TODN Community Conversations: Lunch & Learn
Take Back Your Meeting
A Structured Conversation with Annie Grace
Thursday, August 14, 2025
⏰ 12:00 – 1:00 PM ET
Online via Zoom
Our conversation topic will be:
The scope of OD practitioners' work in a political culture that is politicizing, defunding, and outlawing DEI work
Ever felt like your meeting hijacked itself? You're not alone!
Register now and say goodbye to meeting mayhem! Your future, more confident facilitator self will thank you.
️Picture this: You're leading a meeting, feeling confident and prepared. Then someone raises their hand... and suddenly you're watching your carefully planned agenda sail out the window while participants take the wheel and drive the conversation wherever they please.
Sound familiar? We thought so!
Here's Your Lifeline
Join master facilitator Annie Grace for an eye-opening demonstration of a conversational structure that puts YOU back in the driver's seat—without having to wrestle the microphone away from anyone.
The Real Story Behind This Event
This Community Conversation event was sparked by Susan Westbrook's honest confession to Annie: "I just can't figure out how to keep participants from monopolizing the conversation!"
Annie's solution? A beautifully structured approach that gives facilitators natural control while providing participants clear, comfortable boundaries for their input.
What Makes This Special ✨
It's a conversation within a conversation!
We'll tackle a compelling topic (the OD practitioner and DEI work in the current political climate) as a group while Annie simultaneously demonstrates her method for structuring discussions. You'll experience the technique firsthand as both participant and observer—learning by doing while doing the learning!
Perfect For:
- Facilitators who've lost control (and want it back!)
- Presenters tired of being derailed by well-meaning participants
- Anyone who's ever watched their meeting agenda become a distant memory
- Leaders ready to guide discussions with confidence and grace
Why You Won't Want to Miss This
This isn't just another workshop about meeting management. It's a live demonstration of how to create productive conversations that stay on track while making everyone feel heard and valued. You'll walk away with a practical framework you can use immediately.
Ready to transform your meetings from chaotic free-for-alls into purposeful, engaging conversations?
Come discover how structure can actually create more freedom—for both you and your participants!
(Susan's note: Many thanks to my AI friend, Claude, for taking my meager announcement and turning it into a winner.)
Your Facilitator
Annie Grace, MAODL
Annie Grace is a facilitator and organizational designer with over 15 years of experience working across industries, including grassroots nonprofits, fast-growing startups, environmental and humanitarian coalitions, and Fortune 1000 companies like Lockheed Martin, Schwab, X (formerly Twitter), and Google.
As co-founder of The Team Together, Annie designs and facilitates highly participatory experiences that build buy-in, surface priorities, and help teams and leaders address the most pressing conversations that move work forward. Whether leading off-sites, strategy sessions, or training cohorts of leaders, Annie excels at gathering people to engage in conversations with, not at, each other.
In addition to her work with The Team Together, Annie co-leads Women Facilitating, a membership community for women who facilitate. This space is dedicated to supporting, sharing, and learning from one another to advance the field of facilitation.
Annie holds an MA in Organizational Development from Fielding University. She lives in Durham, NC with her husband, dog, and cat (who are also best friends).
Your Zoom Host
Susan L. Westbrook, PhD, PCC
Susan Westbrook is a transformative educator, coach, and author with four decades as a change-maker. From public schools to university research, she consistently challenged educational paradigms, leading her to found and lead a charter high school in North Carolina that embodied her vision of educational transformation.
From the education sector, Susan moved into the realm of coaching and deeper personal work. A professionally certified coach (CTI, ICF) and Reiki Master, she uniquely bridges traditional coaching methodologies with spiritual practices. Susan's book, The Five Tibetans Yoga Workshop (Findhorn Press, 2014), exemplifies her holistic approach to personal development and growth.
Susan empowers her individual clients and organizations to transcend limiting beliefs by dismantling restrictive narratives and creating expansive pathways to their most authentic selves. Offering a creative partnership that unlocks profound personal and professional potential, Susan helps her clients transcend surface-level changes to create the Futures they dream about.
About Community Conversations
Community Conversations is a program of the Triangle Organization Development Network (TODN), designed to foster connection, learning, and real-time practice around the topics that matter most.
To explore upcoming TODN events, check out the TODN calendar.
Interested in joining the TODN community? contact Susan Westbrook or any TODN Board member.
