What if the way we come together could actually match why we come together?
Culture of Convening is where that work lives. We share tools, frameworks, and real stories for anyone who brings people together for a living, or because they can’t help it. Redefining the tradition of coming together, where every identity, experience, and perspective belongs.
Between us, we have worked with hundreds of organizations as facilitators, trainers, and participants. We have seen convenings done with heart and on autopilot. We have watched rooms transform people and watched rooms waste their time. Culture of Convening exists because we believe the tradition of coming together is worth fighting for, and because we have learned enough to know it needs to be redefined. This is a platform to share what we are learning, grounded in our lived experiences and lifting up the stories of people that leaders and organizations serve.
Culture of Convening is for facilitators, nonprofit and social-sector leaders, corporate professionals, event planners, organizers, and anyone who has ever left a room thinking, “there has to be a better way to bring people together.”
These are people who run meetings, retreats, coalitions, and community gatherings because their role requires it, not because anyone taught them the craft. They learned by doing, usually by copying whatever format their own boss or org used, and they know something is off but can’t name it. They’ve sat through a stiff strategic planning retreat that felt like a corporate training and left flat. They’ve also experienced a gathering that felt alive and connected and wondered what made the difference.
Culture of Convening will help you understand and make that connection.
Expect co-authored frameworks and tools alongside personal essays from each of us. Expect honesty about what is broken and practical ideas for improvement. Expect a publication that practices what it preaches: centering the people in the room.
A good place to start
What Is a Convening? (And What Isn’t One?) — Our foundational piece. It defines what a convening is, introduces the two questions every convener should ask, and sets the tone for everything that follows.
Why We’re Redefining the Tradition of Coming Together — The manifesto. This is the piece you send when someone asks what Culture of Convening is about.
The Difference Between Being Invited and Belonging — The framework that runs through everything we write: belonging is architecture, not a feeling.
Who We Are
Carmen Berkley Anderson is Vice President of Strategy and Impact at the Inatai Foundation, where she leads initiatives advancing equity and racial justice across Washington State. She is co-author of The Empath Leader: Transforming Humanity’s Algorithm and creator of the Care Bear Model of Leadership, which combines empathy, clarity, and accountability in organizational practice.
Gregory Allan Datu Cendana is Founder and President of Can’t Stop! Won’t Stop! Consulting, a firm that helps organizations strengthen transformational leadership architecture, culture, and social impact through convening and collaboration. He is also the bestselling author of Be the Boss Now: 15 Key Steps to Start, Run, and Grow Your Own Business, which has a limited-series podcast.
Together, they are both the co-founders and co-creators of Culture of Convening and design trainings and convenings that blend rigorous facilitation with a commitment to helping leaders move from reactivity to regulation and from pressure to purpose.
