Tools for Engagement, Reflection & Community Building

Twenty years ago, responding to the needs and requests of clients, Jen harnessed her creativity and passion for making reflection accessible to all to develop unique sets of engagement, reflection, and conversation starter tools.

The high-quality, aesthetically appealing tools Jen creates come from decades of facilitation and teaching. Throughout her career — working as part of an expressive therapies team before moving into education and training — she found that participants of all kinds respond more readily to imagery and objects in conversation and reflection than to words alone. The thoughts, ideas, and connections inspired by imagery lead to broader and deeper reflection sessions.

Having an object or image to center on can empower even a reticent participant to share; sometimes expressing thoughts that would otherwise be left unsaid. Using tools rather than putting participants on the spot, honors the introvert by putting the attention on the object instead of the person, making circles, introductions, and reflection sessions more accessible for everyone.

All tools are locally made, with sustainable and green materials such as the lead free pewter charms found in her Miniature Metaphors kits and the handmade bags that hold the Conversation Starters and Miniature Metaphors. The Pick-A-Postcard sets and Quotables kits are all designed and printed locally. Jen carefully hand selects items for usability, quality, and visual appeal. She “field tests” the tools regularly in her own work as a facilitator with students and adults and is adapting, improving, and expanding her tools all the time.

Explore Jen's Engagement Tools
“We believe that our teacher training must be engaging and empowering so that our students’ training can embody those qualities, too. And then those students’ mentor meetings can also be engaging and empowering. If mentorship isn’t about empowerment and trust, what are we doing? Jen’s tools are invaluable in creating that expectation and supporting positive ways to fulfill that promise.” — Stacia Bowley, Director, Youth Launch

The Founding of Experiential Tools

For decades, Jen has made reflection accessible to people of all ages by facilitating the use of metaphoric images and objects for participant-centered reflection. She has been recognized for her work inspiring educators, counselors, and trainers to move from a top-down verbal approach to a dynamic, multi-modal one. Jen is passionate about creating unique, open-ended tools to inspire engaging vision setting, group dialogue, celebrations, circles, and journaling.