Hospitality : inside and out
When I was living in Vancouver we would often go to Bellingham to visit friends and it was always great to visit Nelson’...
Consultant and ABCD Institute Faculty Member
When I was living in Vancouver we would often go to Bellingham to visit friends and it was always great to visit Nelson’...
Recently I had the privilege of facilitating a retreat for the Board of an art and nature center. The members began by sharin...
Several years ago a group of community connectors I was part of partnered with several groups in Vancouver to develop and hos...
I have been struck over the past year over the power of an invitation. Invitations can come in many different forms and does ...
Remembering John I first heard John McKnight speak about Asset Based Community Development twenty-five years ago to a small g...
Recently I met with a group of residents of 100 Mile House in British Columbia. We spent some time identifying many of the as...
ABCD is all about using the strengths in your community. How have you seen your community use its assets? Let’s celebra...
What is Asset Based Community Development (ABCD)? ABCD empowers communities to recognize and build on the strengths they poss...
“Joe has created a small team of people who are moving from providing service to building community. His work has radical implications for social service and he has the results to show it. Joe’s work is done with great compassion and courage. He directs a group that is applying the asset based principles of John McKnight in new ways. The results he is achieving are significant; his group is directly bringing those on the margin into community...Joe is creating a model for care and inclusion that sets the standard for what is possible.”
"Joe Erpenbeck is in my opinion one of the very best, if not the best community connector in North America."
"Community development is a big idea, and a thing I’ve enjoyed so much about Joe’s work is that his approachable manner allows everyone to participate and see how they could have a role. I’ve been part of this conversation with groups who have been together for a long time, having the same old conversations, and its been a gift to watch Joe lead - not push - them into the potential of new ideas in an appreciative way. Like many, I did not enter those conversations easily, and, like many, I came to really appreciate his genius (I use this work carefully) for this work."