lived experience.

Week 3

Monica Walters-Field

Monica Walters-Field

Monica Walters-Field is an Educator who has worked with the Toronto District School Board as a Teacher, Technical Director and Adult Programme Leader. Committed to ‘lifelong learning’, the practice of ‘right relationships’ and activism, Monica has participated as an observer and volunteer at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and has promoted ‘right relations’ between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous peoples for decades, as well as allying national and internationally with processes and peoples that foster inclusion and authenticity. Monica’s life as an activist is as a witness and participant in the building of relationships based on mutual respect and understanding where all can see a place for themselves in the fora.  

Carol Sheridan

Carol Sheridan

Carol Sheridan is the Manager of Oliver Parks and Recreation in Oliver, B.C. and hosted Belonging Matters Conversations to build relationships with Okanagan Osoyoos Indian Band. Carol advocates that people are healthier when they regularly connect with nature, and she cherishes her own time spent outdoors on the land and water.

Marvin Louie

Marvin Louie

Marvin Louie is a member of the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) and is one of OIB’s youth coordinators. For Marvin, sports have always been a mechanism to foster belonging and develop social skills along the way. He is passionate about youth and continuously finds opportunities to enhance youths’ health and wellness through sport and leadership activities.

Melissa Lyon

Melissa Lyon

Melissa Lyon holds a Masters in Special Education, has mild cerebral palsy and epilepsy, and is the founding director of Accessibility and Inclusion Matter Consulting, which specializes in consulting, mentoring, and workshop presentations. Melissa participated in the Belonging Matters Conversations during the Vancouver Island Cerebral Palsy Awareness Project and joined the cerebral palsy’s champions team taking on a key leadership role, including facilitation and writing projects.

Xwaluputhut (Patrick Aleck)

Xwaluputhut (Patrick Aleck)

Xwaluputhut (Patrick Aleck), Stz'uminusFirst Nation & Penelakut Island, is a drummer, singer, composer, inspirational speaker and facilitator. Xwaluputhut (Patrick), participated in the Belonging Matters Conversations during the Vancouver Island Cerebral Palsy Awareness Project. He soon became an important member of the CP leadership team contributing his facilitation, drumming, speaking and community building skills.

Luka Garvin

Luka Garvin

Luka Garvin is a young adult who lives with quadriplegia. They create artwork by using their breath to manipulate colour on the page. Luka participated in the Belonging Matters Conversations during the Vancouver Island Cerebral Palsy Awareness Project and joined the cerebral palsy’s champions team taking on a key leadership role, including facilitation and doing the artwork for the cover of Living With CP.

Denzil Muncherji

Denzil Muncherji

Denzil Muncherji is the Director of Operations and has been with CPABC since 2018. She has played a key role in the Vancouver Island Cerebral Palsy Awareness Project with stakeholder engagement and overseeing the many details to make it a success. In University, she studied Cultural Anthropology and Not-For-Profit Studies.

Maria Sampson

Maria Sampson

Maria Sampson is a Coast Salish Weaver, a descendant from the Coast Salish peoples and from the Nez Perce who works at the Victoria Native Friendship Centre as the Aboriginal Infant Development Consultant and Aboriginal Cultural Group Coordinator. In her role with Victoria Native Friendship Centre, Maria contributed her expertise in ensuring cultural protocols, relevancy and safety were followed every step of the way. Among her many projects, she has facilitated a Cedar Weaving workshop at Vancouver Island University in partnership with the Aboriginal Film Festival in the Cowichan territory. Together, they developed and created a DVD called “The Story of Cedar”.

Jeanne Morton

Jeanne Morton

Jeanne Morton supports Agency Services for the Cerebral Palsy Association of BC. She has extensive experience supporting people living with disabilities in residential, vocational, and community based services working for government, non-profit and private agencies. Born and raised in Newfoundland, Jeanne has lived in most regions in Canada as she has migrated westward.

Week 4

Claudine Matlo

Claudine Matlo

Claudine Matlo is currently the Director of Community Programs at Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House overseeing the Seniors, Youth, Settlement, and Volunteer portfolios. She has worked in the senior serving field for over 15 years in both management and direct service roles. She is passionate about ensuring that older adults in our community have a strong voice and an active role in creating safe and inclusive neighbourhoods and is currently studying innovative ways of engaging less heard senior voices.

Gordon Holley - CEO of Humanity

Gordon Holley

Gordon Holley, CPA, CA, FCPB, works to build confidence and capacity through leadership and training across Canada’s charity and social purpose sectors. As a CPA, CA of 25 years standing and CEO of Humanity Financial Management, Gordon loves helping leaders of community and social purpose organisations. Gordon’s passion is leveraging his decades of experience with board members and executive team to build human, organizational and sectoral capacity through workshops and resources.

Week 5

Kris Archie

Kris Archie

Kris Archie is the Chief Executive Officer of The Circle on Philanthropy (The Circle), a Secwepemc and Seme7 woman from Ts’qescen, a mother, aunty and engaged community member. Kris is passionate about heart-based community work and facilitating positive change. In all of her roles, Kris works to transform philanthropy and contribute to positive change by creating spaces of shared learning, relationship-building and centering Indigenous wisdom.

Meseret Taye

Meseret Taye

An immigrant from East Africa and settler of Black heritage, Meseret Taye’s deep passion and commitment to contribute to community change has led her to work exclusively in the nonprofit sector. She has 20 plus years of experience with local and international nonprofit organizations in Canada, the United States and Ethiopia. Meseret currently works as Grants Manager overseeing legal advocacy and racial justice grants for the Law Foundation of BC.


