Confluence Rising (formerly the California Conference for Equality and Justice  or CCEJ) educates and empowers youth and adults to lead change for equity and justice in our communities. 

We envision a world where people live free of oppression and thrive.

We have a proven track record in providing comprehensive anti-bias, relationship-centered training for organizations, educators, schools, companies, families, youth, and community groups. 

Tens of thousands of people have been trained and coached by our staff to build cultures that promote stronger communication, healthier relationships where no one is disposable and where conflict is healed in equitable and just ways. We have trained over 4,000 people in 2023. 91% of participants would recommend the training they attended to a friend or colleague.

We integrate a “Head, Heart and Hand” approach in all of our work. We believe that opportunities for learning and growth exist at every point of conflict, interaction and sharing. 

Individual and group transformation is always possible:
This work is a lifelong journey.

The work of intersectional equity, transformation, and Restorative Justice is lifelong, and our work together is only part of that larger arc. Our collaboration together is not a check-the-box solution, and instead is meant to serve as a catalyst for deepening and strengthening your own work, wherever you and your community are on your journey. 

Individuals impact the community: Your presence cannot be substituted. 

Our interactive dialogue strategies are all about relationship building, individual learning, and small group growth in service of culture change. As such, it’s disruptive to the team dynamic when people come late, leave early, or don’t attend all sessions in a series. Of course we acknowledge that emergencies happen, and we also ask that you plan your sessions with us when everyone can be there for the full time allotted. You are a crucial part of this work!

People feel accountable to relationships they value:
Relationship-building is not an “add-on” activity. It is part of doing the work.

Teambuilding and games are not just “warm-up” for future hard conversations, but are also valuable in and of themselves. Change happens at the speed of trust, and we can’t rush the strengthening of relationships. If you feel yourself feeling impatient, we invite you to pause and lean into curiosity about what you’re rushing toward and at what cost. Each element of our work is intentional and purposeful, and we’re grateful for your trust in leading your team through this process.

People transform through experience not by being told:
Our sessions are interactive.

Each session is different, but in general you can expect chat responses, individual reflection, pair shares, breakout group discussions, large group discussions, PowerPoint presentations, videos, images, audio clips, role plays, and feedback. While we welcome different types of participation, simply ‘observing’ disrupts the shared vulnerability of this type of work. We use multiple learning modalities that include elements of experiential education, theater and play, social emotional learning, intersectional anti-oppression work, intergroup dialogue, mindfulness, and embodied transformation. Our sessions may look and feel different than your day-to-day experience with your team, and that’s the goal! 

All humans need to be seen, heard, and understood: Take care of yourself. 

In addition to stress we experience at the intersection of our identities, we are all living through an international pandemic. We bring compassion to these spaces, and encourage you to take care of yourself in these sessions, including but not limited to: bringing fidget toys for yourself, eating or drinking as needed, taking care of your body, communicating your needs with facilitators at any time, choosing to be on or off camera as needed (for virtual sessions), and grounding with your senses. We welcome requests for accommodations – Creating accessible spaces for everyone is a high priority for us.

We are all equally accountable to group agreements,
AND our identities give us different access to privilege and power. 

We do not believe in being “colorblind” or otherwise minimizing differences in service of shallow unity. Fundamentally, we must talk about oppression in order to address it. Engaging in dialogue about systemic oppression doesn’t make it worse, although it may feel that way if these conversations are new to us. Instead, we choose to embrace and acknowledge how our identities show up for each of us and how they can impact our interactions. Reflecting on the connection between power and our sense of self also extends to positional power differences that may impact our work together, such as principal/teacher/student or supervisor/employee dynamics.

Shared joy and vulnerability build meaningful connection:
Discomfort is to be expected. 

We expect and anticipate discomfort in our sessions! It is our goal to keep the space courageous and safe, while also being willing to put our comfort at risk in service of our goals. Meaningful growth is often on the other side of responsible risk-taking, and we are in the business of culture change. We are here to support you at every step of our partnership.

