It is an honour indeed to find myself among such distinguished company inducted today, during International Facilitation Week, into the IAF “International Facilitators’ Hall of Fame”. There are certainly many other facilitators around the world who are equally or more deserving of such an accolade, so I thank IAF for this wonderful recognition and I thank all of them as well for their own contributions to our profession and to our association. I am proud to contribute what I can to both.

The full text of the IAF press release is below, and here to download in pdf – IAF Hall of Fame Press Release.

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International Association of Facilitators

Date: October 22, 2014

The International Association of Facilitators is pleased to announce the induction of the following people into the International Facilitators’ Hall of Fame:

• Nadine Bell (USA)
• Gilbert Brenson-Lazan (Latin Am & Caribbean)
• Ann Epps (Asia)
• Martin Gilbraith (Europe, Middle East & North Africa)
• Jo Nelson (Canada)
• Theresa Ratnam-Thong (Asia)
• Keith Ryall (Oceania)
• Dr. Sandor Schuman (USA)
• Bill Staples (Canada)
• Dr. Tom Schwarz (Oceania)

The Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who: have contributed to our field of practice; have made ‘significant contributions’ to the field of facilitation through publication, promotion, etc.; and who have shown a high level of dedication and service to the international professional association. The individuals named above have been nominated and received unanimous agreement from the IAF Board of Directors as being worthy of this, our Association’s, highest distinction. The bios for each of this year’s inductees are attached.

The International Association of Facilitators is a professional association that sets internationally accepted industry standards, provides accreditation, supports a community of practice, advocates and educates on the power of facilitation and embraces the diversity of facilitators and methods of facilitation around the world. It’s mission is to grow the community of practice for all those who facilitate, establish internationally accepted professional standards, build credibility and promote the value of facilitation around the world.

This is the IAF’s 20th anniversary providing internationally recognized professional certification, professional development, peer networking and advancement of the art and science of facilitation. IAF members are committed to the IAF values and code of ethics providing impartial facilitation so that all voices and ideas are heard and considered.

Contact: Julie Larsen, Director of Communications, communications@iaf-world.org or: Kimberly Bain, Chair, chair@iaf-world.org.

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BACKGROUNDER:

Nadine Bell CPF (US)

Nadine Bell, CPF, is a founding member of IAF, a past Board member and an assessor. Nadine has served on the Board of Directors as Chair elect in 1997; as Chair in 1998; as Past Chair in 1999; as Co-Chair of Professional Development in 2000; and, as Co-chair of the IAF Conference in Texas in 2002. Nadine also contributed to the IAF Handbook as an author. Nadine has been an important and driving figure in the US Region for many years. Nadine has attended almost all North American IAF conferences as well as many IAF conferences in Europe and Southeast Asia. Nadine is an experienced facilitator, trained mediator and mentor trainer of the Technology of Participation Group Facilitation Methods, Nadine is the only facilitator to hold the Certified Professional Facilitator, Certified Master Facilitator and Certified ToP Facilitator designations and she has assessed facilitator candidates for all three certifications globally..

Gilbert Brenson-Lazan (LAC)

Gilbert Brenson-Lazan, has been a driving force in the Latin American and Caribbean facilitation community for many years. Gilbert has served on the Board of Directors as both Regional Director and Vice-Chair International, hosts an important facilitation blog in Latin America and was Co-Chair of the first IAF Conference in Latin America with over 600 attendees from 19 countries. Gilbert is a Founding Member, Past President and Member of the Advisory Board of the Global Facilitator Service Corp (GFSC) and developed and applied the basic model used for psychosocial intervention in disasters recognized around the world.

Ann Epps CPF (Asia)

Ann Epps, CPF, is a founding member of IAF, served on the Board of Directors as the Director of Conferences and is a CPF assessor. Having served on the planning committee for ten of the early IAF Asia conferences, Ann has also attended many IAFNA and Europe conferences and most of the IAF Asia conferences. Ann is a mentor trainer in the Technology of the Participation methods and divides her time training and
facilitating between Southeast Asia and the US. Ann and her husband John are regular presenters at conferences and are tireless supporters of IAF.

