Book Dr. Sundiata

Speaking Areas

Self-Directed Education (SDE) & Unschooling

Conscious Parenting

Race Relations

Sustainable Collaborative Community Building

Theory of Indivisibility

Authentic Dialogue

Collaborative Conflict Resolution & Decision Making

Social & Environmental Sustainability

Systems Thinking

Testimonials

Dr. Sundiata, your talk was amazing and inspiring. Much of what you say about systems is paradigm-shifting and impacts us because it is natural and speaks to the human spirit; your message impacts us because you're inviting your audience to simply trust ourselves. Another idea - we have so much power to "create" home/family systems that heal, therefore we have the power to "create" learning communities that heal and change the world.

-Valine Zeigler, Head of School - Empowered Minds Academy

"Dr. Sundiata made a huge impact on our community in his Dialogue Skills workshop. Dr. Sundiata is a clear, concise, and engaging presenter with a wealth of knowledge and experience. We look forward to using these tools to improve communication in our community. Best of all, Dr. Sundiata's workshop gave me a feeling of optimism about overcoming differences and building a better world together, one step at a time. Thanks Dr. Sundiata!"

-Hope Wilder, Executive Director - The Pathfinder Community School

"Hi Sundiata, I enjoyed hearing "Self-Directed Education (SDE) for a Sustainable World" on Akilah's podcast. Learning about systems was interesting and informative. How SDE can contribute or be a part of our world (a planetary world sounds exciting) gives me hope in a way that I have not experienced before. Thank you!"

-Kathryn Brannon, Treasurer - The Heartwood School

"This (authentic dialogue) is a powerful way to build connection through co-creation instead of conflict and disconnection."

-Spencer Babcock, Facilitator - Rock Tree Sky Learning Community

“My experience with Dr. Sundiata's work was transformative. Like most people I loved to debate and vanquish any opposition to my view points which I hold not only sacred but obviously correct. During our session I was able to see the value in a “dialogue” with another human being rather than an opponent to defeat. Finding value in another view point, no matter how diametrically opposed to it I may have been has helped me to approach every debate/argument as a chance for dialogue and understanding.”

-Douglas Orr - Workshop Participant

"I attended a discussion led by Sundiata at a self-directed education training. He had us enter into a debate and then take the same topic and dialogue about it. In the beginning and end of each experience he asked us to take stock of our emotions. The experience profoundly demonstrated the difference. I went from a place of feeling stubborn, small and stupid to a place of understanding, openness and creativity. No solution came from debating but solutions came from the dialogue. To me the difference between the two were night and day. It was interesting to note that a few times during the dialogue experience, Dr. Sundiata drew our attention to the feelings we were feeling and we noticed we had slipped into debate mode. It was simply a matter of seeking to prove my point instead of seeking to listen and understand the other person's point. Dialoguing opens doors and creates solutions quickly, having a third party help facilitate a dialogue supports everyone keeping to the goal and being aware."

-Becky Sanchez - Workshop Participant

"I found this experience incredibly useful and moving. Having an experience where real feelings come up creates so much more of an impact than talking about a topic. It was amazing to me how in a group of people who are pretty like-minded, a debate was able to emerge that create feelings of division, isolation, anxiety, etc. Then we were facilitated in the use of dialogue to discuss the same topic which had the group leaving with a deeper understanding of how dialogue can be used for connection. I left with hope for the future that new solutions to problems can be created if we empower more people with the skills to dialogue with one another. I recommend this workshop to any organization or community that is looking for more cohesion and unity."

-Nancy Tilton - Co-Founder ALC Mosaic

"Dr. Sundiata's workshop on the practice of Dialogue has been engaging, insightful, and socially productive for myself and all the other participants that I've experienced it with. Through an embodied process, Sundiata draws important distinctions between our dominant culture's orientation towards Debate and the disruptive and healing process of Dialogue -- leaving you with a lot of deep reflection and tools for future action."

-Tomis Parker - Agile Learning Center Network, ALC Mosaic, Alliance For Self-Directed Education.