About us
NOVA Scribes is a free and open forum for visual practitioners to share their knowledge.
We are anyone who uses visuals to move others: consultants and facilitators who use visuals, graphic recorders, scribes, sketchnoters, and others!
Since 2016, we've held workshops, graphic jams, open spaces, and webinars to share skills and learn from each other. We record our webinars for anyone to watch later, and if you're interested in presenting a topic, please let us know!
We're all volunteers! Anyone who wants to can be an organizer or presenter.
NOVA Scribes has entered into a partnership with the IFVP: the International Forum of Visual Practitioners! This workshop is an IFVP Learning Lab. All IFVP members have access to Learning Labs at https://ifvpforum.circle.so/c/learning-hub/
Most of our online workshops are recorded and posted on YouTube for anyone who cannot attend. If you missed an event, you can find the YouTube link in the Comments section of this NOVA Scribes Meetup event.
You can find previously recorded videos at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJfInZHmS8prj2_DUaJ35CYY8n7SzoPMJ
We don't charge for most workshops, but we do ask for donations! Donations cover the costs of hosting events on Meetup, towards honorariums for new graphic recorders, towards scholarships to attend events like the IFVP conference, and towards direct donations to the IFVP.
If you'd like to attend an online workshop, be sure you are registered on Meetup! If your Zoom name doesn’t match your name on Meetup, you will not be admitted. (We’ve had Zoom bombers.)
We organize our events using the Meetup app. You can find us at www.meetup.com/NOVA-Scribes
It's free to be a NOVA Scribes Member; please join us!
Upcoming events
15
Practitioner Process Talk with Reilly Dow - Self as Center
·OnlineOnlinePractitioner Process Talks are an ongoing NOVA Scribes series that slow things down and go inside the work. Rather than teaching techniques or presenting polished frameworks, these conversations trace the lived, moment-to-moment thinking of experienced practitioners as they move through real work.
In this session, Reilly Dow invites us inside her process with a deceptively simple premise: the self is not something to remove from the work, but the place where the work begins.
About the session
When you look at Reilly’s work, you notice a sense of coherence. A through-line. A feeling that the chart was composed, not merely captured. This talk explores what makes that possible.Together, we will explore how listening, design, and self-awareness shape the choices a visual practitioner makes in real time. Not as abstract theory, but as a think-aloud walkthrough of what is happening internally as the work unfolds.
This is less about what gets drawn and more about how the practitioner is orienting themselves before the marker ever hits the paper.
What we will explore
- How Reilly listens before, during, and between moments of drawing.
- What it means to treat the self as a starting point rather than a bias to eliminate.
- How internal sensing influences layout, flow, and visual hierarchy.
- The difference between catch-as-catch-can recording and through-composed visual narratives.
- How color palettes, restraint, and design choices emerge from intention rather than habit.
- Where inspiration comes from.
Expect a conversational format that blends interview, reflection, and real examples. This is an inside-the-artist’s-head session, equal parts practical and philosophical.
Who this is for
This talk is designed for:- Graphic recorders and visual facilitators
- Facilitators curious about the inner dynamics of sense-making
- Designers who work live and in ambiguity
- Practitioners interested in deep listening, presence, and authorship
- No preparation is required. Bring your curiosity.
Format
This is a live, interactive conversation with Reilly Dow facilitated by Brian Tarallo, with space for participant questions and reflection throughout. Come ready to listen closely, notice your own internal process, and borrow what resonates.Date: Thursday, March 26
Time: 6:00–7:00 pm (ET)
Location: Virtual
Hosted by: NOVA Scribes
Practitioner Process Talks are about making the invisible visible. This one begins at the center.Reilly Dow
Hi, I’m Reilly. Listener, artist, and scribe with nearly two decades of international experience.
Since 2008, I have supported groups and organizations on four continents. My background is in early childhood education and I hold an MA in Interdisciplinary Studies. I have completed advanced training in generative scribing, systems thinking and am a certified Warm Data Labs host. I grew up in Canada and live in Mexico City with my husband, our son, and our dog Tina.Connect with Reilly:
http://instagram.com/reillypinkfish/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/reillydow/Self-paced online workshops:
https://www.visual-practice.com/intro-to-scribing
https://www.visual-practice.com/scribing-essentials--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOVA Scribes has entered into a partnership with the IFVP: the International Forum of Visual Practitioners! This workshop is an IFVP Learning Lab. All IFVP members have access to Learning Labs at https://ifvpforum.circle.so/c/learning-hub/This workshop will be recorded and posted on YouTube for anyone who cannot attend. You can find the YouTube link in the Comments section of this NOVA Scribes Meetup event once the workshop video has been uploaded to YouTube.
You can find previously recorded videos at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJfInZHmS8prj2_DUaJ35CYY8n7SzoPMJWe’re not charging for this workshop, but we will be asking for donations! Donations cover the costs of hosting events on Meetup, to honorariums for new graphic recorders, and scholarships.
