Earlier this month, family leaders, community networkers, and national partners came together in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for NPLI’s 2025 National Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI) Training. Over four days, learners had the chance to observe modeled sessions from the PLTI curriculum, deepen their understanding of the PLTI initiative, practice facilitation, and strengthen their commitment to family voice and civic engagement.
This year’s group included new and returning facilitators, site coordinators, civic design team members, and leaders exploring how PLTI could support their communities. Some were launching new sites, while others were building on decades of parent leadership work. Together, they represented communities from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Washington, and the White Earth Nation.
Welcome Reception: Easing In and Setting the Tone
The evening before training officially began, our team hosted an optional welcome reception for early arrivers. Over food, refreshments, and easy conversation, participants began connecting and settling into the week ahead.
The evening opened with introductions and a grounding blessing from LeMoine and Thorne LaPointe, both Lakota of South Dakota and Minnesota. Their words centered the space in gratitude and intention. We then heard welcoming remarks from Megan Waltz of the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families, Yukiyo Iida of the Connecticut Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity, and Opportunity (CWSEO), and Donna Thompson-Bennett, Executive Director of NPLI. Together, they spoke to the history of PLTI, the vision of inclusive democracy, and the collective power in the room.
As people mingled, we also took part in a simple but powerful activity called “Get to Know Me”. Each person picked a penny and a partner and shared a story, memory, or milestone from the year stamped on their coin. These brief conversations and exchanges offered a glimpse into the experiences that shape each person’s leadership journey.
All in all, this reception was intimate, joyful, and full of reflection and laughter, and we couldn’t have asked for a better lead-in to our training week.
Day 1: A Caring Community Begins
Modeled Session: PLTI Retreat – Creating a Caring Community for Children
Day 1 kicked off with intention, reflection, and connection as learners experienced key moments from the PLTI Retreat, the opening session that launches the full 20-week curriculum. Our national team of facilitators modeled how to set the tone for a PLTI site and introduced foundational PLTI tools like the Matrix, HOPES, and Heart Space while also making space for deep reflection and identity work.
The learners engaged in activities like Community Circles and I Am From, learned more about the roots and history of the PLTI model, and reflected on what civic engagement and parent leadership mean in their lives and communities. These early conversations grounded the group in shared purpose and helped build a strong sense of belonging right from the start.
By the end of the day, learners had not only observed core PLTI facilitation in action, but they also started forming a community of their own.
Day 2: The Power of Language
Modeled Session: The Intentional Use of Language from PLTI Phase 1
Throughout the week, we also made space to care for ourselves and each other. After the first day, each morning began with an optional wellness offering. The first offering on Day 2 was a gentle yoga session before our training started. These wellness moments remind us that leadership also includes rest, rhythm, and renewal.
The learning on Day 2 began by reflecting on the previous day’s evaluations and revisiting Parking Lot notes. With that grounding, our national team modeled activities from a Phase 1 session of the PLTI curriculum, which focuses on the intentional use of language in civic life.
Facilitators Patti Keckeisen, Hobson McCain, Betty Sanchez, and Janine McMahon guided learners through exercises and breakout discussions on context, framing, and message design. Learners explored how words shape perception, why framing matters, and how intentional language helps parent leaders advocate more clearly and effectively in their communities.
Zulema Gomez then led a debrief shortly before lunch. During our debrief, she connected the session’s content and facilitation strategies to our Quality Indicators. The goal of this debrief was to help the learners think about how strong facilitation, community voice, and intentional planning all contribute to transformational outcomes.
In the afternoon, the larger learner group separated into affinity groups based on their roles:
- The Site Coordinators + Civic Design Team Members group was led by Janine, Betty, and Yukiyo
- The Phase 1 Facilitators group was led by Patti and Donna
- And the Phase 2 Facilitators group was led by Hobson and Zulema
Each group focused on the specific responsibilities, challenges, and leadership goals of their particular role.
We then reconvened at the end of the day for our usual Evaluation and Closing Circle, sharing reflections and one-word check-ins as the room settled into a thoughtful close.
