Testimonials

Dr. Roxy Manning is among the most amazing human beings I have encountered in my nearly 66 years of living and my several decades as a therapist. I have, on many occasions, participated in retreats Dr. Manning has co-facilitated. I have also had the opportunity to spend time with Dr. Manning beyond the retreats. Her manifest expertise, along with the confident application of her skills, is unsurpassed. I have seen her track, assess and organize myriad and opposing voices and perspectives and usher participants from bedlam into mutually amicable resolutions. It has been a remarkable experience to watch Dr. Manning interact with people of varying levels of education, disparate life experiences and exceedingly intense feelings and, from that chaos, support participant growth from a group of individuals into a team of people who feel heard, respected, supported and even loving toward each other. Though I am now retired, I was a therapist for over 40 years. During that time I have never seen anyone better at group or individual work than Dr. Manning. Without reservation, I would recommend Dr. Manning to anyone who is interested in individual, group, organizational or systemic expansion, awareness and/or healing.

Roxy Manning is a brilliant, skillful, kind, funny, and inspiring teacher. Our team sought her out because we had some NVC training behind us and we wanted to bring in an intentional focus on equity and anti-racism. Somehow, Roxy managed to simultaneously break down and build up the core assumptions of NVC: what's up with "universal" needs in a world built on the fundamental inequities of racism, sexism, ableism, etc? How can we ask everyone to call on feelings when we're not all allowed to express all feelings freely, or worse yet, some of us (namely Indigenous, Black, and Brown people) may be harmed for expressing some feelings publicly? What opportunities for connection do we miss, and what strategies for collective wellbeing are hidden, when we don't consider the systemic context of conflict that arises between people? With a fierce yet gentle approach, Roxy led our team through a powerful learning experience that she had tailored specifically for us. By modeling vulnerability in sharing her own experiences, she created a space where team members could tap into our own histories in order to gain understanding and clarity together. Now, we're committed to carrying our learnings forward, and hopefully we can train with Roxy again!

Roxy is my friend, colleague, former student, co-conspirator, and so much more. As friend, I have deep trust that I can count on Roxy to come through in times of crisis; to tell me the truth and hear the truth about anything that matters; and to delight in my celebrations as easily as she shares hers. As colleague, Roxy is someone I would send just about anywhere instead of me and have no concern about the results. As former student, Roxy has learned, integrated, made her own, and transcended all that she has learned from and with me. As a co-conspirator, Roxy is someone I would plan and execute any project for making a dent in anything in the world. As a “so much more” I have the only sadness: that Roxy is so sought after and so focused, that we hardly have opportunities to collaborate recently.

I have had the honor of attending two of Dr. Manning’s workshops at Stanford and both times I was absolutely blown away by the sheer impact of what she is able to do with us. Her vulnerability and authenticity make the space one of the safest academic spaces I’ve ever been in. Her ability to connect with the heart even as she is deftly facilitating a complex and difficult conversation about universal values, about the contextual nature of privilege and its legacies, about impact and intent, about self-care and care for others, is breathtaking. That during this conversation, she is simultaneously doing the larger and harder work of always moving us toward deeper compassion and genuine empathy—for ourselves, for our communities, and for the world, seems nothing short of miraculous. I cannot think of any work that is more important to be doing right now or anybody who is better at it than Dr. Manning.

Roxy Manning’s facilitation supported safety and clarity as our group navigated potentially triggering conversations about diversity in our organization. I experienced Roxy as incredibly skilled at making choices regarding when to probe, when to move the discussion forward, and how to synthesize the varied thoughts and feelings sparked in our process. For me, this powerful workshop with numerous learnings continues to reverberate. I’m hopeful about and inspired by the strategies we’re ready to move forward with for greater reach and impact. Thank you, Roxy!

In two hours together, Roxy skillfully addressed both theoretical and practical application of Non-Violent Communication practices in our clinical work. Roxy tuned into the present challenges work and gave active demonstrations for how to hold a loving and open presence in the most difficult situations. Roxy embodies the confidence she has developed in the revelatory power of deep listening to transform both the speaker and the witness.

