Ann McLaughlin
Building a world in which everyone thrives
Transformational & Empowerment Coach ~~ Trainer ~~ Speaker ~~ Writer ~~ Consultant
Consulting as a Catalyst & Solution Builder
My consulting is aimed to empower and harness the creativity of ordinary citizens believing most problems are solved this way.
As in Participatory Development, in consulting I do not have an agenda or answers.
I assist organizations or movements to clarify your own needs, goals and strategies;
and to develop your own solutions and leaders.
Consulting is much like coaching - it is a conversation - to empower
1. Consulting is a bridge to where a group or organization wants to be
2. I help groups find their way out of a maze, corner or predicament
3. I help analyze and untangle problems
4. You must have accurate assessment to design intervention. Often I think, “You are missing the target!.. that solution will not nail it.”
5. I help movements, organizations and community groups articulate a positive vision – not what they are against, but what the ideal looks like. Once that is clarified, it is much easier to break into action steps.
Decades helping solve human problems
…helping people untangle and move out of “stuck”.
20 years consulting experience
in Africa, Asia, Central and South America and MENA (Middle East and North Africa)
As Director at NGOabroad, extensive consulting experience with grassroots organizations and social enterprises:
1. needs assessments
2. program design and development
3. staff and leadership development and capacity building
4. funding and grant writing
5. exciting new local trends and needs and how to respond to them.
The intrepid, edgy consultant ~ pioneering and injecting new perspective:
From Protest to Power
What do you do after you topple a tyrant? Whether after protests and overthrow in Lebanon, Egypt, Chile, Sudan or Zimbabwe or any place on earth, how to you build sustained citizen participation to improve the lives of the people? How do you build democracy and anchor economic prosperity?
~ The People's Futurist - for The Rest of Us vs advising corporations
My perspective on the future and history inform how I look at social change.
Authoritarian, populist leaders promise a return to the ‘old” and capitalize on people’s fears and angst about a world that is quickly changing. We must equip for what is coming rather than fear it.
It is a spiritual crisis: do we embody love or fear? Do we create a world of caring and sharing?
~ Bridging across divides
Can we find ways to bridge what divides us? Whether that is Red states and Blue states in America… or Israel and Palestine. We get stuck in polarized and intractable positions when we quit listening. As a couples’ counselor, I learned how to facilitate people listening to each other to find what works for both.