Martin Gilbraith CPF (Europe MENA)

Martin Gilbraith, CPF, is the most recent past Chair of IAF. Previously he served on the Board as IAF Vice Chair and as IAF Europe Director. Martin has served IAF in many ways, he hosts Facilitation Daily and a widely subscribed facilitation blog, and he manages the @FacWeek twitter account and co-hosts the IAF Twitter Chats during IFW. Martin is an independent facilitator, trainer and consultant based in London, UK. He currently serves as President of the Institute of Cultural Affairs International (ICAI) and is an Associate and former Chief Executive of ICA:UK. He has been facilitating and training, specialising in ICA’s ToP facilitation methodology, since 1986.

Jo Nelson CPF (Canada)

Jo Nelson, CPF, CTF, is a founding member of IAF, a sustaining member and a past Board member who has served as both Secretary and Chair of the Board. Jo has served on numerous committees including the Professional Development Task Force and most recently chaired the working group that developed the training endorsement strategy and program. Jo also facilitated the development of the IAF competencies. Jo has attended every IAFNA conference since their inception and continues to promote IAF in everything she does. Jo has published many particles and one book on facilitation. Jo also is recipient of a Gold Facilitation Impact Award.

Theresa Ratnam Thong CPF (Asia)

Theresa Ratnam Thong, is the first Malaysian Certified Professional Facilitator and is an Assessor and a past Board member, serving as Vice-Chair International from 2007 – 2008 and again from 2001 – 2003. Theresa has organized IAF conferences in the Asia Region and has been an important member of the Asian facilitation community. Theresa has been active in the Local Government of her locality and was Lead Facilitator for the Women@Work Summit, the Malaysia Water Forum under the auspices of the Global Water Partnership. She was also selected to be part of the Facilitation Team consisting of 25 Global Facilitators to facilitate at the World Summit on Sustainable development held in South Africa and was also invited to be part of the Generative Dialogue Project, a global initiative in New York.

Keith Ryall CPF (Oceania)

Keith Ryall, CPF, is an assessor, a past Board member (Regional Director for Oceania) and a sustaining member. Keith worked very hard to increase IAF’s Oceania and much of the growth there today is based on the solid foundations set up by Keith over the years. Since 2009, Keith has been heavily involved with introducing the magic of Process Facilitation to Rotary International and specifically to Strategic Planning Workshops for Australian Rotary Clubs and other Not for Profits. Keith is a regular presence at IAF conferences around the world and a great promoter of IAF and our profession.

Dr. Sandor Schuman (US)

Sandy Schuman is a sustaining member. He edited the IAF Journal, Group Facilitation (1997–2007) and IAF Handbook Series (2003-2011), co-founded and moderated the IAF email discussion list, grp-facl (1994-2008), and co-chaired the Ethics and Values Think Tank, which created the Statement of Values and Code of Ethics for Group Facilitators (2000-2004). He was a member of the Research and Publications Task Force (1996-2001),the Board of Directors (2000-2001) and was the primary researcher of the 1996-1997 Survey of Group Facilitators. Sandy has worked hard to promote the profession through mainstream and academic literature. He continues to present professional development workshops at IAF conferences and regional meetings. His most recent blog post, You know you’re a group facilitator if …, is his most popular.

Bill Staples CPF (Canada)

Bill Staples, CPF, is a founding member and has been the publisher of the IAF Journal since 2001. Bill was chair of the IAF 2000 Conference Toronto with 1100 participants. He was on the Association Coordinating Team from 1999 to 2005 and was the IAF Global Conference Team chair from 2002-05. Bill is also a Certified ToP Facilitator and has published articles and books on facilitation, working hard to increase the profile of the association and the profession.

Dr. Tom Schwarz CPF (Oceania)

Tom Schwarz, CPF, if a past member of the Board of Directors, was Director of Oceania Region and is a CPF Assessor. Tom was the first facilitator in the Oceania Region to be awarded the CPF designation. Tom has been a fixture at IAF conferences around the world and often presents at PD events in Asia and Oceania. Tom has published articles on the power of facilitation and regularly advocates for and promotes our profession.