Roxy Manning is a rare voice of wisdom in the field of nonviolent social change. She manages to bridge the too-often-separate worlds of compassionate communication and critical awareness of power and privilege that ultimately undermine our attempts at living from the heart. She brings her unique life experience, intelligence, and years of study and practice to our movements to both speak peace in our homes and in our communities, speaking with laser point precision to the ever-present intersection of the systemic and the personal. I look up to and respect Roxy deeply, and am ever grateful for her presence as a teacher and a leader in the field of Nonviolent Communication.

Over the years, as I’ve learned nonviolent communication, Roxy Manning’s name has appeared on my radar many times. As a Certified Trainer with The Center for Nonviolent Communication, Roxy is one of those people in the community of NVC who models more consistently than not, the radical transformative work Living NVC asks of its practitioners and trainers. Her skills and knowledge around privilege and power dynamics is reflected by the many years of study and experience in this realm of much needed change. She’s inspired my own work and led me to a deeper understanding of how powerful and meaningful the reality of living NVC can be for all of us who follow this way of being. I’m deeply inspired by her commitment to live the change she wants for our world.

Our nonprofit invited Roxy Manning to help us address how we could become a more inclusive organization. With a practical, friendly, and curious approach, she helped us both understand where we are and generate ideas about where to go next.

Roxy’s collaborative style put me at ease. As a white woman who speaks only a little bit of Spanish, I appreciated addressing how to be allies to members of our community when there are language barriers, and how to make meaningful offers to collaborate across lines of diversity without a sense of intrusion or rescue. We even got to the point where we could talk about how our leadership is mostly white and middle class, not reflecting the demographics of our area. I had been feeling discouraged and embarrassed about that, and was surprised to discover that with the gentle structure Roxy provided, we could talk about it in a spirit of creativity and examine what the barriers might be. It was fascinating to explore how we can step up our welcome of diversity without resorting to tokenizing.

For safe, non-judgmental, and highly skilled facilitation of workshops related to equity, I give Roxy my highest recommendation.

Do you enjoy being in the presence of someone who is full of love and compassion? Are you enchanted and in awe by someone who shares her truth, vulnerability, transparency, experience, insights and skill as a therapist and human being to awaken and hold a container to help you and us individually and collectively discover our own interdependence? If you are longing to become a more feeling and caring human being and wanting to heal yourself and/or the world then a retreat with Roxy Manning would support that journey.

The first time I had the pleasure of being with Roxy was during a week-long retreat at the West Coast Intensive in NVC. Her ability to facilitate with care and transparency, to hold the group with tenderness while honestly challenging and awakening in me a lens to see the impact of privilege helped me realize that I can become an agent of change in the world. My journey with Roxy continued when I had the pleasure of working with her in the BayNVC’s year-long Leadership Program. I got to spend three week-long retreats with her and was on many remote calls over the year. Roxy has a delightful way of establishing trust, and an ability to challenge with care and curiosity. Her loving-vulnerable-presence and her deep sense of curiosity are just one of the many facets why I cherish being in her presence.

Under the softest voice and, at times, the foggiest expression, lies a deeply perceptive mind and one of the widest open hearts I have had the pleasure to encounter in my life! Roxy Manning brings more than her 100 percent to the work she does – of holding space for humans to be themselves and find their power, their dignity and their humanity. Even while Roxy stands fearlessly for justice and all the issues that trouble our world today, she also stands tenderly for each person’s vulnerability. Roxy inspired me by her ability to lead complex group processes by tracking the different layers of communication, different needs and requests, stepping away when needed and taking charge when called for. With Roxy in the room I have felt safe and empowered. During my three years of close association with Roxy as my teacher, I saw that she consistently attended to coming up with all kinds of creative strategies to ensure that all needs matter and are included to the maximum capacity possible. No need was ever too overwhelming or ever too small to merit her attention if she is called for. I have seen Roxy give generously, outrageously generously, of her time and attention, in my eyes the biggest gift one can give another. Not only has Roxy taught me about healing and mediation, she has also taught me about the million things that must be done in the background to make the experience happen for the participants. From thumbtacks to menus to scholarships to team bonding to conflict resolution to ethics and other considerations – Roxy covers it all, she steps up and takes charge. For me, Roxy is a force!