Together, they unpack the bold act of convening, the vulnerability of gathering people without a script, and the magic (and messiness) that arises when we center human connection in our change-making work.

Highlights

• From Gardening Clubs to Global Communities: Rachel reflects on her lifelong tendency to build community, from childhood clubs to leading system-shifting networks in finance and beyond.
• The Finance Innovation Lab: How one “no-budget” convening initiative during the 2008 financial crisis ended up catalyzing new coalitions, policy shifts, and even marriages.
• Throw a Better Party: The power of joyful, inclusive, creative convenings over dry, extractive panel sessions—and why making spaces “fun” is strategic, not fluffy.
• Facing the Fear of Convening: What it really feels like to send the invitation—personally and professionally—and why it’s an act of leadership worth the risk.
• Why Metrics Miss the Point: Rachel breaks down why the most transformational work often happens in meandering, sacred spaces that defy typical KPIs and outputs.
• The Sacred in the Systemic: A moving glimpse into The System Sanctuary, a peer space for global system leaders to be real, slow down, and be seen.

• “If you don’t know the answer, that’s your signal to convene.”
• “People often recognize the value of relationality in their personal lives—but don’t allow it into their professional work.”
• “Hosting a gathering is like throwing a party—it’s brave, messy, and transformative if you let it be.”

• Art of Hosting — Participatory leadership methodology for deep conversations
• Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown
• Panarchy Cycle — A systems framework for understanding birth, death, and regeneration in ecosystems and organizations