Agenda and background for 3/3/26 regular Study Group meeting
The preliminary agenda for our next regular meeting, this Tuesday, March 3 at noon, is to: Review the Study Group’s purpose and goals/intended outcomes (listed below) Share your personal/organizational learning objectives Please come with some ideas about, if not fully defined, objectives for what you would like to accomplish or be able to do as a result of participating in the CVSG. Generally, learning objectives should start with an action verb, have measurable or observable results, and include conditions or criteria for those results. Have preliminary breakout “working group” discussions about: Planning and logistics for dialogues and other large group learning activities (see notes, etc., below) Expanding and focusing outreach efforts to increase participation and support Configuring, seeding, and utilizing our online platform Now for some background: The purpose of the Chattanooga Venturing Study Group is to learn from Chattanooga Venture and similar initiatives about how (and why) to engage and mobilize community members for inclusive, positive, sustainable change. The regular first Tuesday meetings of Study Group will function primarily as a learning forum, drawing on lessons from Chattanooga Venture and applying those insights to real projects and civic challenges represented by participants. The Study Group is not a decision-making body, but rather a space for reflection, shared learning, and informed dialogue. At the end of each regular meeting, attendees should leave with (1) practical, relevant insights how the Group’s purpose relates to their own goals and learning objectives, (2) greater understanding of how their goals fit with others’ goals and objectives, and (3) their role and tasks for achieving our shared goals, or intended outcomes, for the Study Group, which are: Capacity, Design, Structure: create durable capacity and build an “engine” to sustain the work. Inclusive Civic Participation: get citizen input on a comprehensive set of regional issues via dialogue among representatives of a broad range of local groups. Collaboration & Network-Building: interconnect people across complementary interests and common values as the basis for creating a unified vision to guide collaboration. Local Learning/Our Narrative: understand and steward Chattanooga Venture’s story, its legacy and lessons learned; clarify what’s special about Chattanooga (what attracts people, keeps them here, or pushes them away); and become advocates of our city’s narrative. Strategy: map community assets to surface untapped energy, leverage existing strengths and opportunities, and organize around priority focus areas to direct effort and resources effectively. Please share your thoughts about any of these items. I’ll send a final agenda on Monday. — Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. Executive Officer and Principal Eduity, LLC www.eduity.net greg@eduity.net 706-271-5521 Dialogue Planning and Logistics: The dialogues should start with an issue that was addressed by Venture with someone with direct experience with how and why Venture addressed it as anchor, and, ideally, an exec of the relevant legacy organization as a key participant. Dialogues we have planned so far are: “Environmental Conservation and Education: The Bend and the River” on March 23rd, anchored by Sally Robinson with Andy Wood, Tennessee Aquarium President & CEO (tentative), and Tricia King Mims, National Park Partners Executive Director, as key participants “Housing Quality, Affordability, and Generational Wealth” (or something like that) on April 27th, with Chris Thompson, CNE President & CEO, as key participant and co-producer. Anchor discussant prospect in Maria Noel with Betsy McCright from Chattanooga Public Housing Authority and someone from CALEB as other key participants. Other dialogues should address education (PEF), local arts & culture (AVA and Bessie Smith Cultural Center), urban design and development (River City Company), violence and trauma (Children’s Advocacy Center and Family Justice Center). Develop a checklist (see below for a starting point) for all/each dialogue and assign tasks to individuals. Dialogue check list: Topic Date/time, location Registration Participants Anchor (individual who worked on the topic with Venture) Bio-sketch Key participants Information & promotions Receptionist Attendee check-in Nametags Room setup and breakdown Agenda/handouts Optional Content/media Sponsor
Looking forward to seeing everyone for lunch tomorrow at Adelle’s, 400 East Main St. For your convenience, I’ve produced a learning objectives form that we’ll use tomorrow. The attachment is a fillable PDF so you should be able to open it, fill it out, save, and share it. Please print a copy to bring with you, even if you don’t get a chance to fill it out. 