Restorative choices are always available to us. No one is disposable: Responding to conflict in ways that build accountability and trust is always a choice we can make.

We view accountability as an integral part of justice, and we also view accountability through a restorative lens. We can center relationships, even when harm has happened and always acknowledging power dynamics.

Another world is possible:
Oppression can and will end through our collective work. 

Equity & Justice give us a vision for what equitable communities can look and feel like. Restorative Justice helps us achieve that vision by holding ourselves and other people accountable, acknowledging power dynamics, and unpacking historical systems of oppression. These two ideas are not able to be separated in how we approach our work, regardless of what the specific topic of the session may be. We believe that we can make this happen together!

Restorative Justice is about centering relationships in all we do, including when harm happens. Community Building Circles are dialogue-based spaces to build empathy, strengthen community, prevent conflict, and prepare for using Restorative Justice as a way to hold people accountable. This work is rooted in a culture shift away from incarceration & carceral thinking, disposability of human beings, three strikes laws/zero-tolerance policies, racist formal and informal policing, and disproportionately punitive disciplinary models.

Equity, justice and inclusion work is about acknowledging the systems that impact how we live based on our proximity to privilege, power and oppression and taking action to even the playing field. We use an intersectional, identity-affirming lens meaning we acknowledge the unique ways the different combinations of our identities makes our experiences different without flattening or ignoring different parts of us because it’s ‘easier’ or more convenient. Equity and justice work is iterative, and requires us to be flexible and adaptable, to update our knowledge when we get new information and to stay in a space of learning, curiosity, and trying on. We welcome everyone interested in learning into our dialogue spaces.

We believe that safety is created through clear expectations. In that spirit, we want to make sure you have all the information you need before you register. 

All of our trainings will be offered in-person at our office at 3605 Long Beach Blvd. Suite 100, Long Beach, CA 90807 unless otherwise specified. Our office has several gender neutral bathrooms available. There is plenty of street parking available in front of and around our office. 

Registration closes five business days before the workshop takes place. You can always contact us to inquire about openings or to be placed on a waiting list.

For all questions or concerns, including accessibility and accommodation needs, please reach out to Sarah Howlett, Director, Training & Coaching for Justice: showlett@ConfluenceRising.org. 

For our day-long trainings including Cultivation Compassion, Community Building, and Harm & Conflict, morning refreshments and lunch is provided. All other trainings will have light snacks provided. 

We are unable to accommodate attendees who need to leave early, miss full days or large portions of training sessions. For our multiple day trainings, attendance and participation at all days is required.

Regarding COVID-19 safety, we do not require program participants to be vaccinated, take COVID tests, or mask during training. We encourage all participants to do what makes them feel safest.

We believe that individuals impact the community, so your attendance and valuable participation cannot be substituted. In the event you are unable to show up to a training you are registered for and would like to request a refund, please find our refund policy below. 

• We can only issue a full refund if you cancel more than 14 business days before the date of your training. 

• We can provide a 50% refund if you cancel between 8-13 business days before the date of your training. 

• Unfortunately, we cannot provide refunds if you cancel within 7 business days or less than the date of your training.  

Please allow at least a week for refunds to process and know that there will be a processing fee for all cancellations.

If you do not communicate with us and do not show up for your training session, we will be unable to issue a refund. If you were to not complete a multiple day training series, please know that you will be charged the full price of the training series.

Please note that the following days are Confluence Rising holidays and are not counted as business days with regard to our refund policy:

• New Year’s Day: 1/1

• MLK Jr. Day: 1/19

• President’s Day: 2/16

• Cesar Chavez Day: 3/31

• Memorial Day: 5/25

• Juneteenth: 6/19

• Day Before Independence Day: 7/3

• Independence Day (Observed): 7/6

• Labor Day: 9/7

• Indigenous Peoples’ Day: 10/12

• Veterans Day: 11/11

• Thanksgiving & Fri: 11/26-27

• Winter Break: 12/24 - 1/1