A liberatory learning community for justice-driven professionals.
As justice-oriented professionals and organizers, we tend to oscillate between hustle and burnout.
Living Room aims to be a community of learning and connection, a place to grow together rather than alone.
Anti-oppression work is challenging and requires a unique level of vulnerability and emotional investment.
This program aims to bring together practitioners in what is broadly known as the “DEI industry” to learn and strategize through mutual support and collective growth.
format
A Cohort Community
an online community
annual online courses
seasonal workshops
group processing sessions
virtual co-working days
themes
finding and aligning purpose
disrupting the DEI industrial complex
navigating capitalism
dealing with the bullshit & self-advocacy
feedback & care
processing emotions
sharing best practices
extras
workshop recording access
virtual community space
mutual feedback & support
reading lists & resources
coaching add-ons
Your host.
Your host.
Cicely Belle Blain
I want to invite you to my living room.
As a neurodivergent introvert who has somehow found themselves doing emotionally intense front-facing work, my living room is my sanctuary.
The walls are adorned with art that grounds me - a sepia photo of my mum’s hands cupping my tiny baby fingers, a custom portrait of me and my partner by one of my favourite local artists, a print of my best friend’s film photography, a “no police in pride” poster.
Each corner has a vibe and a meaning. The window seat has a plush pink blanket, perfect for reading YA fantasy by candlelight. In another corner is the dining table (because who has a separate dining room these days?) with soft yellow chairs where I mostly paint and collage (dinner is almost always on my lap - isn’t yours?)
My favourite corner is to the right of the fireplace - a memorial altar dedicated to my late Nana, Jean. I memorialized her in a ray of sunlight; a warm yellow shelf adorned with her favourite books, her glasses, trinkets from her extensive travels, and a little golden urn.
“Cicely of Bakau Consulting has renewed my passion and creativity for leadership, equity, justice, art, food, and poetry, I am forever grateful and excited for my continued work with them!”
Jennifer Reddy
About you
This program is primarily aimed at leaders working in and around anti-oppressive strategy and social justice mobilization. “Leaders” is a broad acknowledgement of the different ways folks show up in this work - from workshop facilitators to DEI managers to small consulting business owners.
If you’re an anti-racism or DEI practitioner feeling isolated within a large organization or someone who provides third-party consulting services, you may have experienced isolation and burnout in your work.
This is a space to grow alongside one another, share best practices and provide tangible support in the face of resistance and de-prioritization of our work.
“Living Room is the first learning community I’ve been a part of that truly aligned with my values and practices. In a world built on capitalism and oppression, Living Room created space for radical slowness, accessibility, sustainability, authenticity and mutual support. It highlighted the ways that showing up interpersonally for ourselves and others is a necessary foundation for the changes we wish to see in the world.”
Kirsten Mendonca