On Feb 26, 2026, at 8:00 AM, Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. <greg@eduity.net> wrote:
The preliminary agenda for our next regular meeting, this Tuesday, March 3 at noon, is to: Review the Study Group’s purpose and goals/intended outcomes (listed below) Share your personal/organizational learning objectives Please come with some ideas about, if not fully defined, objectives for what you would like to accomplish or be able to do as a result of participating in the CVSG. Generally, learning objectives should start with an action verb, have measurable or observable results, and include conditions or criteria for those results. Have preliminary breakout “working group” discussions about: Planning and logistics for dialogues and other large group learning activities (see notes, etc., below) Expanding and focusing outreach efforts to increase participation and support Configuring, seeding, and utilizing our online platform
Now for some background: The purpose of the Chattanooga Venturing Study Group is to learn from Chattanooga Venture and similar initiatives about how (and why) to engage and mobilize community members for inclusive, positive, sustainable change.
The regular first Tuesday meetings of Study Group will function primarily as a learning forum, drawing on lessons from Chattanooga Venture and applying those insights to real projects and civic challenges represented by participants. The Study Group is not a decision-making body, but rather a space for reflection, shared learning, and informed dialogue.
At the end of each regular meeting, attendees should leave with (1) practical, relevant insights how the Group’s purpose relates to their own goals and learning objectives, (2) greater understanding of how their goals fit with others’ goals and objectives, and (3) their role and tasks for achieving our shared goals, or intended outcomes, for the Study Group, which are: Capacity, Design, Structure: create durable capacity and build an “engine” to sustain the work. Inclusive Civic Participation: get citizen input on a comprehensive set of regional issues via dialogue among representatives of a broad range of local groups. Collaboration & Network-Building: interconnect people across complementary interests and common values as the basis for creating a unified vision to guide collaboration. Local Learning/Our Narrative: understand and steward Chattanooga Venture’s story, its legacy and lessons learned; clarify what’s special about Chattanooga (what attracts people, keeps them here, or pushes them away); and become advocates of our city’s narrative. Strategy: map community assets to surface untapped energy, leverage existing strengths and opportunities, and organize around priority focus areas to direct effort and resources effectively.
Please share your thoughts about any of these items. I’ll send a final agenda on Monday.
— Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. Executive Officer and Principal Eduity, LLC www.eduity.net greg@eduity.net 706-271-5521
Dialogue Planning and Logistics:
The dialogues should start with an issue that was addressed by Venture with someone with direct experience with how and why Venture addressed it as anchor, and, ideally, an exec of the relevant legacy organization as a key participant. Dialogues we have planned so far are: “Environmental Conservation and Education: The Bend and the River” on March 23rd, anchored by Sally Robinson with Andy Wood, Tennessee Aquarium President & CEO (tentative), and Tricia King Mims, National Park Partners Executive Director, as key participants “Housing Quality, Affordability, and Generational Wealth” (or something like that) on April 27th, with Chris Thompson, CNE President & CEO, as key participant and co-producer. Anchor discussant prospect in Maria Noel with Betsy McCright from Chattanooga Public Housing Authority and someone from CALEB as other key participants.
Other dialogues should address education (PEF), local arts & culture (AVA and Bessie Smith Cultural Center), urban design and development (River City Company), violence and trauma (Children’s Advocacy Center and Family Justice Center).
Develop a checklist (see below for a starting point) for all/each dialogue and assign tasks to individuals. Dialogue check list:
Topic Date/time, location Registration Participants Anchor (individual who worked on the topic with Venture) Bio-sketch Key participants Information & promotions Receptionist Attendee check-in Nametags Room setup and breakdown Agenda/handouts Optional
Content/media Sponsor
— Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. Executive Officer and Principal Eduity, LLC www.eduity.net greg@eduity.net 706-271-5521
participants (1)
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Greg Laudeman, Ed.D.