Instructor

Joe Brewer is a social change strategist and system designer for 21st Century institutions.  He travels the world sharing insights about human behavior and social change.  But his real passion is to be a catalyst for the region.  He believes Seattle can be the place where sustainability solutions are integrated at the level of a metropolitan area.  Seattle can be that city.  Getting there will require higher levels of coordination and collaboration than we have ever seen.  The name of the game is synergy.  Joe is helping make this happen by coordinating efforts across sectors—government, business, non-profits, education, and research—to build a vibrant regional innovation ecosystem that allows this synergy to occur.

Joe is the President of Cognitive Policy Works and one of the founders of Seattle Innovators.

Course description

One of the most confounding challenges facing the sustainability movement is how to bring about a massive shift in human behavior.  This master class explores a variety of powerful insights from cognitive science for developing successful social change strategies.  You'll learn how meaning arises in the workings of the human brain, why emotions are absolutely vital for engaging people in a process of persistent change, and what the root causes are that have driven societal institutions to the edge of ecological collapse.

Participants will explore the evolutionary origins of morality and discover the psychological foundations of identity that merge values, ideology, and institutions into the powerful stories we collectively live in the modern world.  Techniques will be provided to begin using this knowledge to communicate effectively, increase civic engagement, and design better structures for bringing about large-scale behavioral change.

Joe Brewer is a social change strategist who has spent the last decade bringing discoveries from psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, and social science to the advocacy world.  He is founder and director of Cognitive Policy Works, a consulting firm that develops useful applications from the cognitive sciences for use by practitioners in the governmental, business, and non-profit sectors.  Joe is also the project coordinator for Seattle Innovators, a dynamic effort to promote collaboration throughout Puget Sound around the effort to make Seattle the first carbon neutral city in North America.

photo from lumaxart, used with permission

Students will learn:

• How the brain constructs meaning
• The vital role of emotional engagement
• The root psychological causes of our pervasively unsustainable society
• The evolutionary origins of morality
• The psychology of identity and the stories we tell about ourselves

This workshop will equip you to:

• Apply this knowledge for more powerful communication
• Design effective social change campaigns that learn from cognitive & social psychology

CM | 6

AICP members can earn Certification Maintenance (CM) credits for this workshop.  More information about AICP's CM program can be found at www.planning.org/cm.

Venue

Southside Commons
3518 S Edmunds Street
Seattle, WA 98118

Who should attend:

This workshop will be relevant to anybody with an interest in planning and organizing social change campaigns, including government and nonprofit employees, and individuals with an interest in fostering positive behavior change.

What to bring:

Please dress comfortably and bring paper and something to write with.

We will provide tea, coffee and light snacks throughout the day. Please help us to reduce waste by bringing a reusable mug. You will be on your own for lunch - the adjacent Columbia City Landmark District offers a wide selection of restaurants.

Sponsorship

Interested in sponsoring this or any other class? Sponsorship opportunities are available. Contact us for more information.

Registration

Businesses: $150
Non-profit, government & tribal employees: $100
Students & unemployed individuals: $50
Some financial assistance available - please contact us if these prices are a barrier to your attendance.
Register online at https://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e2x3vtso310ac109

Contact us with any questions: STARs@sustainableseattle.org and (206) 659-8077, or sign up for email updates. .

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