Later that evening, many learners joined us for a lighthearted Bingo Night filled with plenty of laughter, conversation, and friendly competition. The game was hosted by Zulema and Carolyn Lee-Davis and featured facts, trivia, and definitions tied to either PLTI or NPLI. Each round of winners walked away with swag like mugs, stickers, notepads, and mini fans. Bingo Night has been a huge hit over the past couple of years at our trainings, and it serves as a fun and informal way to build community across roles and regions.
Day 3: From Policy to Practice
Modeled Session: How We Understand The Law from PLTI Phase 2
Day 3 began with a burst of energy thanks to an optional hip-hop movement session led by Janine. After breakfast, we reviewed evaluation feedback, Parking Lot notes, and the PLTI HOPES before moving into the day’s modeled session.
Our national team facilitated key activities from a Phase 2 session of the PLTI curriculum, which helps parent leaders understand how the law works and how to engage with it as a tool for community change.
Much like parent leaders in an actual PLTI site experiencing this session, the learners in our training explored how laws are shaped, who influences them, and how public voice can challenge and transform systems. They also began to understand how equity and advocacy intersect with policy and started identifying ways to use legal knowledge to support children and families.
Before lunch, Janine led a debrief that connected the content to our Quality Indicators, helping learners reflect on facilitation strategies, civic outcomes, and leadership development.
After that day’s lunch, the focus shifted to practice facilitation prep. You could feel the excitement in the room as learners were assigned their sessions and groups, received technical assistance from the NPLI team, and began preparing 45-minute facilitation segments they would deliver on Day 4. Teams used this afternoon to draft agendas, create flipcharts, review curriculum, and start planning how they’d bring their own facilitation styles into the work.
We ended the day with a final check-in, a few remaining questions, and our daily Evaluation and Closing Circle.
Day 4: Stepping Into Leadership
Practice Facilitation Day
The last day of our time together was all about taking a step forward. After multiple days of observing, asking questions, and building skills, learners put on their facilitator hats and took the lead.
Our morning started with a peaceful Sound Bath offered by learner Fatimah Hanif, a Phase 1 facilitator learner from California. This optional session brought participants a calming atmosphere before the day’s high-energy work began.
After breakfast and a quick game of PLTI Jeopardy with Janine, we walked through the day’s flow and expectations, captured a group photo, and got into position for the rounds of practice facilitation.
Throughout the day, learner teams facilitated selected activities from the PLTI curriculum while receiving thoughtful, supportive feedback from National Facilitators and peers. Observations were grounded in our Quality Indicators, helping each team reflect on how their choices shaped the learning experience of the participants in their respective groups.
After lunch, we reconvened into our large group, and learners reflected on what stood out from the week and from their practice facilitation:
- What area do you feel strongest in as a facilitator?
- Where would you like to grow?
- What will you carry back to your community?
These insights were shared with partners and in small groups, and then shared with the whole group.
The day closed with a small discussion focused on inclusion and belonging. Together, the learners explored how these concepts show up in facilitation, in their communities, and in PLTI spaces. They named tangible actions, offered recommendations for NPLI that we can take into our future trainings, and identified next steps they could take in their own leadership journeys.
We ended our final day together with our last Evaluation and Closing Circle, where everyone shared one word to describe how they were leaving the week.
Closing Reflections and Gratitude
As our week of learning came to an end, the room was filled with gratitude, insight, and renewed energy. Learners stepped into their facilitator roles, successfully practiced what they had seen modeled by our team, and reflected on how they’ll bring these tools home to strengthen their local families and communities.
We want to thank the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families, which hosted and partnered with us throughout the training. And we’re thankful and proud to continue our national replication of PLTI in partnership with the Connecticut Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity, and Opportunity (CWSEO).
And last but not least, we extend our deepest thanks to all of the learners in the space. Thank you for showing up with curiosity, generosity, and courage. Thank you for contributing your experience, your leadership, and your care. And thank you for continuing the work of building spaces where families are not only heard, but valued, trusted, and followed.
We can’t wait to see what you do next!
