In nautical terms, to “make fast” is to secure a boat and make it safe. That is our job as facilitators—to help groups and organizations have safe conversations and move towards action. Human Centered Design, one of our primary methods, includes processes for prototyping and testing—making things fast to learn. And we are generally interested in helping the public sector move at a quicker pace towards improving service design.
Hi, my name is Virginia. I’m an experienced public policy expert, with deep knowledge of both content and process skills. I utilize and teach design thinking (aka human centered design) to improve public policy and program design. I’m also an expert in designing meetings and events, and facilitate using participatory methods. I teach meeting design and facilitation for those who want to increase engagement and outcomes. I work with a carefully curated set of consultants who have deep experience in both process skills and public and civic work.
Most of my experience has been in the public and nonprofit sectors where I have focused on helping government programs work better for people who need them. At the US Department of Labor (DOL), I worked for the Secretary of Labor's office on issues of employee engagement and innovation. I’ve worked with leaders in a wide array of organizations to teach them how to collaborate, build partnerships, have important conversations, send the right messages, and get things done. At DOL, I spearheaded the Customer-Centered Design Initiative, which trained over 2,000 workforce development professionals in design thinking. I’ve also worked with IDEO, focused on using design thinking to help the unemployed have better customer experiences and better outcomes.
I consult with the Partnership for Public Service, where I teach a 6 day class on how to be a changemaker in the federal government. I work with the City of Detroit to infuse their existing career centers with various aspects of human centered design (HCD). Specifically, I train employees on design thinking and trauma-informed care methods to better serve their customers and use HCD to create and implement new career centers throughout the city. And I have many other clients with whom I am helping to create more participatory cultures, mindsets of curiosity and problem solving, and people confident and equipped to use HCD to improve customer experience.
I have an extensive network of people and organizations throughout the country, as well as served on many boards, advisory groups, and commissions. My consulting work includes facilitation, strategic planning, meeting and event design, civic engagement, collaborative processes, and large scale system change. I’ve spent my career in non-profits as a public servant with the mission of making government work better for vulnerable populations, focused on skills, employment, and training.
Check out the portfolio page to learn more about my work.
Hi, I’m Brian, a visual storytelling artist who currently lives in Seattle, Washington. Over the last 10 years, I’ve been a working artist, athlete, actor and professional stunt performer for film and television. As a social person with an interest in psychology, I use various experiences to tell stories about the emotional human experience. I help design beautiful Miro Boards, and work with Make Fast as a facilitator and artist.
@theBAPrince
@TallTrainings
Hi, my name is Alisa and I’m an experienced facilitator, trainer, and curriculum designer who has worked in over 20 countries including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Haiti, Guatemala, Zimbabwe and most recently, Iraq. I facilitate large and small convening’s of diverse stakeholders to ensure effective participation in addressing the complicated challenges we face together.
I work primarily within the international humanitarian sector, often providing leadership in efforts involving multi-stakeholder process design.
As a facilitator, I am skilled in creating highly interactive events including organizational and strategic planning, program planning, and conferences promoting cross learning and practical outcomes. I am a Certified ToP Facilitator and Mentor level trainer with experience in the facilitation of multicultural and multilingual groups.
As a trainer and curriculum designer, I custom design capacity building systems for organizational change initiatives. Diverse clients include the World Bank, Mercy Corps, USAID, Norwegian People’s Aid, and a number of government, corporate, and non-profit organizations. I have a Masters in International Program Management and Leadership from the School for International Training.