Prior to joining the Law Foundation, Meseret was a Senior Program Manager at Vancouver Foundation where she worked for 9.5 years in various grantmaking initiatives, including scaling out the Foundation’s grassroots grantmaking program from few communities in the Lower Mainland to every community across the province of BC by developing regional networks in partnership with diverse place-based nonprofit organizations, funding agencies and municipalities.

Charmaine Hammond

Charmaine Hammond

Charmaine Hammond, CSP, is a highly sought-after business keynote and workshop speaker (having presented to more than 400 000 people worldwide), entrepreneur, best-selling author, and educator who teaches and advocates the importance of developing trust, healthy relationships, and collaboration in the workplace.

Fast Track Your Learning With Proven Methods, Processes and Tools

Joining Roadmap for Community Change allows you to tap into Jessie’s 30+ years of expertise of working on social problems in a way that empowers communities and leads to lasting and sustainable change.

Jessie’s decades of experience in training, facilitation, mentoring and her life-long passion for effective social change means you are able to save time and energy because you’ll avoid the costly mistakes that many people make without the right training, support and experiential learning.

With an exceptional line up of guest speakers and funders, you’ll access a wealth of knowledge and expertise to help you refine your strategy and increase opportunities to create sustainability for your change efforts.  

For only $595, you can be a part of the Roadmap for Community Change program. We’ve made it easy for you to join us with the option of a payment plan, and Jessie stands behind this program with a satisfaction guarantee.

Intercultural Strategies | Engage Diversity. Build Belonging. Ignite Collaboration.
Intercultural Strategies - Satisfaction Guarantee

100% Satisfaction Guarantee for 60 Days

Our priority is to provide you with effective, actionable strategies to help you navigate your unique context. We've seen what's possible when the Belonging Matters framework and 7-step community change model are applied, and we stand behind it 100%.

To optimize your success, we provide you with opportunities to ask questions, hear application stories, access tools and apply what you learn to create a social change strategy that addresses your priority social challenges (aka, people and culture challenges). If you have attended the trainings and applied the strategies and this program still does not meet your expectations, reach out to us within 60 days of purchase. We’ll either chat with you to see if there are supports you need or we’ll refund your purchase. We're committed to your success. Guaranteed.

See what others are saying about the Belonging Matters community change approach.

Amanda Brown
RSW, Director, ReAct Adult Protection Program, West Vancouver Community Health Centre

As a society, we need to shift from a reactive mode to a prevention mode like what Belonging Matters provides.

As a society, we need to shift from a reactive mode to a prevention mode like what Belonging Matters Conversations provides. The more that we hear the voices of people impacted the most, the more respectful the process and the better the outcomes.

We need to support grassroots and community empowerment processes to achieve prevention and real change.

Karen Larcombe
South Vancouver Neighbourhood House, Former Executive Director

We love Belonging Matters.

We love Belonging Matters. Anyone who wants to do a piece of creative community development, around any issue, should talk to Jessie. The relationships built in this way are sustainable relationships.

Chief Robert Joseph
Hereditary Chief, Gwa wa Enuk First Nations

...the greatest potential for bringing about the needed healing and reconciliation...

Jessie Sutherland’s worldview skills may well be the insight that provides the greatest potential for bringing about the needed healing and reconciliation that must take place. It has the potential to provide the spark required to bring real peace, balance, and harmony…

Learn how Belonging Matters changed Luka’s life.

Frequently Asked Questions

What results can I expect from watching this video series?

You will have a fresh way of understanding of the nature of what you are changing, confidence on where to focus your efforts, a clear roadmap for addressing the social problem you are working to address, clarity on resources needed and feedback from a network of colleagues and experts to set you up for success with funding and sponsorship proposals.

How do I know this process works?

We have been designing and implementing powerful trainings for 30+ years. You can expect to be exposed to new information, a fresh approach, and be encouraged to apply what you learn in a meaningful way to gain clarity on your customized roadmap for community change. If you’re still not convinced, we encourage you to spend some time on our Reviews page and check out any of the 100+ endorsements from people about our opportunities and the Belonging Matters framework.

Who from my team should access this training?

We recommend attending with diverse representation from your team. We suggest a decision maker (director, manager, other), someone who can implement your plan from your team (frontline worker, coordinator, team leader, other), and someone with lived experience that your plan is trying to make a difference with and for. 

How is this investment going to pay off?

In addition to the results listed above, attending this training means you not only foster in-house capacity to build your plan, but also access over $10k worth of expertise in a consulting package.

What is your approach to training?

You can expect story telling, presentations and application activities.

What if I have questions about the training content?

Six weeks following your registration, you’ll receive access to a bonus Community of Practice group call. During this call, you can share successes and challenges with the development and implementation of your social change strategy. Together, with others on the call, you can generate ideas to help you move forward with greater impact and less effort.

I still have questions... Can I talk to someone?

Yes, we’d love to connect! Please reach out to us HERE or email us directly: [email protected]

Intercultural Strategies | Engage Diversity. Build Belonging. Ignite Collaboration.
Social Change Mentoring with Jessie Sutherland

Together, let's ignite community change.

I am extremely proud of this program, and I hope that you will join us. The world needs leaders, social planners, educators and community developers around the globe to develop and facilitate effective community change strategies. I look forward to connecting with you and would love to have you join our growing community.

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