Jeanette Romkema is an expert intercultural facilitator whose practice demonstrates that everyone is seen, heard, and has value. She is adept at hosting meaningful and important dialogue, is comfortable holding tension and difference, and invites truth-telling and tough questions.
She is an Owner and Senior Partner with Global Learning Partners (GLP) who has worked with clients across the healthcare, social services, community development, civil society and higher education sectors. As an artist educator, she helps organizations gain clarity about how to become a learning-centered organization or community. Unique in her passion for heart learning, she delves deep into the values, culture and practices of people and organizations to strengthen their identity, mission, and purpose to achieve the change they seek.
Based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Jeanette brings 35 years of experience, expertise, and relationships with practitioners and colleagues who are thought leaders in learning-centered approaches to design and learning facilitation, always coaching and mentoring trainers and change agents along the way.
Global Learning Partners has seeded communities of practice around the globe who consistently set a high bar for learning-centered approaches in widely different contexts. Jeanette personally has extensive international experience: more than half of her clients are in South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
Education & Training
FORMAL
- PhD (abd) Education: Teaching and Learning
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto | Canada - M.A. Education: Teaching and Learning
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto | Canada - B.A. Education
Calvin University | Michigan, USA - Diploma: Fine Arts in Black & White, Colour Photography
Academie voor schone kunsten ǀ Ghent, Belgium - Diploma: Black & White Photography
Academie van St. Lucas kunsten ǀ Ghent, Belgium - Diploma: Textiles Analysis & Weaving Techniques
Stedelijk textielinstituut Henri Story ǀ Ghent, Belgium
CONTINUING EDUCATION
- Certificate: Authentic Facilitation I & II Anima Leadership ǀ Toronto, Canada
- Certificate: Seminars for Trauma Awareness and Resilience I (STAR I) Eastern Mennonite University | Virginia, USA
- Certified Dialogue Education Teacher (CDET) Global Learning Partners
What Clients Say
Jeanette’s Work
A Global Leadership Conference to Remember
After planning efforts were postponed for 2.5 years due to the pandemic, One Challenge International needed to develop its organization-wide strategic plan to establish direction and intended outcomes for a five-year period. There was a strong need to bring together organizational leaders from across the globe for learning, deep connection, discernment and planning for the future.
Collaborators and Competitors — Strengthening Health Care in California
The California health ecosystem is vast, strong, and vibrant. There is much innovation, learning, and cutting-edge work being done to strengthen the health and wellness of all communities throughout the state.
A Church Responds to a Request from Pope Francis
The Situation St. Vincent de Paul Church has been a Baltimore institution since 1841 and is the oldest Roman Catholic parish in Baltimore to operate continuously in its original church structure. Rooted in Christ, it is committed to being a radically inclusive...
Jeanette’s Resources
Facilitators Get Nervous Too!
egardless of how many years you have been facilitating or leading groups, getting nervous is normal. In fact, it is helpful. Being a little nervous keeps us sharp and focused, has us check our assumptions, and ensures we don’t take too much for granted. However, there is such a thing as being too nervous – where our ability to perform well is hindered.
Using Picture Cards for Community Engagement
Episcopal Relief & Development has been using images to help teach and support communities for more than twelve years. Currently, it uses picture cards in fifteen countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America focusing on helping young children grow and learn, stopping and preventing violence against women and girls, improving nutrition and income sources, and preparing for climate-related and other disasters.
It’s Time to Talk about Timelines
There is little more magnificent in a training than a wall full of contributions from participants. Ideas, drawings, photos, numbers, events, questions, data, and thoughts – it always warms my heart when I know a group collaborated to record, create, share, and discuss what is offered there.
Although there are many reasons for sharing collaborative thinking visually, the collective sharing of a timeline of events is one that intrigues me.