#012: Creating Inclusivity with Sociocracy

Sociocracy brings an incredible opportunity to cooperative groups to embody higher levels of inclusivity through their governance.  As a sociocracy trainer and transgender man living in community, Ted Rau has a unique story and perspective on how to make organizations function better and be more supportive to all their members. In this episode we talk both about his trans journey inside community and the ways in which Sociocracy creates networks of support.

Ted Rau is a trainer, consultant, and co-founder of the non-profit movement support organization Sociocracy For All.  He grew up in Germany and studied linguistics before earning his Ph.D. in linguistics there in 2010. He moved to the USA and fulfilled a long-held wish to live in an intentional community where he still lives with his five children and 70 neighbors in a cohousing community in Massachusetts. Ted's perspective is influenced by being transgender, by his interest in Nonviolent Communication and social justice, by being part of a global sociocracy organization at work, and a parent at home.

Learn more about Ted and his work at www.sociocracyforall.org/community/ and on Instagram @Sociocracy4All

Ted’s course “Sociocracy in Community” - in collaboration with Jerry Koch-Gonzalez - is offered through the Foundation for Intentional Community and is now available as a pre-recorded course available anytime. Ted Rau's Books, Who Decides Who Decides? and Many Voices One Song - co-written with Jerry Koch-Gonzalez are available in FIC bookstore. Podcast listeners, use the code INSIDE30  and get 30% off your purchase courses and code INSIDE20 to get 20% off books.

Follow the show and see inspiring images and videos of community life on Facebook and Instagram @InsideCommunityPodcast - I’d love to hear from you there!  If this content has been meaningful or useful to you, please subscribe, rate and review, and share with your friends and folks you know who are curious about living Inside Community. If you want to learn more about Sociocracy or any aspect of building community, check out the Inside Community Podcast sponsor, The Foundation for Intentional Community. FIC is an incredible resource center with weekly events, online courses, classified advertisements, an extensive bookstore and lots of free educational materials. You can learn more about the show and access transcripts at ic.org/podcast. Your financial support of Inside Community helps us to continue to create meaningful and exciting content and I hope you’ll consider donating!

Communities Magazine is a primary resource for information, stories, and ideas about intentional communities—including urban co-ops, cohousing groups, ecovillages, and rural communes. Each full-color quarterly issue focuses on a specific theme. Subscriptions are available and more than 400 back-issue articles are posted for free public reading on the website.https://www.gen-us.net/communities/