Lived Experience

A deep practice intensive on honoring, integrating, and protecting lived experience in organizational systems.

About This Intensive

An extended, practice-intensive session on the role of lived experience in mission-driven organizations. Organizations increasingly recognize the value of lived experience, but few have built the structures to honor it. Staff with lived experience are often asked to carry emotional labor, represent entire communities, or navigate systems that were not designed with them in mind. This intensive teaches participants how to integrate lived experience into organizational systems with integrity, equity, and structural support.

We'll cover:

• What it means to center lived experience structurally, not just rhetorically
• How organizations extract from lived experience without reciprocating
• How to build roles, expectations, and support structures that honor lived experience rather than exploit it
• How to create the conditions where staff with lived experience can bring their full selves without bearing disproportionate emotional labor
• How to address the power dynamics between credentialed expertise and experiential expertise
• How to design programs, policies, and practices informed by lived experience at every level

You'll leave with:

• An assessment of how your organization currently integrates and supports lived experience
• Design principles for structurally honoring lived experience
• A plan for strengthening lived experience integration in your organization

Designed for: Leaders, managers, and practitioners in mission-driven organizations seeking professional development or continuing education credit.