Do you want to help promote equality for Women in STEM and other equity-deserving populations and transform the status quo through education, advocacy, and action? Do you have a desire to step up and fight for a better, fairer, more just world? This course is for you.
The Building Skills for Change workshop series is designed to help anyone learn how to make a difference in their community through the basics of strategizing, organizing, telling your own story, and taking effective action.
During this eight week, sixteen-session online course you will learn how to fight for a world where women in STEM and other underrepresented groups have access to equal opportunities and inclusive and diverse environments to achieve their full potential by mastering the following skills:
- Tell your story to motivate others to take action.
- Design a strategy that gets the change you want
- Structure your team to avoid burnout and facilitate growth
- Recruit and keep volunteers
- Choose a strategy and tactics that move decision-makers
After completing the course you will receive a certificate in Organizing for Social Change from the Institute for Change Leaders.
The curriculum is based on the teachings of Harvard University Professor Marshall Ganz, a veteran of the Civil Rights Movement and an adviser to President Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign.
You will learn through lectures and small group activities that will allow you to practice the skills we teach with other women in STEM. The larger lecture components will also include groups working in other issue areas, such as the environment, workers’ rights, housing justice, and more, where you will explore the intersections between your challenges and those coming from other backgrounds.
You will work with an experienced organizer, who will facilitate your group and help you plan your organizing project. You will finish the course ready to tell your story, with a developed organizing statement, and tools to plan your organizing project's strategy and tactics.
Dates and times
This course takes place over 8 weeks, each Tuesday from 6:00-8:00 pm EST, beginning September 27th, 2022 and ending November 15th. Coaching circles will be held on Thursdays from 6:00-7:00 pm EST.
The Tuesday sessions include lectures and facilitator-led breakout groups with the opportunity to practice that week's material. The Thursday sessions function as 'office hours' for participants to ask questions, practice their skills, and receive coaching.
Price
The regular price ticket is $499.00. ICL will be offering a limited number of scholarships to individuals and groups working or volunteering with a non-profit, charity, labour union or social movement. Please complete this form to apply.
Teaching Team
Duncan Pike is a union activist, campaigner, and social movement trainer with a passion for supporting people who are organizing for a more just, fair, and equitable society. As a facilitator and Communications Lead with the Institute for Change Leaders, Duncan has trained thousands of new activists and union members on organizing and campaign strategy and tactics, public narrative, and campaign messaging.
Damineh Akhavan is a Senior Engineer at Viking Air Limited with more than 17 years of experience in the aerospace industry. Moreover, she is a Founder and CEO of Global Women in STEM Inc. promoting equality for women and equity-deserving groups and challenging the status quo in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) through education, advocacy, and action. Damineh holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering, a Bachelor of Science in Physics, and an MBA in International Business from the University of Victoria. She has been an advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) for women in STEM, and a champion for women in engineering, a passion that has grown over the years, especially after becoming a mother.