Before We Gather 1 With Dr. Laura Calderon De La Barca

Summary: 

The meeting was a planning and orientation session for the Solarize convening, centering on the day-one theme of grounding in purpose and an emergent, relational event format. Organizers and core facilitators described roles and affirmed the three-day structure (grounding/resourcing, surveying hope, planning collaboration).

Organizers (Jason, Shayna, Camryn, Eugene, Spencer) outlined Solarize’s format emphasizing small-group connection, emergent learning conversations, and a non-hierarchical approach rather than traditional speaker sessions. Logistics discussed include confirmed Chicago in-person participants, two remaining public webinars to invite people to, and a call for 90-minute workshop proposals with submissions due by the end of the month to  https://e55aaoq0jdw.typeform.com/to/vzUvDUVx . Shayna requested help finding sponsors and posted her contact for outreach.

Dr. Laura Calderón de la Barca presented a programmatic approach to grounding: inclusive orientation, gentle resourcing, practices for body/heart/land/ancestors/spirit, optional engagement levels, and ensuring the field is resourced before addressing grief or trauma. She demonstrated a creative practice and artifact (an alebrije named Tadeo) as an example of using art to surface collective intelligence. Participants (including Ihan, Mak, Samuel) described local leadership roles, evaluation challenges for emergent work, and a shared commitment to creating brave, caring spaces that integrate spirituality and changemaking.

Open issues and constraints highlighted include measuring and evaluating emergent relational outcomes for funders, resourcing the field before engaging grief, the need for sponsor support, and cultivating participant readiness for interdependence and vulnerability. The meeting closed with brief reflections of gratitude and alignment around the convening’s relational goals.

Key Questions: 

* Why did you agree to participate in Solarize and what drew you to this gathering?
* What do you imagine happening to create the conditions for the kind of engagement and conversation you described?
* What invitation would you offer to people considering attending Solarise to enter the space you are guiding?
* Is the learning-conversation presentation slot a 90-minute workshop?