Nexting - Pivot with Purpose
With society currently feeling more unpredictable and uncertain than ever, it’s not surprising many of us feel unmoored. From government workers, to the nonprofit industry, to the world of academia…it is getting harder to see the path forward. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? Will I be able to continue doing my important work? Will I still have a job? We must be ready to pivot with purpose and choose a next step that will feel like forward movement, rather than treading water or taking a step back. Nexting can guide you through this process with intention and support.
In this workshop, we dive into these questions and provide practical exercises and tools to participants seeking to (re)design their work and life with insight and intention. The curriculum involves a mix of small group and one-to-one interaction that provides for connection, creativity and brainstorming that would be hard to match in either format alone.
By the end of the program participants will feel:
• Purposeful and prepared
• More energized and enthusiastic
• Confident in your next steps
• Ready to re-engage more productively in your job and life
By the end of the program participants will have:
• A clear personal purpose statement
• A list of ideas of potential next steps
• Clarifications of your priorities for your next phase of life
• New connections to help with next steps
Little Details
Your registration includes:
* Take home materials
* Light brunch and coffee/tea/water
* Optional (but recommended) one-on-one Guide session prior to the workshop - contact us to schedule this
About the Workshop Fee
We offer a sliding-scale honor-system based workshop fee to increase accessibility while also being realistic about the costs associated with running this program and compensating our facilitators fairly for their labor. The minimum asking price is $50 and our suggested price is $100, but you can choose whatever amount is realistic for you.
We are committed to making our programs accessible to anyone who is interested.
About the Facilitators
Michelle D. Jones, Ph.D. - Michelle is one of a handful of people who has founded a college from scratch. She has a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Leadership from Claremont Graduate University and two Bachelor's degrees from Trinity University. She taught at multiple universities for almost two decades before starting a college from scratch - Wayfinding Academy - in 2016. She has been featured in The New York Times, The Oregonian, University Times, and The Chronicle of Higher Education and has been interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning and Oregon Public Broadcasting's Think Out Loud. In 2019 she delivered a TEDx talk on "How to do college better" that has been viewed more than 102,000 times. She is a full time faculty member in the Masters in Organizational Leadership program at Western Oregon University.
Michelle has also started multiple nonprofit and for profit businesses and is currently the co-founder of both Smith & Jones Innovation and Sonder Collaborative. She serves on the Board of Directors for several nonprofits, including Stumptown Scholars and Weird Portland United. She lived in a tiny house (85 square feet!) for 15 years until the summer of 2025 when she bought a house ten times that size (small, but not tiny). Her biggest hobby is walking and she takes several trips each year, usually focused on walking, including walking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage 8 times with groups of students and friends.
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Jonathan Gibson - Jonathan is a genuine, caring person who thrives on forming connections and building community. He is passionate about personal growth and self-discovery and has spent his career as an experiential educator honing his skills to facilitate people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.
Along the way, Jonathan has received extensive education and training in social and cognitive psychology, social emotional learning, leadership, and group development (at Duke University where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, National Outdoor Leadership School, and beyond). He has also sought out valuable life experience in various roles such as World Traveler, Mad Scientist, Hug Trainer, Preschool Teacher, and Wilderness Instructor.