On July 26, 2011, nine people met at DePaul University in Chicago and formed the IAF Chicago Chapter. We are the second IAF Chapter within the U.S.A. Currently, our membership includes over 30 IAF members from Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana.

The purposes of our chapter are to support and further, to the best of IAF Chicago’s ability, the purposes of the International Association of Facilitators (IAF), to include:

• Giving credibility to and furthering the work of the field of professional group facilitation.


• Providing a network to foster interchange between practitioners of facilitation.


• Developing appropriate opportunities, methodologies, models, tools and modes that support the practice of exemplary participatory facilitation.


• Promoting international support and interchange among practitioners of facilitation.

We meet once a month for an informal breakfast meeting on the last Friday of every month. Meetings take place at a local restaurant for breakfast at 7:30 am. Locations are posted on our Calendar of Events. Everyone is welcome.

We also hold quarterly events for professional development. Our first is December 9, 2011 from 4:00 pm until 7:00 pm at "The Thinkubator Innovation Center" at 312 N. May Street, Suite 6D, Chicago, IL 60607. These professional development events are highly interactive and designed to provide attendees with new ideas, new tools, and new networking opportunities.

Join us for our morning meetings and/or our quarterly events. This is an exciting opportunity to network and develop your professional skills. We welcome Facilitators as well as anyone who uses facilitation as part of their job (e.g., Project Managers, Business Analysts, Managers, Lawyers, etc.). Come and share. Come and learn.