Trainers and Workshops

There are a number of organizations and individuals in the Greater Boston Area who are giving workshops. Here are some high-level descriptions; for more information follow the links in each section.

True Story Theater

True Story Theater has offered Active Bystander workshops since 2007​, working with civic organizations, places of worship, business associations, activist groups and universities.

Our workshops, generally 2.5-3 hours long and tailored to your specific group, offer an enlivening introduction to taking constructive action in any or all of three different types of situations:​

• ​EVERYDAY BIGOTRY: ​when someone you know personally (such as a co-worker, family member, neighbor) says or does something bigoted, whether intentionally or unintentionally
• ​PUBLIC HARASSMENT: ​when you witness someone you do not know being target of verbal abuse or prejudice (e.g. on the subway)
• OBLIVIOUSNESS: ​when your own ignorance may cause unintentional harm to others (e.g., "micro-aggressions" ​and hidden bias) ​ + tips on being a good ally​

What's most unique about our workshops is the addition of Playback Theatre. At the start of most workshops, a few participants are invited to share thoughts, feelings, and experiences about stepping forward to be active bystanders. Actors embody the emotional essence of what was shared, building over time a special atmosphere of trust and openness. Later in the workshops, the troupe's actors model different scenarios and invite those who wish from the audience to ​try out different possible interventions​.

​Participants also​ practice ​new skills ​in dyads or small groups.

Participants take away a 12-page packet of tips and resources. ​ Ongoing practice is encouraged, whether through your own organization ​ or peers​, or via follow-up workshop(s) with True Story or other trainers on this website.

A few sample groups we've served: Belmont Against Racism, the Arlington Human Rights Commission, Rochester Institute of Technology STEM program, the Massachusetts Area Planning Council, and the state-wide group of human resource professionals.

​In addition to Active Bystander workshops, ​True Story Theater offers ongoing public (and private) performances on social justice themes​, ​often with constituencies whose voices have not been sufficiently heard. We have worked with homeless veterans, survivors of domestic violence, cancer survivors, men who were formerly incarcerated, and many others. See: www.TrueStoryTheater.org

​Please ​contact christopher@truestorytheater.org ​, 781-646-1705, to explore the possibility of a workshop or performance.

True Story Theater Workshop Dates

Dates for all of Truestory Theater's workshops can be found at https://truestorytheater.com/events/

Rona Fischman - Trainer

All Bystander Intervention training includes how to intervene in public aggression situations. Given your physical type and presentation, gender, race, social status, geographic location, there are better and worse ways to intervene in a conflict situation. Learn how to identify a circumstance that requires intervention. Learn your go-to interventions. Learn to choose the most effective tactic from your bag of tricks. Practice this with the group.

What Rona Fischman’s program adds is how to peacefully confront racism, sexism, LGBTQ-phobia, Islamophobia, or anti-Semitism with people that you know. It has been proven that people rarely change their minds based on learning from a stranger; it is people they know and respect who influence them. This class teaches techniques for setting respectful limits with someone you work with, someone in your family, or someone you see regularly in your neighborhood. How you respectfully discuss ideas with people you disagree with varies based on who you are. We look at the strengths and pitfalls of your verbal style. We’ll practice ways to maintain your integrity while avoiding an argument with someone you disagree with. This is easier said than done, but by the end of the program, you’ll have some go-to techniques to increase your chances of successful dialogue. The course also reviews other actions, such as witnessing and video-making, in a general way. There is a counseling aspect to the program, aimed at preparing each participant to contribute to social justice in a way that suits their strengths and abilities.

For more information, go to https://ronafischman.com/why-bystander-intervention/

Workshops offered by Rona Fischman

• Decisions about Intervention and Verbal Self-Defense

This 2-hour segment teaches techniques for setting respectful limits with someone you work with, someone in your family, or someone you see regularly in your neighborhood. How you respectfully discuss ideas with people you disagree with varies, based on who you are. We look at the strengths and pitfalls of your verbal style. We’ll practice ways to maintain your integrity while avoiding an argument with someone you disagree with. This is easier said than done, but by the end of the program, you’ll have some go-to techniques to increase your chances of successful dialogue. There is a counseling aspect to the program, aimed at preparing each participant to contribute to social justice in a way that suits their strengths and abilities. What Rona Fischman’s program adds to the typical Active Bystander training is how to peacefully confront racism, sexism, LGBTQ-phobia, Islamophobia, or anti-Semitism with people that you know. It has been proven that people rarely change their minds based on learning from a stranger; it is people they know and respect who influence them.

• Bystander Active Practices

The second 2-hour segment. Given your physical type and presentation, gender, race, social status, geographic location, there are better and worse ways to intervene in a conflict situation. Learn how to identify a circumstance that requires intervention. Learn your go-to interventions. Learn to choose the most effective tactic from your bag of tricks. Practice this with the group. The course also reviews other actions, such as witnessing and video-making, in a general way.

Decisions about Intervention and Verbal Self-Defense, and Active Bystander Practices can be taught in two 2-hour segments on two occasions or as a single 4-hour program. This program is suitable for adults.

