Developing a vibrant and dynamic practice to engage leaders at the heart level—rather than just the head—was a multifaceted learning and development process that spanned decades. Over the 1980s and 1990s, a number of people and organizations had a significant influence in shaping our thinking, philosophy, and approach as we developed our brand and methods to engage white men and other leaders in examining issues of inclusion, belonging, and leadership.

Our work has always been grounded in a strong foundation of experiential learning. Bill Proudman and Michael Welp learned the value and skill of experiential learning while instructing for Outward Bound in the early 1980s. Jo Ann Morris also facilitated for Project Adventure (PA), as did Bill, who was an intern there in 1977.

In the late 1980s and 1990s, Bill was introduced to the work of the Oakland Men’s Project and Re-evaluation Counseling (RC). He attended numerous workshops led by Harrison Simms with the Oakland Men’s Project and by Charlie Kreiner with the RC community. Bill later met Cliff Jones in Portland when Cliff led a Fundamentals RC class that Bill attended.

Harrison and Charlie introduced Bill to the RC approach to DEI and group dynamics, which had a powerful impact on him personally and professionally. Harrison used many experiential exercises such as what was then called the “Power Shuffle,” which WMFDP later adapted into what is now called the “Partnership Walk” or virtual “Mosaic” exercise. Some of our learning labs also use a structured paired listening exercise called dyads, which was originally inspired by Bill’s experience with RC.

Through Harrison, Bill was also exposed to the original Men’s Stand-Up Exercises and other role plays and “act like a man” activities used in the Oakland Men’s Project. The stand-ups later evolved into the “camera on/off” statements used in virtual sessions. These activities were first published in 1992 in *Helping Teens Stop Violence* (by Allan Creighton and Paul Kivel) and *Men’s Work* (by Paul Kivel), among other sources. See www.paulkivel.com for additional resources and related activities.

Michael and Jo Ann studied and collaborated with NTL Institute, which helped establish the fields of T-groups, group dynamics, and organization development. Many individual mentors and colleagues helped us refine the skills to create highly experiential learning labs and summits. Michael was first exposed to experiential design through Rod Napier, a prolific author in this field. Jo Ann was mentored by Robert Fritz, who taught her how to use music theory to design experiential learning sessions.

Peggy McIntosh originated the concept of white privilege in the 1980s, and we expanded that concept to include other dimensions of difference—as a way to reveal what some people must navigate that others may not. Bill met Peggy in the 1990s when they served on a panel together, and she encouraged him to continue developing the white privilege work using her classic statements.

In the late 1990s, Bill, along with Portland-based colleagues Shariff Abdullah and Donna Beagle, created the original class continuum exercise used in some of our labs. That exercise has since been adapted and evolved by WMFDP over the years.

Michael was also influenced by his internship in the 1990s at SEITAR (Society for Intercultural Training, Education, and Research) and by leaders in the field of intercultural work such as Thomas Kochman, Gary Weaver, and Ed Schein. This cultural lens became an important complement to other diversity perspectives.

Michael studied the life journeys of eight white men for his dissertation called Pathways To Diversity for White Men.  He was supported by Charlie Seashore as his dissertation chair, Argentine Saunders Craig as a committee member and Robert Terry as an external reader. 

Barry Johnson’s work on Polarity Management, Len Hirsch’s articulation of paradoxes, and the book *Paradoxes of Group Life* by Smith and Berg all intersected with our ongoing evolution, informing the development of our initial four paradoxes of diversity.

Our “fishbowl” work, specifically the structure called “Ins & Outs,” was an activity Nancy Brown brought into the firm from her experience at NTL.

Our facilitator competencies were adapted from those described by Ed Nevis in his book *Gestalt Consulting*, which emerged from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland.

The closing “gift exchange” activity at the end of our Partnership Lab draws from many Native American traditions.

For additional sources and influences, see Michael’s book *Four Days to Change*, which details many of these threads throughout.  See FourDaysToChange.com for additional free resources on white men & diversity including Michael’s TEDx talk, book discussion guide, free book companion videos, and book chapter about white male culture with Ed Schein.    

This overview represents only a sampling of the early source threads that have informed our experiential learning journey over more than 40 years. We remain deeply grateful to the network of mentors, colleagues, and organizations who have enriched our lives and those of our clients—and we take every opportunity to pass that support forward to others continuing this vital work.