ABOUT JEFFREY
For over 20 years, Jeffrey Stec has helped governments, non-profits, and communities work better together by humanizing tough conversations. Jeffrey is a certified mediator (from his time as a practicing family lawyer) and certified public participation facilitator who helps leaders navigate complex problems involving diverse community and staff stakeholders.
Dedicated to the idea that empathy and connection are the foundational step in change and problem-solving, Jeffrey ensures that all voices are heard so that problems become opportunities for understanding and growth. Picture going to a dinner party with strangers and leaving with a new group of friends; or grappling unsuccessfully with a tough problem at work yet finding faith in your team to get it done. Jeffrey's approach revolutionizes how we gather, turning meeting rooms into spaces of curiosity and understanding where innovative ideas can emerge and diverse groups can work together toward shared goals.
As the Executive Director of Citizens for Civic Renewal, Jeffrey has spearheaded numerous initiatives to improve civic life, engage the public in meaningful dialogue, and build bridges between different sectors of society and their servant leaders (see select projects below). His work also includes training public leaders in community engagement facilitation and helping them build engagement programs for their institutions.
Jeffrey's latest achievement is the release of his groundbreaking book, 'Humanizing Public Conversation: Building Trust and Cooperation with Your Constituents'. This book offers refined strategies for public engagement and meeting facilitation that build communities where people meaningfully participate in their civic or professional life.
Endorsements from influential figures such as Peter Block, author of Flawless Consulting and The Abundant Community, highlight the book's significance. Block writes, "Jeff has created an important book that defines a path to our collective humanity. It is an approach not based on hope or vision, but on innovative practice. It offers a blueprint for how to plan and inhabit every room we have some choice over in a way that produces an alternate experience from our dividedness. If we pay attention to the structure and conversations of how we come together, we can find new ways of connection and common good. A third way is within reach."