Dawn Menken, Ph.D.

dmenken@igc.org

Dawn Menken has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and is a certified process worker. She is a therapist and teacher and has always had a special devotion to relationships and building sustainable community. Dawn has worked in schools, agencies, organizations, small businesses, hospitals, and families. A workshop facilitator, and presenter at conflict and leadership conferences, she enjoys working with people from all cultures and backgrounds. Dawn has been the co-organizer of the bi-annual international worldwork seminars since their inception in 1991.

She is the author of Speak Out! Talking About Love, Sex and Eternity, a book of personal essays that explore themes of marginalization, relationship, and the basic essence of community. She has been particularly interested in conflict work among youth and dreams of a day when conflict work and community building are central components to every school curriculum. To this end, she has written a manual called, Teens Do It, a curriculum for middle and high schools students, a work still in progress. The article, "Juice and Doughnuts: Group Process Work with Teenagers" appears in the Journal of Process Oriented Psychology, Spring, 1993.

Motherhood continues to be a big inspiration for Dawn and has informed her creativity in her approach to group work, social action, and creating world community. One of her favorite places to engage in group process is the local playground. In September of 2006 she performed her one-woman show MamaSpeak, at a local theater in Portland, based on her personal journey and the universal mystery behind birth and the sacred calling to parenthood.