Jeanette Romkema

With 35 years of experience, expertise, and relationships with practitioners and colleagues who are thought leaders in learning-centered approaches to design and learning facilitation, she now coaches and mentors trainers and change agents who are working across many government and civil society sectors and around the globe in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America.

Jeanette has a knack for connecting with large and small clients to accompany them through short and long processes of change, always with the learners and the learning in mind.

Jeanette serves GLP as its Partnerships and Certified Network Director.

She holds a Master’s degree in Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto, and is adjunct faculty with Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto.

Jeanette also has extensive experience in governance, having served on numerous community and not-for-profit Boards.

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

Impact and Innovations Development Centre (IIDC), Uganda

Jeanette led the development of a series of ‘how-to’ guides for IIDC to use with partners to help support, train, and resource them to be learning-centered organizations. To ensure strong and consistent modeling of the principles and practices of a learning-centered approach, Jeanette (with a skilled GLP team) trained staff in learning design and facilitation for a variety of applications, including meetings, training, conferences and convenings.

Canadian Red Cross, China
Jeanette worked with local Red Cross China teams to evaluate their HIV + AIDS work with two priority groups: heroin addicts and commercial sex workers. An emotion-based approach was used, and multiple evaluation tools were developed including the use of drawings, pictures, stories, and probing questions. Members of each priority group as well as members of multiple influencing groups were interviewed. The final report offered rich findings which led to provocative recommendations for future work.

TransACTION, Ethiopia
Jeanette collaborated with GLP colleague Valerie Uccellani to design HIV prevention education materials for mobile individuals including waitresses and daily laborers (male and female), and designed training for local NGOs around the country. TransACTION was especially interested in creating materials which would effectively promote personal reflection, honest dialogue, and new perspectives on taboo topics. For example, real stories from the priority groups were collected and used to produce interactive “story cards”. We also worked with TransACTION to design Peer Leader Guides to build their confidence in HIV and AIDS content, as well as their skills in storytelling and facilitation.