Please be sure you are registered on Meetup! If your Zoom name doesn’t match your name on Meetup, you will not be admitted. (We’ve had Zoom bombers.)
10 attendees
Book Club: "Graphic Facilitation"
·OnlineOnlineNOVA Scribes Book Club: Graphic Facilitation
Join the NOVA Scribes community for a book club conversation exploring Graphic Facilitation: Transforming Group Process with the Power of Visual Listening by David Sibbet.
In this session, we will reflect on Sibbet’s foundational ideas about working visually with groups, including how graphic facilitation can support shared understanding, engagement, and better group process. We'll practice the methods and explore the foundational principles in Graphic Facilitation.
You are invited to read the book in advance if they wish. Copies can be purchased here: https://grovetools-inc.com/collections/meeting-facilitation-supplies/products/graphic-facilitation-w-dvd. That said, reading the book or owning a copy is not required.
Come ready to explore the ideas, share experiences from your own practice, and discuss how visual listening and graphic facilitation can shape the way we work with groups.
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NOVA Scribes has entered into a partnership with the IFVP: the International Forum of Visual Practitioners! This workshop is an IFVP Learning Lab. All IFVP members have access to Learning Labs at https://ifvpforum.circle.so/c/learning-hub/This workshop will be recorded and posted on YouTube for anyone who cannot attend. You can find the YouTube link in the Comments section of this NOVA Scribes Meetup event once the workshop video has been uploaded to YouTube.
You can find previously recorded videos at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJfInZHmS8prj2_DUaJ35CYY8n7SzoPMJWe’re not charging for this workshop, but we will be asking for donations! Donations cover the costs of hosting events on Meetup, to honorariums for new graphic recorders, and scholarships.
Please be sure you are registered on Meetup! If your Zoom name doesn’t match your name on Meetup, you will not be admitted. (We’ve had Zoom bombers.)
12 attendees
New Frontiers in Facilitation - 2026 MAFN Conference
Location not specified yet‼️This is a MAFN (Mid-Atlantic Facilitators Network) event. To attend, register at https://mafn.org/event-6471409
WHEN: Friday, April 17, 2026 | WHERE: Mason Fuse Center - 3401 Fairfax Drive Arlington, VA 22201
Don't miss out on this opportunity to Explore | Sharpen | Connect
We’re bringing the MAFN community together in person this spring - Join us!What You will Experience
Expect a day filled with fresh ideas, meaningful conversations, and the energy of being in community. Attendees will direct their own agenda around the content themes through interactive workshops and meaningful opportunities to connect and network before and after the conference.CONTENT Themes:
- Business development in dynamic times
- Technology shifts in facilitation
- Facilitating amid polarization and conflict
Who Should Attend and Why
If you lead groups, facilitate change, or guide learning, New Frontiers in Facilitation is designed for you. This one-day, in-person conference brings together facilitators, trainers, educators, coaches, mediators, and organizational leaders to explore cutting-edge practices in business development, technology in facilitation, and working across divided contexts. Beyond the sessions, the conference emphasizes intentional networking to help you build meaningful connections that last well beyond the event. Join us and leave inspired, equipped, and connected for the future of facilitation.SCHEDULE
- Registration & Coffee Networking from 8:30
- Plenary
- Rae Ringel - Rupture & Renewal, How Facilitation Evolves in a Polarized AI-Driven World
- Six workshops in three parallel sessions (the opportunity to join three in the program)
- Bola Audena - Scaling with Purpose: Building a Thriving Facilitation Brand in the Age of AI
- Carly Chomer & Kim Fredrich - Make Your Business Development Meaningful Not Mechanical
- Christine Gerson & Eboney Dixon-Crump - Clarity, Curiosity and Connection: Coaching Through Polarization & Communicating Across Differences
- Jennie Toner-Algin - Find the Beat: Using Musical Techniques to Reduce Polarization and Navigate Group Conflict
- Mike Burns - AI and Facilitation: Asking Not What It Can Do, But What It Should Do
- Nikki Frias - Building Bridges in Conflict and Uncertainty with Applied Improv
- Lunch & Networking
- Parallel sessions
- Knowledge Cafe: Join table hosts for skills-based learning
- Open Space: Join fellow participants to reflect on key learnings, collaboratively explore emerging questions, and engage in self-directed dialogue with peers.
- Closing
- Happy Hour & Networking from 4:00
Sponsorships available
Interested in reaching 100+ facilitators and organizational leaders?
Contact us today to ask about being the sole presenting sponsor!
View Sponsorship Opportunities: https://mafn.org/resources/Documents/MAFN%20New%20Frontiers%20Sponsorship%20Deck.pdf
Email Us: treasurer@mafn.orgRates
Members:
Early-Bird (until 11:59 pm on 2/15/26): $99.00
Regular Rate starting 2/16/26: $129.00
Membership Bundle (Member & Registration): $199.00
Non-Members:
Non-Member Early Bird (until 11:59 pm on 2/15/26): $129.00
Students:
Current/Active Student: $79.003 attendees
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