Regional Storytelling and Facilitation Workshop - Bemidji

Join us for one of four regional workshops to help tell the story of prevention in Minnesota and gain new facilitation skills! At each workshop, John Noltner, award-winning photographers and gifted storyteller of A Peace of My Mind, will guide a morning session where we will reflect on the question, “What inspires hope in your prevention work?” These reflections will be collected through each regional session and presented at the 50th annual Minnesota Prevention Sharing Conference October 15-16, 2024. (learn more at mnprc.org/conference). Consultant and collaborative partner, Jason Anderson, will host an afternoon session on effective & engaging facilitation skills. Lunch, networking, and resources will be provided at all regional workshops. There is no cost to attend.

May 24th - St. Cloud - Sauk Rapids Government Center

June 13th - Metro - Eagan Community Center

June 14th - Mankato - Mayo Event Center

A Peace of My Mind is a multimedia arts project, created by award-winning photographer John Noltner, that uses portraits and personal stories to bridge divides and encourage dialogue around important issues. Through exhibits, workshops, lectures, on-site studios and distance learning, A Peace of My Mind leads transformative experiences that help a polarized world rediscover the common humanity that connects us.

Participants in each session will explore the question: "What inspires hope in your prevention work?” They will write a response in 25 words or less. John Noltner will photograph each participant and combine their image and words in the final product. The objective is to create a body of work together that celebrates prevention work in Minnesota, and guides us as we look towards the future. Having your photo and response recorded as optional. Having your photo taken is optional, but encouraged. View examples of other A Peace of My Mind work.

Whether you are delivering training, leading a meeting, or providing an update to a board – building facilitation skills is an area that can have profound results. Increased competency in this area allows your message to resonate with your audience. As a trainer of a given topic, we often only focus on subject-matter expertise with little attention to the considerations surrounding how to present the material in a way that it will resonate and engage participants. In leadership roles, we are often called upon to give presentations and/or facilitate meetings or training sessions. We can all reflect on our educational experience in which we had teachers/professors who were undoubtedly brilliant in their respective area of study - yet they were miserable at teaching. Conversely, we also had engaging, interactive, (dare I say “entertaining”?) learning environments. In this energizing workshop, participants will explore the nuances of engaging facilitation.

• Understand the importance of attending to different learning styles.
• Discover the impact of engaging participants on an emotional level.
• Learn and participate in various strategies intended to make your own presentation more engaging and interactive.
• Laugh.

John Noltner has been telling stories with words and images for twenty years for national magazines, Fortune 500 companies, and non-profit organizations. His work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Forbes Magazine, Midwest Living, and the New York Daily News, among other publications.

Throughout his career, Noltner has managed logistics for editorial and commercial clients, both nationally and internationally, having worked on three continents. Noltner carefully arranges details and builds relationships with his clients, using humor, understanding, and compassion to craft compelling and insightful stories.

Since 2009, Noltner has been asking people the simple (or not so simple) question, “What does peace mean to you?” for his multimedia arts project, A Peace of My Mind. He has driven 40,000 miles across the country, meeting with diverse subjects, photographing them, and recording their personal stories exploring the meaning of peace. He has included the voices of Holocaust survivors, the homeless, undocumented immigrants, convicted criminals, political refugees and others. The series has been produced as two award-winning books and four exhibits that travel the country. A Peace of My Mind has been presented at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, The Sojourners Summit for Change, Everyday Democracy, the Peace and Justice Studies Association, the Gandhi-King Conference on Nonviolence and the Dayton International Peace Museum.

A Peace of My Mind represents Noltner’s belief that art and storytelling have the power to transform our hearts as well as our communities.

Upon his discharge from the United States Army, Jason obtained his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Moorhead State University. After a 25-year career in community corrections, having served as a probation/parole officer, a project manager, probation department director and trainer of several topics, Jason transitioned into a full-time role as a consultant and trainer in early 2023. Within his community corrections career, he served as a Regional Training Coordinator for the National Institute of Corrections for 5 years. He has been affiliated with The Montana Institute doing curriculum development and training since 2014. He spent a number of years as an active member of 2 school-based substance abuse coalitions and is a current member of the Itasca County Veteran’s Crisis Response Team which supports veterans experiencing mental health crisis. An avid outdoorsman and storyteller, Jason enjoys singing in his church choir and dabbles in community theater.

Host or Publisher Minnesota Regional ATOD Prevention Coordinators