Connective Tissue: Events
Live digital and in-person events, exclusively for Connective Tissue members (most of the time).

Member Discussion: Sustainable Business Models for Civic and Communal Renewal
Are you committed to our generational project of civic and communal renewal? Are you trying to figure out sustainable approaches to resourcing this work?
In this interactive workshop, we’ll be exploring various models to see how we might be able to build for sustainability within our civic and communal work.
Each model comes with their fair share of tradeoffs. We’ll open with a brief presentation of these different approaches and then facilitate an open discussion and workshop, so we can help each other identify and make the best use of the approaches that match what we’re looking to achieve.

AMA & Demo with Josh Nesbit and Deborah Tien of the Relational Tech Project
Join Deborah Tien and Josh Nesbit — the featured guests for our September 23rd Q&A and the co-founders of the Relational Tech Project — for an AMA session and demo on their work.
During the event, Josh and Deborah will:
- Outline their vision for relational tech
- Demo some examples of relational tech in practice
- Field any questions you have about the RTP
- Share opportunities for you to get involved
This event is open to everyone, not just Connective Tissue members.

Cultivating Civic Membership with Connective Tissue & The Democracy Policy Network
Join Connective Tissue and The Democracy Policy Network for an interactive panel and workshop on cultivating civic “membership.” This session will draw on the ideas and case studies from our “City Membership” toolkit, and will feature three leaders experimenting with civic membership in their local communities: Brian Adoff (Creator of Join Philly), Nathalia Benitez-Perez (Director of Boston’s Office of Civic Organizing), and Naudy Martinez (Organizer of Falls Church Forward).
During this session, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from Pete Davis and Sam Pressler about their idea for civic membership. Then, you’ll get to hear about how three different practitioners are putting these ideas into practice in their particular places. The session will conclude with breakout groups, where you can ask questions of the practitioners and workshop and refine your own strategies to cultivate civic membership in your communities.
—> You can register here.

Neighborhood Membership Workshop with Vanessa Elias, Gerrel Jones, & D.J. Trischler
Join Connective Tissue for an interactive workshop on cultivating neighborhood membership, featuring three of the most innovative neighborhood practitioners in the US:
Vanessa Elias, Founder of Block Party USA
Gerrel Jones, Founder of Renew Birmingham
D.J. Trischler, Publisher of the Claypole Commons
During this session, you’ll have the opportunity to learn and ask questions about how each practitioner is working to strengthen their particular neighborhoods. You’ll also have the opportunity to join breakout groups to workshop your own strategies to facilitate neighborhood membership, and hear what other Connective Tissue members are working on in their neighborhoods.

Membership Committee Interest Meeting
Interested in shaping the future of the Connective Tissue member network? Have an idea for an event you want to lead or a resource you want to build? Then you should attend our first Membership Committee Interest Meeting.
During this meeting, we’ll provide a high-level overview of our vision for Connective Tissue’s member governance and shaping, and we’ll propose a few potential options for membership committees. From there, it’ll be on participating members to begin exploring where they want to begin with creating or joining membership committees. By the end of this session, members should have a sense of next steps for standing up at least one initial committee.

AMA with Casper ter Kuile of Joyful Belonging & The Power of Ritual
Join Casper ter Kuile— the featured guest for our July 31st Q&A, the author of The Power of Ritualand the Joyful Belongingnewsletter, and the co-founder of the Sacred Design Lab— for a post-Q&A AMA session.
During the event, you’ll have the opportunity to ask Casper anything you want — whether they be follow-up questions you have from reading the AMA, or other questions about his current and past work. We’re excited to have one of the leading thinkers on the topics of community, connection, belonging, meaning-making, and spirituality to join us for our first official AMA session.

AMA with Sam Pressler, Connective Tissue
Join Connective Tissue’s Chief Tissue Officer, Sam Pressler, for an interactive AMA about our new membership model.
Sam will briefly share about our vision for Connective Tissue’s next phase, and then he’ll open it up to questions, conversations, and feedback for the remainder of the AMA session. This is a chance to learn more about Connective Tissue membership while meeting some of your prospective fellow members!