The Final Lunch & Learn: Bring Your Skills to the Finish Line

by Illuminate Colorado | Aug 12, 2026 | CPTF

Woman having a video conference on her laptop, listening attentively in headphones, with her folded hands under her chin

This series started with the foundations—understanding what lived experience really is and why it matters. Previous sessions looked at power dynamics, authentic involvement versus performative consultation, building skills around trust and relationships, and how storytelling can shift narratives and influence system change.

Now, on September 11 from 12:00-1:00 pm, we’re bringing it all together with the final session: Collaborative Problem-Solving with Lived Experts.

What's Happening in Session 7

In this last Lunch & Learn, participants will move from learning to doing. You’ll build practical skills for working collaboratively with lived experts to co-create real solutions to complex system challenges. This session is hands-on—you’ll practice co-design approaches that center lived expertise, share decision-making power, and produce outcomes that are more effective and fairer for everyone involved.

All seven sessions have been co-facilitated by lived experience experts from the Family and Caregiver Space, bringing authentic voices and real-world insights to every conversation.

Who Should Attend

Whether you’re working in a nonprofit, a county or state partner, education, healthcare, or another related field—this series equips you with tools and knowledge to create positive, meaningful change in your interactions with lived experts. The final session is the perfect place to solidify what you’ve learned and walk away with concrete skills you can use immediately in your own communities.

A Note on What Comes Next

The series may be ending, but the work of centering lived experience doesn’t. The Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families remains committed to supporting professionals and organizations in creating systems that honor the expertise and voice of families. If you’re interested in ongoing engagement with this work, consider joining the Partnership.

The Final Lunch & Learn: Bring Your Skills to the Finish Line

Throughout this past spring and summer, the Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families has been hosting a free Lunch & Learn webinar series focused on a topic that matters to anyone working in systems serving families: how to meaningfully engage with lived experience experts. Now, on September 11 from 12:00-1:00 pm, we’re bringing it all together with the final session: Collaborative Problem-Solving with Lived Experts.

Engaging Those With Lived Experience: Upcoming Lunch & Learn Sessions

In systems that serve families and children, those with lived experience expertise bring invaluable insights, perspectives, and knowledge that can transform how services and support are delivered. However, effectively engaging with lived experts requires understanding...

Coming Together to Keep Families Strong

Recap of the Keeping Families Strong Town Hall, Hosted by the Colorado Partnership for Thriving FamiliesOn August 4th, Coloradans in the early childhood family-strengthening field came together for the Keeping Families Strong Town Hall, hosted by the Colorado...

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Engaging Those With Lived Experience: Upcoming Lunch & Learn Sessions

by Illuminate Colorado | Jan 29, 2026 | CPTF

Group of people of varying ages forming a circle and holding hands together in a park

This spring, the Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families’ Family and Caregiver Space will continue its free Lunch & Learn webinar series that is specifically focused on helping professionals and organizations engage with lived experience experts (LEx) in meaningful and empowering ways.

During the next three webinars of the series, participants will gain an understanding of the importance of involving LEx, explore the power of storytelling, and strengthen collaborative problem-solving skills. Each session is co-facilitated by four LEx from the Family and Caregiver Space. This curriculum provides a hands-on approach, combining reading materials, activities, and group discussions.

Missed an earlier session? Catch up on the Lunch & Learn Series by watching the 2025 recordings.

Session 5: Transforming Systems for Collective Well-Being

202613Mar12:00 pm1:00 pmCPTF FCS TA Lunch & Learn12:00 pm - 1:00 pm(GMT-06:00)

The March Lunch and Learn will integrate lessons from lived experience, power dynamics, authentic involvement, and trust to explore how system design that is centered on fairness for everyone can support collective well-being. Participants will reflect on how centering lived expertise and prioritizing fairness can shift structures, decision-making, and outcomes so that communities — not just individuals — can thrive.

Session 6: Power of Storytelling in System Change

202612Jun12:00 pm1:00 pmCPTF FCS TA Lunch & Learn12:00 pm - 1:00 pm(GMT-06:00)

The June Lunch and Learn will explore how storytelling can elevate lived expertise and influence system change while honoring ethics, dignity, and control over one’s story. Participants will learn how stories can shift narratives, inform policy and practice, and be used responsibly to change systems in ways that support everyone fairly.

Session 7: Collaborative Problem-Solving with Lived Experts

202611Sept12:00 pm1:00 pmCPTF FCS TA Lunch & Learn12:00 pm - 1:00 pm(GMT-06:00)

During the September Lunch and Learn, participants will build practical skills for working collaboratively with lived experts to co-create solutions to complex system challenges. Participants will practice co-design approaches that center lived expertise, share decision-making power, and produce outcomes that are more effective and fairer for everyone involved.

