Tina Clarke, an internationally known community resilience consultant and Transition trainer from Boston, presents a special series of public events, June 16-20 in Port Townsend.

The free public events are hosted by Local 20/20 and Collective Impact, and cosponsored by the City of Port Townsend, Firefly Academy Preschool and Thunderbull Productions.

“[T]he foundation of resilience is our relationships with the people in our community,” Clarke asserts.

This is why she has traveled to more than 120 communities in North America and Europe to facilitate conversations about how neighbors can come together to create a stronger community, improve economic well-being, reduce oil dependency, and increase local food production, local energy, local jobs, mutual support and security – which are all elements of the Transition Towns model.

“Transitioning Together” – as the week of community conversations in Jefferson County is called – focuses on inspiring ways to engage in community, and delves into both the theory and practice of Transition, which is helping thousands of communities in the U.S. and around the world. (See below for schedule.)

TRANSITION TRAINING

Clarke is one of four international trainers for the Transition Network, a charitable organization that connects, supports and trains communities as they self-organize around the Transition model.

Ultimately, Transition is about creating a healthy human culture, one that meets needs for community, livelihoods and fun, organizers say. In the face of multiple, complex challenges and change, the grassroots Transition movement is a positive, thoughtful, engaging and effective response that helps people work together to improve their quality of life, they add.

In 2012, Local 20/20 officially joined the network, and Jefferson County’s “Transition Initiative” became no. 111 in the nation and no. 416 in the world.

Clarke is certified in consensus decision-making facilitation. With a master's in public policy from the University of Chicago, she has directed Greenpeace USA's national citizen activist network as well as the Veterans Education Project, and has worked as a consultant with 350.org and the Sustainability Institute. 

“We are incredibly fortunate to have Tina in residence,” says Judy Alexander, one of the Local 20/20 organizers who, along with Kevin Clark, initially reached out to Clarke.

“Her visit is especially timely because both our city and county are engaged in mandatory updates of our comprehensive plans. It is so auspicious that we’re having these ‘town meetings’ with Tina where people can address what they want for our community's future.” 

The City of Port Townsend is cosponsoring these events to provide residents with an additional avenue for giving input about the ongoing comprehensive plan review process. 

Clarke facilitates all four events, which are at the Port Townsend Community Center, 620 Tyler St., except for Wednesday’s session, which is at Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (QUUF), 2333 San Juan Ave.

All events are open to the public, with donations accepted at the door to cover costs. Child-care inquiries can be emailed in advance to

fireflyacademypreschool@gmail.com. 

For more, go to

transitionnetwork.org and

L2020.org.

FOUR MEETINGS

“Intergenerational Summit: Envisioning Our Future Together” begins at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 16 at the Port Townsend Community Center. People of all ages are invited to talk about environmental and economic stressors as well as share plans and ideas for the future.

“How Can Religious and Education Institutions Participate in Community Resilience?” is the theme of the presentation at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 17 at QUUF.

“The Interface Between Public Policy and Grassroots Participation” is the focus of a meeting at 7 p.m., Thursday, June 17 at the community center. Join in a conversation about how citizens and local elected officials can work together.

“Community: Strengthening Well-Being, Increasing Resilience, and Supporting Quality of Life in Jefferson County” is the theme of a meeting from 1 to 5 p.m., Saturday, June 20 at the community center. Explored are ways to increase community well-being and resilience in Jefferson County, and to expand community conversation and action using an open-space model. The workshop starts at 2 p.m.