We’re facilitation geeks, plain and simple.
Facilitator Cards was created by Meg Bolger & Sam Killermann — two professional facilitators with 20+ years of experience between them — with the help of a few hundred other facilitators, in a true embodiment of a “for facilitators, by facilitators” spirit.
Since Meg & Sam met in 2013, they have co-created two free resource websites for educators and facilitators, co-authored a book about facilitation, and collaborated on about a dozen other projects.
Their first collaborative effort (entirely remote, before it was necessary!) was The Safe Zone Project (SZP), where they wrote an open source curriculum that is now being used by over 50,000 facilitators around the world, as well as other activities, facilitation tips, and resources for educators.
The SZP led Meg & Sam to co-facilitate train-the-trainers in every corner of the country for several years, learning constantly about their own facilitation techniques — what works, what doesn’t, and why — as well as the needs of budding facilitators.
In response to recognizing those needs, they created two projects specifically for facilitators of all stripes, and levels of experience, to gain support, insight, and grow.
In 2015, Meg & Sam co-authored the book Unlocking the Magic of Facilitation, a short read featuring “11 key concepts you didn’t know you didn’t know.” This text, which was published in January 2016, has become a go-to for trainers of facilitators and peer leaders.
And in 2016, they co-created FacilitatingXYZ, a free online resource that supports tens of thousands of facilitators every month with videos, articles, and downloadable tools. They also co-hosted an interview series called FacXYZ Live, highlighting lessons learned from professional facilitators across the gamut (from experiential ed to social justice to LEGO Serious Play!).
But the “us” in Facilitator Cards isn’t just Meg & Sam. To make these things a reality, we needed a bigger us, and 339 other facilitators teamed up with us to make Facilitator Cards happen.