Whether you’re working in a nonprofit, a county or state partner, or another related field, these sessions will equip you with the tools and knowledge to create positive, meaningful change in your interactions with lived experts.

The Final Lunch & Learn: Bring Your Skills to the Finish Line

Engaging Those With Lived Experience: Upcoming Lunch & Learn Sessions

Coming Together to Keep Families Strong

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Coming Together to Keep Families Strong

by Illuminate Colorado | Aug 7, 2025 | Advocacy, CPTF

Strong Woman in Business Outfit Holding Baby

Recap of the Keeping Families Strong Town Hall, Hosted by the Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families

On August 4th, Coloradans in the early childhood family-strengthening field came together for the Keeping Families Strong Town Hall, hosted by the Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families. As the backbone organization for the Partnership, Illuminate Colorado was proud to support the coalition’s leadership with this important conversation at a critical time for our field.

With shifts in federal and state funding impacting programs and services that families rely on, the goal of this Town Hall was simple yet essential: bring the family-strengthening field together to navigate these changes, surface emerging needs, and get creative about how to continue supporting Colorado families.

This town hall set the tone for what we hope becomes an ongoing and evolving space for connection and problem-solving. Together, we reflected on what we know–and what we don’t–about the current impacts on the family support landscape. Participants shared openly about what’s working well, what services they’ve been able to sustain, and what barriers they’re facing.

We explored questions like:

- How are people finding ways to support families amid the change?
- What services are you able to keep providing?
- What does your workforce need right now?
- What are you hearing that parents are struggling with most?

Understanding the Policy Context

One of the key drivers of change in our field is the Budget Reconciliation Package, formally titled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). This legislation has significant implications for how family support services are funded and delivered across the state. If you’re looking to better understand how OBBBA is impacting families and providers, we encourage you to read our recent policy blog post.

Looking Ahead

By making space for honest, collaborative conversations like this, we can begin to map out where support is most needed and where innovation is already happening. And while the challenges are real, it’s clear that we’re all committed to working together to keep families strong.

We’re grateful to everyone who joined us, and we’re looking forward to continuing the conversation in future town halls. Whether you’re a direct service provider, policymaker, advocate, or community member, your voice is needed.

Let’s keep building this space because, when we come together, families are stronger for it.

The Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families is a collaboration dedicated to creating strong, thriving families across Colorado. We bring together experts, agencies, communities, and families with lived experiences to craft innovative solutions. By aligning priorities and resources, we’re building a comprehensive system in Colorado that empowers families and ensures a bright future for all our children. Learn more at COPartnershipForThrivingFamilies.org.

The Final Lunch & Learn: Bring Your Skills to the Finish Line

Engaging Those With Lived Experience: Upcoming Lunch & Learn Sessions

Coming Together to Keep Families Strong

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Engaging those with Lived Experience: A Lunch & Learn Series Brought to You by the Family & Caregiver Space

by Illuminate Colorado | Apr 16, 2025 | CPTF, General

In systems that serve families and children, those with lived experience expertise (LEx) bring invaluable insights, perspectives, and knowledge that can transform how services and support are delivered. However, engaging with lived experts effectively requires understanding the unique power dynamics, challenges, and opportunities that come with such interactions.

The Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families’ Family and Caregiver Space has designed a new, free, Lunch & Learn webinar series specifically focused on helping professionals, caregivers, and organizations engage with LEx in meaningful and empowering ways.

During the next three webinars of 2025, participants will delve into the complexities of engaging with those who have lived experience, uncovering barriers to meaningful involvement, and learning how to build authentic, trusting relationships. Each session is co-facilitated by three LEx from the Family and Caregiver space. This curriculum offers a hands-on approach with a mix of reading materials, activities, and group discussions.

Check out the first webinar of 2025, which was an introduction to Lived Experience

June 2025: Understanding Power Dynamics in System Change

The June Lunch & Learn will focus on understanding the power dynamics at play when working with lived experience experts. The central objective is to help participants learn how power imbalances impact those with lived experience in systems, and how these dynamics can create barriers to meaningful involvement.

A major activity in this month will be a power mapping exercise, where participants will identify and discuss the various power players within their systems. Participants will also break into small groups to discuss how power is maintained in their respective work settings—whether in nonprofits, county/state partners, or other organizations.

RSVP Today

September 2025: Authentic Involvement: More than Consultation

The September Lunch & Learn will shift focus to the concept of authentic involvement. Too often, systems engage with individuals with lived experience only in tokenistic or extractive ways. The curriculum seeks to define and explore the difference between consultation and true co-production, which involves working together as equals in decision-making processes.

Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on what authentic involvement looks like in practice and how it differs from tokenism or extractive practices. The activities for this month include a group exercise to explore the differences between “consulting” and “co-creation.” Participants will analyze case studies to identify both successful and unsuccessful attempts at authentic involvement in various contexts.

Proud mother and father smiling at their baby daughter at home

RSVP Today

December 2025: Building Trust and Relationships with Lived Experts

In the final Lunch & Learn of 2025, the group will dive into building trust and fostering meaningful, empowering relationships with people who have lived experience. This session will be about creating spaces where individuals feel safe, valued, and capable of sharing their experiences without fear of judgment or exclusion.

The focus here is on how trust plays a critical role in working effectively with people with lived experience. Activities for this month will include role-playing scenarios that focus on relationship-building, allowing participants to practice skills in a supportive environment. Group discussions will revolve around strategies for creating environments where people with lived experience feel empowered, respected, and heard

RSVP Today

This new curriculum from the Family and Caregiver Space provides an essential learning experience for anyone looking to engage with people with lived experience in a way that is respectful and empowering. Whether you’re working in a nonprofit, a county or state partner, or another related field, these sessions will equip you with the tools and knowledge to create positive, meaningful change in your interactions with lived experts.

Don’t worry– this series will not end in December. Stay tuned for details on Lunch & Learns in 2026!

The Final Lunch & Learn: Bring Your Skills to the Finish Line

Engaging Those With Lived Experience: Upcoming Lunch & Learn Sessions

Coming Together to Keep Families Strong

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Building Community During Back-to-School Season

by Illuminate Colorado | Aug 28, 2024 | CPTF, General

This fall, Colorado Connected is here to help you strengthen connections and grow your village.

It’s that time of the year again. Back to early mornings rushing to get to school on time, piling the car full of kids for after-school activities, and stressing about what on earth to make for dinner. The new routines and busy schedules that back-to-school season brings can be stressful, to say the least.

Any parent or caregiver might find themselves feeling overwhelmed and alone during this transition period.

If one thing’s for sure, no one should be left to feel that way, especially when there is a community full of parents around them having the same experiences.

Here at Illuminate Colorado, if there’s one thing we’ve learned about parents and stress, it’s that a strong network of support makes all the difference. Through our work with Colorado Connected, we have been focusing on how to provide parents with the tools they need to build critical social connections. When communities are connected and protected from social isolation, we can ensure that caregivers have the support network they need to raise safe, healthy, and happy children.

This year, as the back-to-school whirlwind inevitably enters the picture, let’s try something new. Let’s make an effort to build connections within our communities–growing our ‘village’ of people we can lean on and who can lean on us. Maybe that’s asking another parent in the school drop-off line how they’re really doing, offering to drive a neighbor’s kids home from school one day so they can have a break, or cooking an extra lasagna for a friend who you know needs one less thing on their mind that day.

There are lots of ways to build connections within your community, that’s what Colorado Connected is all about. They have an extensive collection of resources all centered around how anyone–parents and villagers alike–can begin their connection journey and help strengthen their community. Whether or not you have children heading back to school this fall, we are encouraging everyone to take some small steps towards connection that will make a big difference in their community. Join us!

Let’s take a look at some resources Colorado Connected has to offer!

Tools for Parents

Find fun graphics to share on social media that let other caregivers know you’re in their village! Here’s a sneak peak:

More tools for parents

Tips for Parents on How to Talk About Connection Building

Not sure what to say? Colorado Connected has lots of great content to get the gears turning! For example…

“Parenting is hard, but you are not alone!”

“We are all better together.”

What else can I say?

Tools and Tips for Villagers

Making friends can be tough as an adult. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed with adulting, and whether a parent or friend of a parent, it can feel like work to nurture our network. Colorado Connected has tips on how to connect for everyone, whether you’re a parent, a grandparent, a teacher, a friend, or a neighbor. For example…

Rethink the neighborhood watch. We are evolving the neighborhood watch so that it’s more than being vigilant about crime reporting: we want to watch out for our neighbors and make sure they are okay. We want to build communities where it is normal to check in on each other, lend a hand, and be concerned about how people are doing.

More Tips for Villagers

All of us–parents and villagers alike–have a role to play in building strong, connected communities.

We hope you’ll join us and Colorado Connected this school year by reaching out to the people around you, making connections, and offering support. Find all the tips, tools, and resources you need by visiting COConnected.org.

COConnected.org