Upcoming Events

Here’s what’s coming up

Looking to expand your knowledge, build your skills, invest in your development, and strengthen your network? Check out what’s coming up. And if you’re interested in bringing us into your community or organization, we’d love to hear from you!

Virtual offerings:

  • Scribble + Jot: A Creative Coffee Hour Series to bridge the Safer-At-Home isolation. The last series ranged from people sheltering at home alone to families with three generations at the kitchen table; from Alaska to Belgium and beyond; and from ages 5 to 89. People invited friends from other states, and colleagues and cousins from other continents, and it was so much fun that we’re doing it again. Dates TBD.

Seattle area

Bellingham area

London area

  • Gauge Leadership Lab (London edition.) This 12-week program for leaders, entrepreneurs, and instigators incorporates a powerful 360° leadership assessment, three full-day workshops, 1:1 coaching, and 12 weekly assignments to amplify your learning. Series starts October 20, in collaboration with Lea__p. Curious? Let’s talk.

A selection of recent projects:

We’ve been facilitating some thought-provoking conversations and connecting with some remarkable organizations and community gatherings in recent months. If you’re curious to get a feel for what we’ve been up to and who we’ve been working with, take a look here.

Conferences, professional meetings, and community-sponsored gatherings
  • Weaving Ourselves Together: Grounding Practices for Unsettling Times. 7-9am, Thursday, April 30th, 2020. Guest speaker and facilitator for the Women’s Professional Network monthly breakfast.
  • B.Y.O.P. Virtual Work Party (Bring Your Own Project) A series of weekly 90-minute Virtual Work Parties. Bring Your Own Project, get stuff done, and bridge the Work-From-Home isolation along the way.HERE’S THE GENERAL PLAN: We’ll open with a brief grounding practice. You’ll have a few minutes to gather your thoughts and verify your priorities for the session. Then we’ll work together in parallel. We’ll take a break mid-way through to stretch and get re-focused. We’ll dive back in, and we’ll end with a few minutes to write down the ‘What’s Next’ step(s) on our respective projects.
  • Lunch + Learn: Building a Culture of Accountability at The Riveter: Fremont, Wednesday, March 18th, from noon-1pm. In this lively, interactive session, we’ll learn about how to cultivate a direct, humane, and results-oriented approach to addressing the issues that are holding your team back. Space is limited, please register here. (Free for members of the Riveter with your membership code.)
  • Leadership Launchpad: Reflect, Clarify, and Connect Thursday, January 16th, 2020, from 1:30-4pm at the Impact Hub Seattle. Start the year off right! Give yourself a thought-provoking and fun opportunity to take stock of the past year, clarify your leadership focus for 2020, and connect with other interesting folks in the process. SPOILER ALERT: This isn’t about New Year’s Resolutions.
  • Negotiating Your Future: authentic leadership and the power of negotiation. Thursday, January 9, 2020, 1-4pm @ The Riveter: Capitol Hill (Seattle). Why take a negotiation workshop focused on women? There’s consistent evidence that men are four times more likely to initiate negotiations to advance their own interests, ranging from salary increases to important project assignments and beyond. Register soon, this workshop always sells out.
  • Gauging your Leadership: A Lunch + Learn Workshop at the Impact Hub in Seattle. Wednesday, November 13th, noon to 1pm. SOLD OUT.
  • Leadership Launchpad: Reflect, Clarify, and Connect Wed, January 9th, 2019, from 2-4pm at the Impact Hub Seattle. Start the year off right! Give yourself a thought-provoking and fun opportunity to take stock of the past year, clarify your leadership focus for 2019, and connect with other interesting folks in the process. SPOILER ALERT: This isn’t about New Years Resolutions. More info and registration here (SOLD OUT).
  • Building a Culture of Accountability on your Team. Wednesday, Jan 16, 2019, from noon-1pm at the Impact Hub Seattle. Sometimes we focus so much on the potential risk of addressing an issue that we ignore the actual cost of unmet expectations, missed milestones, or problematic behavior. How does that play out on your team? And how can YOU help build a culture of accountability? This is NOT about armoring up for a blame-fest that stokes fear and inhibits innovation; it’s about cultivating a direct, humane, and results-oriented approach to addressing the issues that are holding your team back.
  • Reimagining Board Governance: Equity, Diversity, and Creativity. Co-presented with Dr. Tanisha Brandon Felder @ the national conference of Rebuilding Together. Nov 3, 2018.
