Group Facilitation & Meeting Management Certificate: Flexible Skills, Tools, and Philosophies for Every SituationBringing people together in constructive dialogue is essential for organizations and communities to advance projects and build connections. Making these gatherings as effective as possible increases productivity, improves decision-making, and enhances the sense of group membership. This Advanced Learning Certificate in Group Facilitation & Meeting Management will help you increase your comfort and skill in facilitating groups and meetings – of any audience size, in-person, virtually, or hybrid. Build your awareness of models, processes, and interactive activities that can be applied to group dialogue and meetings. Gain strategies for giving directions to a group, developing facilitation activities related to their identified topic, and managing various responses to activities. Participants will also learn how to support or guide a group toward decision-making, ideation, or dialogue in meeting spaces. Finally, we will examine techniques that can be leveraged to create connections among the members of the group. Registration Deadline: September 19, 2025 by 5:00 p.m., Central. Register Today Is This Program for Me? The intermediate level skills and practice methods presented in this course are applicable in multiple settings and relevant to gathering stakeholder input, community organizing, strategic planning, project evaluation, staff retreats, and policy development. Note: This class will focus on facilitation in the context of community and professional meetings, not clinical therapy or support groups. Program Objectives: Apply theoretical models, facilitation processes, and interactive techniques to promote effective group dialogue and meeting engagement. Demonstrate skills in providing clear and effective directions to group members, designing facilitative activities aligned with group goals, and managing diverse responses during group processes. Demonstrate strategies to support and guide groups in reaching consensus, generating ideas, or fostering productive dialogue during meeting interactions. Agenda: Class 1 – Forming: This session introduces the group development model through the lens of the Forming stage. Participants will begin to establish the learning community by exploring practices that support psychological safety, early group cohesion, and the conditions necessary for collaborative learning. Strategies for supporting newly formed teams and setting shared expectations will be discussed and modeled. Class 2 – Storming: During this session, participants will examine the dynamics of conflict and power that often emerge in the Storming stage of group development. Through facilitated dialogue and applied examples, we will analyze techniques for addressing group tension, supporting productive disagreement, and navigating differences in communication and leadership styles. Class 3 – Norming Part 1: In this first session on the Norming stage, we will explore how facilitation supports a group’s ability to align on purpose and process. Participants will be introduced to concrete tools for agenda-setting, clarifying roles, fostering equitable participation, and maintaining momentum. Emphasis will be placed on adapting facilitation tools to the needs and maturity of the group. Class 4 – Norming Part 2: Building on the previous session, this segment will focus on deepening facilitation practice through structured planning and intentional design. Participants will engage in exercises that highlight how to tailor facilitation methods to group readiness, surface shared norms, and maintain psychological safety as roles and expectations become more clearly defined. Class 5 – Performing & Adjourning Performing: In this culminating skills session, participants will apply key facilitation concepts through role play and case study analysis. Emphasis will be placed on leading real-time conversations, making in-the-moment decisions, and supporting groups in collaborative work such as ideation, planning. Participants will also reflect on their learning and consider the importance of intentional closure in facilitation practice. We will examine strategies for honoring group contributions, creating meaningful endings, and reinforcing connection and accountability beyond the meeting space. Educational Design: This hybrid course offers 3 full day in-person sessions at the Brown School, and 2 3-hour virtual sessions via Zoom. The course will consist primarily of short lectures, presentations, interactive activities, and demonstrations involving all students. Between sessions, students will receive light homework designed to support reflection and preparation without overwhelming busy schedules. Participants are encouraged to bring both their facilitation experiences and any resources they’ve found useful to share with the class. Admission prerequisites: No application is required for this program. All students must be willing to comply with Washington University policies. Please note that participation in this course while on OPT (Optional Practical Training) is not permitted. For questions, email us at browncertificates@wustl.edu Meet Your Instructor Steven HarowitzExecutive Director, Campfire Steven Harowitz grew up in Palm City, Florida, and developed an interest in group facilitation as an over-involved kid in school. He kept that trend going at the University of Central Florida, holding roles that transformed how he viewed group facilitation, especially group development. He took that passion to the University of South Carolina, studying higher education and student development while working with student leaders. At Washington University in St. Louis, he helped build and then led the Angel and Paul Harvey Media Center for many years. In 2016, Steven founded Campfire and has led it ever since. In this role, he uses storytelling and facilitation to foster connections and illuminate wisdom. Steven stays connected to academia as an adjunct professor at WashU’s Brown School of Social Work, teaching group facilitation and meeting management. Outside of work, he lives in Brentwood, Missouri, with his wife and two dogs, Walter and Annie, who are obviously the best dogs in the universe. Steven believes facilitation is a skill that makes us better leaders, better followers, and better people. 