Debbie has been a trainer for the Advanced Facilitation Team within World in Conversation since May 2020. She graduated from Penn State in the same year with an undergraduate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. During her time as a university student, she began learning WinC’s methodology and approach to facilitated dialogue. Debbie’s interest in facilitation and group dialogue grew and today I (along with her colleague, Sarah Chelius)  administer and instruct SOC 469, a class which is a continuation of the teachings of SOC 369: Foundations of Facilitated Dialogue.

At World in Conversation, Debbie learned that it does not take much searching to find intergroup communication breakdowns; oftentimes in her own group of family or friends. She also learned that there are actually people that can help a group to prevent dysfunctional communication and nurture the group’s ability to think together and build real solutions to real problems. The possibility that we are capable of “building solutions with our opponents” is the reason why Debbie looks forward to guiding her group of students every semester.