Imagine Chicago - Working for You

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to expand my mind, the way I see the world, its possibilities and bring value to each person I encounter. My mind has been whirling and oodles of quality questions have been swimming around in my mind. This process is so exciting and rejuvenating. I have been telling everyone I know about it and most people want to sign up NOW.”

"Bliss, I really don't know how we can thank you enough for your work at the Healthy Communities Healthy Youth conference. Our work is truly enriched by the substance of what you brought with the appreciative inquiry process. I know there are communities that will change because of what you did. Peter Benson will think differently, our trainers are re-inventing their training methods as we speak, and lots of us are personally trying to change how we interact with each other. It is powerful stuff. Don Coyhis, our last speaker on Saturday, called those who take this kind of work out to others "fire starters". It certainly fits you. Aside from the substance, your personal passion and sense of what can be fills each room you are in. The young people you worked with knew you cared. They will certainly never be the same after their powerful plenary! Many, many thanks."

– Mary Ackermann, Search Institute

"Thank you Bliss for your long term partnership with Hopa Mountain that has given Montana citizen leaders tools and resources to build visionary community projects. Your willingness to openly share your time, workshop materials and strength-based teaching strategies have bolstered the capacity of many local leaders to develop asset-based, citizen-led initiatives."

– Dr. Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer, Executive Director, Hopa Mountain www.hopamountain.org

“Wow, what a master teacher you are! I had only experienced you in those small group part-of-the-gaggle meetings. I could not be more grateful that you squeezed Memphis onto the end of Montana and taught us, by working with us. As is so consistent with everything you believe and teach, at the end of the day, you helped us see ourselves and our (quite extraordinary) assets and strengths more vividly… I know that your day with us will be seen by many as a key rock in the stream from here to where we need to be. Thank you!”

– Gary Gunderson, Sr. Vice President, Health and Welfare, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Memphis TN

“The Conference was a phenomenal success – thanks in large part to your inspired leadership and facilitation…I wanted to pass along my personal thanks, as well as express the formal appreciation of our Board and staff, for your contribution to the success of the conference and also to the Sustainable Cities: PLUS Network. The success is reflected not only by conventional indicators that have to do with the acquiring of knowledge and networking opportunities, but also by the profoundly moving personal insights and relationships experienced by the participants. Terms such as “magical” and “transforming” speak to the dimension that was added by including the creative artists and youth within the daily program.”

– Nola-Kate Seymoar, Ph.D., President and CEO of Sustainable Cities, Vancouver, Canada

“A big thank you to Bliss without whom none of it would have happened as her work was the inspiration for me and she held me and the work we all did together 'together'! Every day I realise a bit more how important this work is to the people of Scotland and to Scotland as a country. This work goes deep to the heart of people and places.”

“Thank you for taking the time to share your spirit with us. As you know you inspired us, nurtured us, stretched us and challenged us to reconsider how we practice democracy and inclusion as we plan for a program on democracy and inclusion. Thank you for your vision, your courage, your creativity, your commitment and the opportunity to explore honest conversation.“

“Thank you for the wonderful event that you and Margaret ran for Greater Pollok last week, it certainly stimulated people and the enthusiasm was wonderful, which of course now means that we are able to develop our thinking, and looking at the flip charts, we also have lots of ideas on what to do. One of the really valuable benefits of your coming is the re-affirmation that this approach is one to pursue. Your visit has been really important in developing the work in Scotland and in Greater Pollok, and I am sure in helping Communities Scotland appreciate that this something in which there is huge interest and increasing enthusiasm, and one to invest in further."

– John Watson, Managing Director of Greater Pollok Development Corporation, Scotland

“Your time with the women of Santa Cruz was precious. Each of us was inspired. As I listened I heard you "accidentally" saying things that specifically addressed the condition of each us. On behalf of WomenRise and our local Quaker Meeting, I want to thank you very much.”

“Thank you for stopping by Singapore and agreeing to conduct our Imagine! Neighbourhood workshop. The workshop has brought about some shifts in mindset among colleagues and the participants. I have rec'd an email from a participant that he was quite skeptical about the whole thing but now is a convert.”

– Miss Yeo Siew Mui, Senior Manager (Community Projects), Central Singapore Community Development Council

“I went to the presentation you gave at 11:30 today at the Department for Community Development theatrette. I wanted to say thank you for a wonderful and inspiring interlude to my day. Thank you also for your absolute affirmation of the role of motherhood - that in itself was very important. I hope to honour the energy that I experienced in that room today by re-engaging in some meaningful community work.”

“I would like to thank you and Imagine Chicago staff for everything you have done for me, for my beautiful experience and a lot of new things which I learned at conference, for new friends, a new way of thinking. My trip to Chicago and attending Imagine Conference are very important for me and my family and all my community. For the first time in my life, I have had the opportunity to meet people from six continents, to meet diverse culture, language and ideas. I learned at the conference to understand, imagine and create this planet with all citizens of this world and stop looking for the problems even in my community which faces a lot of difficulty. Now, I believe in better future, I believe in my new friends worldwide. Working with other people in conference, I am inspired to think in positive way, to go on working in imagine projects in my country, to think global and respect other people. Now I am encouraged to share my ideas because I know that I am not the only person who is trying to understand, imagine and create this world. I am sure that you will hear about new imagine projects in Serbia very soon because I am working very hard and I believe in Imagine world army.”

“…thanking you so much from the bottom of my heart for your wonderful contribution to the Rethinking Development conference in Antigonish. Your excellent statement in the opening session on Tuesday morning helped to set the tone and create the container and atmosphere for the whole conference in a splendid way; and your leading of the open space session on the last day was the perfect fruition of our efforts. Your unique contribution really bracketed the whole conference – providing a powerful opening and closing sequence that helped give the gathering its coherence and that empowered all the delegates to express their own experience. I want to thank you on behalf of all the conference delegates for the important contribution you are making to the world through your own work with Imagine Chicago and the other Imagine projects around the world. Your work is an outstanding example of what this conference was all about, more timely and urgent than ever in this edgy and materialist era, and it was an inspiration to the conference participants who got to know you.”

“We feel deep gratitude to you for your grandmotherly, watchful wise eye and open heart that holds our hands on this Imagine Hout Bay journey! A special acknowledgment and appreciation to you for all that you put into making the AI Masterclass a memorable touchstone for so many! Thank you!! Since you touched down in Hout Bay in October, your “hands on” support has been palpable and magical!”

– Imagine Hout Bay team

“I am writing to express my thanks for your keynote presentations to the IAP2 Asia Pacific Conference held in Sydney 6-8 March 2005. Your presentations and attendance at the conference were received with great delight by all delegates, and were the highlight of the conference. Thank you again for a truly memorable experience."

– Susan Love, Past President, IAP2 Australasian Chapter Chair, 2005 Asia Pacific Conference

“Bliss provided a tremendous amount of insight to our work with imagineCALGARY. While she has remarkable credentials, she spends much of her time listening rather than speaking in order to truly understand the issues that are important to those with whom she is working in helping them determine how to move forward. Her ability to provide clarity, synthesize ideas and inspire action is truly remarkable.”
– John Lewis, imagineCALGARY’s Community Sustainability Leader , City of Calgary