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Group Facilitation & Meeting Management Certificate: Flexible Skills, Tools, and Philosophies for Every SituationBringing people together in constructive dialogue is essential for organizations and communities to advance projects and build connections. Making these gatherings as effective as possible increases productivity, improves decision-making, and enhances the sense of group membership. This Advanced Learning Certificate in Group Facilitation & Meeting Management will help you increase your comfort and skill in facilitating groups and meetings – of any audience size, in-person, virtually, or hybrid. Build your awareness of models, processes, and interactive activities that can be applied to group dialogue and meetings. Gain strategies for giving directions to a group, developing facilitation activities related to their identified topic, and managing various responses to activities. Participants will also learn how to support or guide a group toward decision-making, ideation, or dialogue in meeting spaces. Finally, we will examine techniques that can be leveraged to create connections among the members of the group. Registration Deadline: September 19, 2025 by 5:00 p.m., Central. Register Today
Is This Program for Me? The intermediate level skills and practice methods presented in this course are applicable in multiple settings and relevant to gathering stakeholder input, community organizing, strategic planning, project evaluation, staff retreats, and policy development. Note: This class will focus on facilitation in the context of community and professional meetings, not clinical therapy or support groups. Program Objectives: Apply theoretical models, facilitation processes, and interactive techniques to promote effective group dialogue and meeting engagement. Demonstrate skills in providing clear and effective directions to group members, designing facilitative activities aligned with group goals, and managing diverse responses during group processes. Demonstrate strategies to support and guide groups in reaching consensus, generating ideas, or fostering productive dialogue during meeting interactions. Agenda: Class 1 – Forming: This session introduces the group development model through the lens of the Forming stage. Participants will begin to establish the learning community by exploring practices that support psychological safety, early group cohesion, and the conditions necessary for collaborative learning. Strategies for supporting newly formed teams and setting shared expectations will be discussed and modeled. Class 2 – Storming: During this session, participants will examine the dynamics of conflict and power that often emerge in the Storming stage of group development. Through facilitated dialogue and applied examples, we will analyze techniques for addressing group tension, supporting productive disagreement, and navigating differences in communication and leadership styles. Class 3 – Norming Part 1: In this first session on the Norming stage, we will explore how facilitation supports a group’s ability to align on purpose and process. Participants will be introduced to concrete tools for agenda-setting, clarifying roles, fostering equitable participation, and maintaining momentum. Emphasis will be placed on adapting facilitation tools to the needs and maturity of the group. Class 4 – Norming Part 2: Building on the previous session, this segment will focus on deepening facilitation practice through structured planning and intentional design. Participants will engage in exercises that highlight how to tailor facilitation methods to group readiness, surface shared norms, and maintain psychological safety as roles and expectations become more clearly defined. Class 5 – Performing & Adjourning Performing: In this culminating skills session, participants will apply key facilitation concepts through role play and case study analysis. Emphasis will be placed on leading real-time conversations, making in-the-moment decisions, and supporting groups in collaborative work such as ideation, planning. Participants will also reflect on their learning and consider the importance of intentional closure in facilitation practice. We will examine strategies for honoring group contributions, creating meaningful endings, and reinforcing connection and accountability beyond the meeting space. Educational Design: This hybrid course offers 3 full day in-person sessions at the Brown School, and 2 3-hour virtual sessions via Zoom. The course will consist primarily of short lectures, presentations, interactive activities, and demonstrations involving all students. Between sessions, students will receive light homework designed to support reflection and preparation without overwhelming busy schedules. Participants are encouraged to bring both their facilitation experiences and any resources they’ve found useful to share with the class. Admission prerequisites: No application is required for this program. All students must be willing to comply with Washington University policies. Please note that participation in this course while on OPT (Optional Practical Training) is not permitted. For questions, email us at browncertificates@wustl.edu