September 30, 2019

Collaboratively written by Terri Beaton, Kix Citton, Nola Landucci, Tara Jordan, April Vance and Linda Hill

The Inclusive Leadership Co-operative is thrilled to announce how lucky we are to welcome Lindsay Beal as our new Co-ordinator. Lindsay’s daily life is filled with engaging people from diverse life circumstances and diverse abilities in creative communication, Inclusive Leadership development and community-building. Lindsay has been offering her many amazing gifts to the Inclusive Leadership Co-operative for four years now as a participant, board member, and dedicated volunteer.

When she began participating in Inclusive Leadership education in 2015 she found the skills for Building Bridges to equality, connecting with differences, communicating with compassion and Anti-Discrimination First Aid already felt like second nature. She has been actively cultivating her own Inclusive Leadership skills and sharing leadership in cultivating the Inclusive Leadership Cooperative ever since.

Lindsay’s formal education includes liberal arts, fine arts, theatre and a Masters of Education in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Victoria, BC. Her life-long education began as the youngest in a creative family of artists with diverse abilities. She has been learning and teaching through experiential education her whole life: creative arts groups, playback theatre, clowning, writing, dancing, participatory poetry, movement and more. Lindsay began facilitating creative arts classes at the age of ten which gives her 45 years of experience guiding children, youth and adults from diverse backgrounds to transform themselves and their communities by embracing diversity with connection, compassion, creativity and courage.

• Forty-five years facilitating creative arts classes and groups.
• Nine years with the Alternatives to Violence Project
• Thirteen years at the Victoria Brain Injury Society
• Eight years running an inclusive arts studio with Pandora Arts Collective Society
• Seven years with Headway Victoria, co-ordinating programs and groups for individuals and families whose lives are affected by epilepsy or Parkinson’s

ILC Board Member, Nola Landucci sees Lindsay as, “…the dream candidate for the job of coordinating the ILC. We met each other at our first Inclusive Leadership immersion weekend some four years ago. She spoke about her work coordinating art programs for people recovering from mental illness and brain injury. She spoke simply and lovingly of encouraging creative expression as a motivational support for relapse prevention and health recovery. Everything she described was positive and gentle. Since that first meeting we have been in a number of ILC management sessions together. She radiates a quiet, warm listening energy. Her clarity about the work has advanced the group’s confidence in going forward together. She is always conscious of her strengths but sensitive to the needs of colleagues, able to present her very inspiring ideas in ways that do not intimidate but invite the supportive efforts of others. Her commitment to inclusiveness is as evident as is her integrity when she speaks about her own needs as well as her dedication to the work.”

The ILC is very thankful for funding from Canadian Heritage and WorkBC that is supporting Lindsay to combine leading with learning while coordinating an inspirational “Strengthening Bridges” project aimed at preparing new and experienced Inclusive Leaders to become Inclusive Leadership facilitators. According to Lindsay, “Learning and leading are inseparable, like two sides of the same coin. I love groups, because dynamic interaction has a way of flipping that coin so steadily, and subtly, it’s a challenge to track it and a joy to share the leadership flip.”

Terri Beaton finds Lindsay to be the ideal facilitator of facilitators. “She is totally inclusive in her facilitating because she is so generous with her time and skills and so willing to lead from behind, beside, in front of the room or whatever is needed. She is an awesome problem solver. If you don’t get it one way, she shows you a different way.”

The word facilitate means “to make things easy for others to do.” April Vance shared how easy it is to participate in groups that Lindsay is part of. “Lindsay is always a smiling face and welcoming spirit at ILC events.”

Co-founder of the Inclusive Leadership Co-operative, Kix Citton appreciates how, “Lindsay balances big picture thinking with attention to details. Her insightful questions and compassionate curiosity from her diverse experiences open up joyful possibilities.”

Board members Tara Jordan and Donna Sassaman add, “Lindsay is a gentle, caring and entirely non-judgmental friend. Her very warm and inviting presence immediately feels comfortable. Just by being herself, she creates safe spaces for people of all ages to learn and grow. We find her energy calming and soothing, and we are so grateful that we get to be a part of her world. How wonderful that she is able to step into this new role.”

Lindsay is also tasked with guiding succession planning by:

• engaging ILC members in visioning and action planning
• inviting new Inclusive Leaders to become members of the ILC
• inviting individuals and organizations to become involved in Inclusive Leadership education
• applying for grants for new projects
• supporting Linda Hill to transition from her five years co-ordinating the ILC into doing what she loves by focusing on curriculum development.

Linda is delighted to be gradually shifting from leading from the front to sharing leadership from beside and behind Lindsay and everyone in the ILC. “In our interconnected world, I find it meaningful that Lindsay has become the coordinator of the ILC during the September 21 to 27 global strikes for climate action. Lindsay is a global citizen who has been acting locally to shift the world from exclusion toward inclusion her whole life.

As she says, learning and leading are two sides of the same coin. On one side of the coin is the ethical energy she gives to bringing together children, youth and adults from diverse cultures, abilities, faiths, sexual and gender orientations, and so many other life circumstances to develop our global awareness about inclusion and diversity. On the other side of the coin is the creative energy she gives to guiding us to develop our Inclusive Leadership skills for embracing the interconnections between our diverse environmental, social, economic, spiritual, and political challenges. As our new coordinator of the Inclusive Leadership Co-operative, Lindsay will amplify the vital role Inclusive Leaders are playing in this global movement of learning to participate generously in life enriching and life-sustaining gift-giving cultures and natural systems based on the sun, the wind and love of social diversity and biodiversity. Thank you Lindsay for showing up to coordinate the Inclusive Leadership Co-operative at just the right time!”