SHIFT Collaborative is a registered cooperative that helps people make progress on tough social and environmental challenges together. Drawing on our experience designing and facilitating collaboration and engagement for systems change, we harness leading thinking and practices for new results. These enable us to build a better future together by tackling systems, not symptoms, and fostering collaboration between sectors.
We have worked on issues ranging from social connectedness and inclusion to food security, climate change,and public health, to name a few. For a decade we have worked together to support people and groups make meaningful change on the real-world issues we all care about.
Exquisite communicator, creatively strategic, sets sights on highest quality, resourceful
● Designing and facilitating learning
● Finding common ground amongst diverse viewpoints
● Can hold the container for both the big and small picture
● Great intuition about what is at the heart of “stuckness” and how to design processes to break through.
stacy@shiftcollaborative.ca
Insightful, intuitive, grounded, uber-organized
● Taking big concepts and making them accessible
● Working collaboratively
● Distilling simplicity from complexity
● Creating clarity and inspiring confidence.
kerri@shiftcollaborative.ca
Most recently, Kerri's work focuses on supporting collective impact, systems change and leadership development with community and sector leaders in BC. Kerri has a certificate in Community Economic Development, and holds an MA in Environmental Education & Communications with a specialization in leadership for social change. Kerri is a certified Human Systems Dynamics practitioner and an approved Innoweave Collective Impact coach.
Open-hearted, grounded, attentive to detail, playful.
● Tending to both the inner and outer aspects of group process and dynamics
● Responding to the needs of a group in the moment
● Bringing creativity to the table
● Keen insights into fluidity and process
erica@shiftcollaborative.ca
For the past three years, Erica has worked as a Community Facilitator and Coach, training and coaching groups on core capacities for systems change, including studying theory of change, Collective Impact and adaptive action. Prior to this, she was the lead designer, researcher and facilitator of a province-wide assessment of risks & opportunities for the agriculture sector due to climate change, as well as the lead planner for four regional adaptation plans.
Erica has a Master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning from UBC.
Compassionate, innovative, solid, resourceful.
● Getting to the heart of issues when facilitating group dialogue
● Always finding a way to move forward
● Creating inclusive spaces
● Brings everything she’s got — her whole self and extensive resources
deirdre@shiftcollaborative.ca
Deirdre has a Master’s Degree in Leadership and Training and has focused on conflict resolution and negotiation and work that helps communities heal. This work spans from focused trauma supports to working through conflict constructively. Deirdre is currently focused on supporting Collective Impact initiatives as a member of the Seeds of Change Surrey leadership team (food systems work) and as an Innoweave Collective Impact coach. She is certified as a Human Systems Dynamics practitioner, and has been certified by Acumen in Human Centred Design and Prototyping.
Practical, Laser focused, Collaborative, Experienced
● Helping groups get unstuck and come up with an actionable plan
● Finding practical ways through sticky situations
● Sourcing the best of the group
● Incredible wealth of resources and connections
michelle@shiftcollaborative.ca
Michelle has an extensive background in rural development projects working with First Nations, local governments and NGO’s, and her facilitation and community development skills have been in demand among corporate and NGO clients. She was a key member in the development of the Community Resilience Manual that CCCR developed in 2000 and worked with the Government of Botswana to adapt the tool and train facilitators there. She is a founding member of Transition Victoria (BC) and supported the spread of Transition Towns in Canada through Launch training and chairing the Transition Emerging research Advisory Group. In her Transition Victoria role, Michelle co-founded Building Resilient Neighbourhoods and continues to provide pro bono supports to scaling aspects of this work in BC. Currently Michelle’s practice is focused on facilitation, training and coaching to strengthen community collaboration and impacts, working with Innoweave’s Collective Impact program and Scale Collaborative’s 21st Century Non-Profits program. She lives in Victoria with her son and husband who are the real connectors in the family.
Throughout Deirdre’s involvement with the committee, she provided a positive, solution-focused approach to our barriers, and this helped the committee members develop a common direction. I would recommend Deirdre for any process-related work that wishes to bring disparate viewpoints together into a single approach.”
Kerri Klein and Stacy Barter […] are consummate professionals offering […] creative survey design, implementation and communication of results in a collaborative, supportive and fun style. They have coordinated and facilitated challenging hands-on workshops in diverse settings with excellent results and been instrumental in filling a crucial niche with the Climate Change Health Policy Group in BC.”
Erica [has an] intuitive ability to keep asking questions until you get past your usual answers until new thinking and impact becomes possible. I also appreciate Erica’s vast toolkit of social innovation processes – having an experienced facilitator who can bring people together to collectively imagine new approaches to longstanding challenges is invaluable.”
