HomeMy WebLinkAboutWS 2024-04-01 Item 2 - Great City Council Meetings4
GREAT CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS
ONLINE WORKSHOP
City councils face special challenges during their meetings in these turbulent
times. This workshop distills the best of Robert's Rules of Order to provide
guidelines, tips and tools to run effective council meetings. The workshop is
interactive and lively.
After taking this session, participants will be able to:
• Apply the principles of the authority of the mayor, city council members,
and staff correctly
• State the fundamental principle of majority rule, meaning respect for the
will of the body, not the individual
• Follow best practices for efficient and fair discussion
• Respond to disorder or difficult people
• Run effective public comment sessions
• Make better decisions for your community
75 minutes
PRESENTER
Ann G. Macfarlane has trained thousands of elected officials in Robert's Rules of
Order since 2005 under the banner of "Jurassic Parliament." Her lively and
entertaining workshops use dinosaurs as props to demonstrate how motions
work. They are filled with real -life examples that bring the lessons home. Ann is a
former diplomat and Russian translator. She is a Professional Registered
Parliamentarian. With Andrew Estep, Ann is the author of Mastering Council
Meetings: A Guidebook for Elected Officials and Local Governments.
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ANN G. MACFARLANE, PRP
PO Box 77553
Seattle WA 98177
Tel: 206-542-8422
Email: ann@jurassicparliament.com
Ann Griffin Macfarlane studied Russian and Ancient Greek at the University of
California, Santa Cruz. She was awarded a Marshall Scholarship by the British
government to earn a B.A./M.A. degree from Cambridge University, England. She began
her career as a diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service. Fluent in Urdu, Ann served in
Lahore, Pakistan and on the Bangladesh desk of the State Department before becoming
the first woman staff assistant in the Near East South Asia Bureau. In that position she
supported Henry Kissinger's shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East and supervised the
flow of reporting and memoranda for other hot spots in the region.
After study at the Army Russian Institute in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Ann married
fellow Foreign Service Officer Lew Macfarlane. She served on the Soviet desk before
resigning her commission to devote herself to their family in the Congo, Tanzania, and
Kathmandu.
The Macfarlanes returned to Seattle, Lew's native city, with their three sons. Ann became
a professional translator and was elected President of the American Translators
Association. She then served as Executive Director of the National Association of
Judiciary Interpreters and Translators before becoming a partner with Andrew Estep as
an owner of ERGA, Inc., an association management company, from 2007 to 2014.
Ann developed "Jurassic Parliament" in 2000 as a way of helping people run productive
meetings. The approach makes Robert's Rules of Order understandable, fun, and easy to
learn and apply. Ann and Andrew published Mastering Council Meetings: A guidebook
for elected officials and local governments in 2013.Over the past 24 years Ann has
trained thousands of elected officials and nonprofit leaders across the nation.
Education and credentials:
• Professional Registered Parliamentarian, National Association of
Parliamentarians
• Certificate in Nonprofit Management, University of Washington
• U.S. Army Russian Institute Certificate, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
• B.A./M.A., Cambridge University, England
• Marshall Scholarship, Her Majesty's Government, United Kingdom
• B.A. with highest honors, University of California Santa Cruz
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