  • Gauging your Leadership: Key strengths, common obstacles. A Lunch + Learn at the Impact Hub Seattle, Wednesday, Oct 10, 2018.
  • Building Bridges: Collaborating Across Differences That Divide. June, 2018: Dallas, Texas. Sept, 2017: Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Regional gatherings of the Women’s Legislative Network, National Conference of State Legislatures.
  • Negotiating Your Future: authentic leadership and the power of negotiation. Seattle: January, 2018. Ketchikan, AK: Feb, 2018. Why take a negotiation workshop focused on women? There’s consistent evidence that men are four times more likely to initiate negotiations to advance their own interests, ranging from salary increases to important project assignments and beyond.
  • Deloitte’s Wise Women Rising leadership series: Moderator for a panel discussion on Diversity and Inclusion. October, 2017, Seattle, WA.
  • Alaska Women’s Summit, October 14 and 15, 2015. Anchorage, AK.
    • 10/14/2015: Pre-Summit Workshop: Shaping Your Future, the Power of Negotiation, facilitated by Sara Lawson. [SOLD OUT]
    • 10/15/2015: Alaska Women’s Summit: Connection, Inspiration, Action. Featured speakers include author Gail Evans, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, and leadership coach and consultant Sara Lawson.
  • Courageous conversations: Digging deep for success. August 3rd, 2015, Seattle. Half-day session for the National Conference of State Legislatures, during the 2015 Legislative Summit. Seattle, WA.
  • Leadership, Teamwork, and Trust: Building an Extraordinary Board-Staff Partnership.  March 27, 2015. A full-day workshop for 150 nonprofit leaders convened for the annual Sherwood Trust Workshop at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA.
  • South Sound Non-Profit Leadership Forum:  from 1pm-4:30pm on March 12, 2015, in Lacey, WA. This two-part gathering, facilitated by Sara Lawson, featured a workshop on Courageous Conversations: Digging Deep for Success, along with facilitated discussions during an Executive Leadership Forum. This networking and education event for nonprofit CEO’s and Executive Directors was sponsored by South Sound Partners for Philanthropy.
  • Raising Money Takes Courage: Digging Deep for Success.  Seattle, WA. January 28th, 2014, as part of the Northwest Development Officers Association Winter Conference. Co-facilitated with Heidi Thomson of Evelation ConsultingClick here for conference info.
  • Build Your Board, Expand Your Impact: A workshop for nonprofit boards and staff. March 28th and 29th, 2014 in Ketchikan, Alaska. A workshop for nonprofit boards and staff, sponsored by the Ketchikan Community Foundation, with support from the Alaska Community Foundation, Rasmuson Foundation and First Bank.
  • Happiness at Work: Impractical Dream or Mission-Critical?  Seattle, WA. Tuesday, December 10th, 2013, 9am-4pm. Sponsored by the King County Non-Profit Staff Development Coalition. Click here for more info.
  • Happiness at Work: Lunch & Learn Wellness Workshop.  Ketchikan, Alaska. Tuesday, November 12th, 2013, noon-1pm. Co-sponsored by the Ketchikan Wellness Coalition and the Tongass Federal Credit Union. 
  • Leadership from Within: Cultivating an Authentic Leadership Style.  A four-hour Service in Action Seminar for the Institute of Public Service at Seattle University. October 18th, 2013. Co-facilitated with Noreen Elbert, Ed.D. 
Leadership programs
  • Gauge Leadership Lab. Offered in Seattle and London, typically two series each year in both locations. This program weaves together a powerful 360° leadership assessment, one-on-one coaching, and a curated series of three full-day workshops over the course of ~12 weeks. It brings together small groups of resourceful leaders with a range of views and experiences. The common thread is insightful, committed, and generous people who are looking to deepen their self-awareness, expand their leadership capacity, and strengthen their network. Sound like you or someone you know? We’d love to chat.
  • Women’s Leadership Series (Alaska edition).  This program weaves together a powerful 360° leadership assessment, one-on-one coaching, and a curated series of three lively gatherings (full-day workshops). Please contact us if you’re interested in the next Ketchikan series, or in bringing this series to your community.  
  • Women’s Leadership Series (Seattle edition).  This program weaves together a powerful 360° leadership assessment, one-on-one coaching, and a curated series of five lively half-day gatherings. Please contact us if you’re interested in the next series in Seattle. 
Teaching
  • Nonprofit Governance. A 9-week, 3-credit graduate-level course in the MPA program at Seattle University, 2010-2015.
  • Fundamentals of the Nonprofit Sector.  A 9-week, 3-credit graduate-level course in the MPA program at Seattle University. 2012-2014.