• Training Active Bystanders (TAB, by Quabbin Mediation)

Training Active Bystanders (TAB) helps participants recognize when they are bystanders, analyzes the situation in which they find themselves, and evaluate the consequences for everyone involved. The TAB curriculum heightens bystanders’ power. It teaches how bystanders can interrupt harm doing and generate positive actions by others. We emphasize that active bystandership does not mean aggression against the harm doer. It means taking responsible action to help people in need, instead of remaining passive and becoming complicit. TAB gives bystanders the competencies they need when they witness something they feel is unfair, or wrong, or troubling. When people have the tools to create justice in the moment of need, it can transform those who take the training, the trainers, and the community.

Training Active Bystanders is taught in a single 2-hour segment. This program discusses the personal imperative to oppose interpersonal harm and the obstacles that get in our way. The program is designed to ensure a high level of personal/emotional safety. It is suitable for children 12+ years old as well as adults.

Rona Fischman Workshop Dates

Rona's workshop dates are listed at: https://ronafischman.com/registration-self-admin/

Kendra Albert

Kendra runs Ally Skills Workshops for groups of people interested in learning how to step up and use their societal advantages for good. An ally is someone who stands up in support of members of another social identity group; typically a member of a dominant group standing beside member(s) of a group being discriminated against or treated unjustly.

The workshops are based off the Ada Initiative's model and incorporate some of its Creative Commons licensed materials, as well as materials by Val Aurora and additional materials that Kendra developed.

There are two different workshop versions - one aimed specifically at general ally skills with an emphasis on sexism and transphobia, and another that aims at teaching broader intervention skills, including bystander intervention and how to have discussions with defensive people. Kendra usually runs both workshops as three-hour sessions, where attendees develop their skills in a safe and comfortable learning environment.

More information is available at https://kendraalbert.com/allyskills.html . Kendra can be reached via email (kendra dot serra at gmail dot com) .

Quabbin Mediation

Quabbin Mediation, located in Orange, MA, has been providing their Training Active Bystanders program in Central Massachusetts for the past 10 years. Their new 2-hour introductory workshop is now being offered in the Greater Boston area.

Training Active Bystanders (TAB) helps participants recognize when they are bystanders, analyze situations, and evaluate the consequences for everyone involved. TAB heightens bystanders’ power. It teaches how bystanders can interrupt harm doing and generate positive actions by others. Active bystandership does not mean aggression against the harm doer. It means taking responsible action to help people in need instead of remaining passive and becoming complicit. Bystanders gain the competencies they need if they decide to take action when they witness something they feel is unfair, or wrong, or troubling.

Workshop Content

The TAB curriculum covers the following:

• Defines the roles of individuals involved in a harmful situation (target, harm doer, bystander) and assists participants in discovering the positive power of bystanders;
• Reveals the universal inhibitors that lead to inaction on the part of bystanders and witnesses when harmful actions are going on and discusses how to overcome them;
• Examines the promoters of active bystandership (moral courage, inclusive caring, responsibility for others, etc.);
• Stresses safety and helps participants develop a variety of intervention techniques;
• Helps participants create action plans to break the inhibitors in the future when they encounter harm doing.

In addition to the 2-hour workshop, Quabbin Mediation offers a full 6-lesson 4.5-hour curriculum (ideal for school districts), advanced classes, and a train-the-trainer program. For more information about Quabbin Mediation, including workshops they will be running in Central Mass, go to www.quabbinmediation.org and www.trainingactivebystanders.org .

• 2-Hour Training Active Bystanders Workshop

The 2-hour workshop helps participants realize what it means to be an Active Bystander. Participants review examples of harm in our communities, analyze the roles of people involved in a bystander situation, discuss the inhibitors and promoters of active bystandership, and brainstorm on effective ways to take action.

The workshop is interactive, using large and small group activities, brainstorming, and group discussions. The power of TAB comes from the way the program becomes, through conversation, specifically relevant to participants’ lives. Ideal workshop size is 20-30 participants; up to 50 participants can be accommodated.

Want to bring the 2-hour TAB workshop to your organization in the Boston area? Or train some of your own people to become TAB peer trainers? Send an email to TAB.NE.Request+Boston@gmail.com and ask about details.

Quabbin TAB workshop dates

TAB workshops in the Greater Boston area are led by peer trainers who have completed Quabbin Mediation's Train-the-Trainer program. All Boston-area workshops that are open to the general public are listed in the Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/TAB.NewEngland/ .

Workshops outside of Greater Boston are listed at https://trainingactivebystanders.org/

Boston Area Rape Crisis Center

The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) is the only rape crisis center in the Greater Boston area and the oldest and largest center in Massachusetts. Their vision is to end sexual violence through healing and social change.

Staff and volunteers in their Community Awareness and Prevention Services program provide outreach, education, and training to more than 4,000 people each year at local colleges, high schools, middle schools, businesses, public events, professional conferences, and other speaking engagements.

BARCC provides an in-depth, skill-building Bystander Training workshop that focuses on how to safely act to challenge inappropriate sexual and violent behaviors in one’s community and environment. The workshop includes current research that reveals why people do or do not intervene as well as empathy building exercises and role-plays.

For more information on all of their programs, visit their website at http://barcc.org/ .