About Charlotte | Facilitation Style | Ideal Projects |
Charlotte Young, Ph.D.; Director of Practice
Why this work?
Since her early days playing with worms on the playground and learning on her first canoe trip the boat has to stay parallel to the shore to avoid going in the drink :), the natural environment has captivated Charlotte. Later on, as an exchange student in Australia, Charlotte learned that environmental challenges are fundamentally “people” problems. As a result, she shifted her trajectory from becoming a large mammal biologist to learning about psychology and social sciences for the environment.
Her work today
Today she works with teams, groups and organizations in supporting them to craft solutions for a healthy planet with happy people. She uses tools such as facilitation, mediation, consensus building and collaboration, evaluation, graphic recording and capacity building. She pays attention to group process and dynamics so participants can work towards innovative environmental solutions that one individual or organization alone can’t solve.
Her qualifications
Charlotte graduated with a PhD from The University of Michigan in environmental/natural resources psychology. She is a certified mediator, a certified facilitator for the Framework for Acting during Uncertainty and Complexity (FAUC), and a facilitator for True Colours personality strengths inventory. Charlotte also:
- holds a level one certificate from the Partnership Brokers Association
- is a graphic recorder,
- is trained in consensus decision making, and
- is an Innoweave coach in “impact measurement, ” “policy engagement,” “collective impact,” and “developmental evaluation.”
As a dual Canadian and American citizen, Charlotte works both sides of the border as well as occasionally elsewhere.
As a guide by the side, Charlotte advocates for magnificent group process that supports the group while simultaneously having fun. She uses participatory and interactive methods that appeal to both introverts and extroverts. Her repertoire of group process techniques ensure she considers varied pacing of individuals; and visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning preferences. At times these techniques are structured and directive; at other times they are more open and exploratory so that participants can reflect and gain new insights. By balancing activities that both build relationships and enable participants to accomplish tasks, she catalyzes and empowers groups to minimize tangents, reduce duplication, and address conflicts while quickly getting to the heart of the matter.
She’s especially delighted with projects involving multiple organizations which work together on a big problem or thorny issue over the long haul – like planning where forestry should head in the next five years, or how the many players should be collaborating to ensure high quality water for everyone, or how health is impacted by the natural environment. The latter, for instance, could involve bringing air quality specialists, epidemiologists, urban foresters, land use planners, engineers and water treatment plant operators. Through the muddling of collaboration, she has seen more creative, more broadly supported and ultimately easier to implement solutions because everyone’s had a role in creating the solution(s).
Small and Large Assignments
Charlotte works with a network of associates to create the right team for your assignment. We can expand your own facilitation team for a large project. Or, we can complement your technical capability in sciences and engineering with expertise in the “human dimension” or “human factors” of environment, health and natural resources projects. And, we’re delighted to enliven your meetings and events with graphics and visuals.