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Online Learning

The Avarna Online Learning Platform

Organizations are motivated to learn more about justice, fairness, and belonging but internal leaders need some support. Not all leaders feel they have the subject matter expertise to facilitate learning or the facilitation skills to help their peers process learning, and often external trainers are either unavailable due to increasing demands for their work or they can only offer trainings on a narrow set of topics. Learners themselves also lack bandwidth to be able to schedule sessions together.

This online learning program is designed to address these challenges and organizations and their staff, board, and volunteers with knowledge, awareness, skills, and tools. The courses on this platform cover a range of topics, and include lessons that each contain a pre-recorded presentation by Avarna, readings, and links to podcast episodes for participants to engage with asynchronously, along with a guide for internal leaders to facilitate discussions to support their peers in digesting information together. Though engagement with the platform might happen asynchronously, the expectation is that one person or a team of people internal to your organization will lead the discussions together.

What this isn’t

  • This is not an online certification course. At the end of this process, participants will not be assessed or certified for their knowledge, skills, and competence, though we can provide a certificate of completion.
  • This is not designed for self-directed online learning by individuals who engage at their own pace, but rather, peer-directed online learning for groups of individuals within organizations to participate in under the direction of an internal change leader or leaders.
  • This is not a substitute for shifting organizational systems and culture to support justice, fairness, and belonging. Training alone does not have impact without sustained work, and we urge you to do this strategic work alongside the learning.

Courses

Getting Started

For people new to the concepts of Justice, Fairness, & Belonging, and a great primer before taking the deep dive courses.

The “What” & “Why” of Work Sometimes Called “DEI”: This single-lesson course provides the foundational information for environmental, climate, and conservation organizations to (a) build common language and values around the work sometimes called “DEI” work; and (b) articulate why this work is important in these sectors. This course includes a video and a discussion guide for peer facilitators.

Flat fee: $50

Deep Dive Courses

For those seeking a deeper exploration and understanding 
of specific topics outlined below.

Navigating Power: This course covers how power shapes the lens we walk through the world with, how it may cause us to unintentionally stereotype others despite positive intent, how stigmatizing and demeaning behaviors can reinforce discrimination and diminish morale, and how to effectively navigating power dynamics.

Flat fee: $250

Compassionate Call-ins & Bridging Divides: This course provides tips and tools to have difficult conversations related to fairness and belonging, including (1) giving difficult feedback respectfully and compassionately in a way that preserves dignity (or “calling in” people), (2) receiving feedback with empathy, grace, and a commitment to learning, (3) transforming tension and conflict, and (4) bridging across divides to find common ground.

Flat fee: $250

Fostering Cultures of Belonging: This course supports your organization or movement in transforming your culture to support belonging, dignity, and a thriving community. We will begin with the importance of belonging in organizations. Through the lens of scenarios, we will describe aspects of organizational culture that can prevent a sense of belonging, along with some hallmarks of these cultures. We will also provide some interventions to reimagine culture and support belonging.

Flat fee: $250

Reckoning with Histories of Place & People: This course is specific to U.S.-based organizations and individuals in the outdoor, environmental, conservation, and climate sector. In this course, we grapple with the intersecting histories of land and injustice in the U.S. In addition to an introductory video, the course has lessons on (1) ideologies and frameworks that underpin intersecting histories of people and land/water/wildlife; (2) a timeline of important events in the intersecting histories of people and land/water/wildlife; (3) impacts of this history on communities and on our work; and (4) ideas to support reimagining our work to support both the planet and people.

Flat fee: $250

Group Registrations

The courses are designed with peer-led facilitation guides to support cohort-based learning. For group registrations, we have a tiered fee structure based on number of learners.

Tier 1 10 or less learners $1,750
Tier 2 11-20 learners $3,750
Tier 3 21-40 learners $7,500
Tier 4 41-60 learners $12,500
Tier 5 60+ learners contact for quote

How to Register

For groups of any size please contact us to register. 
Individuals can use the signup links next to each course.