What If One Day Could Change the Way Your Organization Connects?

Loneliness, disconnection, and division are everywhere—from college campuses to corporate teams. You’re here because you know your community needs something deeper. Something lasting. Something real.

Whether you’re a college administrator, people manager, or organizational leader, this immersive certification training will equip you with the tools, support, and confidence to build spaces of radical listening, connection, and care—not just once, but again and again.

Our team presenting and facilitating a Listening Lab at NASPA in 2024.

One Transformative Day. A Full Year of Support.

📍 June 13, 2025 | 🕙 10:00 AM–5:00 PM | 🗽 New York City

Led by Yael Shy, creator of Listening Labs, Isabel Mata, lead trainer, and special guests, this intimate, high-touch training will guide you through the full Listening Lab methodology, with hands-on practice, real-time coaching, and a clear plan to bring it home to your organization. 

What is the Listening Lab Method?

The Listening Lab method is a five-staged process of guided, structured sharing where participants can be heard, strengthen their listening skills, and connect with one another. Listening Labs was the winner of the National Student Affairs Professional Association gold award for Excellence in Programming in 2025, and have been rolled out at universities and community organizations across the country, including New York University, Quinnipiac University, University of Hawaii, Limmud Seattle, Wing Luke Museum, and beyond. 

Our data from hundreds of Listening Labs across the country reveal a significant drop in participants’ feelings of loneliness, stress, and anxiety after completing a Listening Lab and a significant rise in feeling heard, connected, and understood.

🎓 What You’ll Walk Away With:

  • ✅ Official Certification in the award-winning Listening Lab Methodology

    ✅ Access to Live Monthly Office Hours with the Listening Lab team 

    ✅ Marketing and implementation tools to bring Labs to your community with confidence

    ✅ A National Network of mission-aligned leaders building belonging where it matters most

    ✅ 1 Year of Access to our exclusive Listening Lab Portal, including:

    • Training videos, facilitation guides & assessments

    • Dozens of plug-and-play activities

    • Hundreds of curated prompts

    • And so much more!

🔑 What You'll Experience

  • Participate in multiple Listening Lab immersions as a listener and a speaker

  • Learn transformative deep-listening activities for fostering connection and belonging

  • Practice real-world scenarios through interactive role-playing with established Listening Lab Leaders

  • Step-by-step guidance on how to implement and lead your own Listening Labs

  • Break bread and connect with a room of like-hearted professionals

Other leadership training sessions might give you ideas. This gives you a proven, repeatable framework—plus the real-time coaching, structure, and community to bring it to life long after the training day ends.

You're not just learning a method.

You're joining a movement.

💡Why It’s Worth It

🗓️ Training Day Components

☕ Check-In + Community Coffee
 Arrive to warm drinks, light bites, and intentional connection time with fellow participants from across the country.

🌿 Welcome + Grounding Meditation
 Set the tone for the day with a centering practice and opening remarks 

🎧 Listening Lab Immersion I: The Power of Being Heard
 Experience the full Listening Lab as a participant—feel what it’s like to be deeply listened to, without interruption or judgment.

🌀 Listening Lab Immersion II: Stepping Into the Listener Role
 Switch partners to practice additional methods of deep listening and explore the impact of your presence and attention in creating a space of belonging.

🛠️ Your Role as a Listening Lab Facilitator
 Explore the mindset and skills needed to lead Listening Labs with presence, care, and confidence.

🎭 Role-Playing + Real-Time Coaching
 Practice common and tricky facilitation scenarios—like participants oversharing, staying silent, interrupting, or resisting the format—and get expert coaching on how to hold the space with skill and compassion.

📂 Designing Your Own Listening Lab
 Learn how to adapt the method for your unique context using our robust digital portal of prompts, facilitation guides, and assessment tools.

💡 Stories from the Field
 Be inspired by real-life examples of how Listening Labs are transforming campuses, organizations, and communities across the country.

🙋‍♀️ Q&A + Integration Circle
 Bring your questions, share insights, and receive tailored guidance to support your next steps.

🎉 Closing Ceremony + Certification Send-Off
 Receive your official Listening Lab Facilitator Certification and leave equipped to bring this transformative method to your community.

Here is what past participants have said about The Listening Lab Method: Facilitator Certification:

  • “The training helped me feel more confident and prepared for the role..The training emphasized the importance of active listening and gave practical, hands-on strategies for engaging with peers in a supportive and nonjudgmental way.”

  • “The Listening Lab Leader training has definitely taught me to be a better listener and I think it’ll have a positive impact on the students. What I learned about these labs was that you don’t have to say you agree with the person to let the other person know that you are listening. You can instead repeat back to them everything they’ve sharper to you which shows that you were actively listening to them.”

  • “The training did a great job of outlining the ethical and confidentiality guidelines that are crucial in a peer support role, which reassured me that I would be equipped to handle sensitive conversations with care”

Meet the Training Team

  • Yael Shy

    Yael Shy is the Founder & CEO of Mindfulness Consulting and creator of the Listening Lab method. For over 20 years, Yael has supported others in uncovering their inherent worth and capacity for deep joy through mindfulness. She is the author of the award-winning book What Now? Meditation for Your Twenties and Beyond (Parallax, 2017) and teaches at NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service.

  • Isabel Mata

    Isabel Mata is the Director of Outreach at Mindfulness Consulting and Lead Listening Lab Facilitator. She is a queer, neurodivergent storyteller, certified mindfulness meditation teacher, and marketing professional based in Seattle, WA. With over 10 years of mindfulness meditation practice, Isabel is passionate about blending storytelling with mindfulness to advocate for mental health and personal growth.

  • Marium Imran

    Marium is a recent graduate of the school counseling program at NYU, passionate about supporting individuals’ holistic growth. At NYU, she served as a Listening Lab Leader, collaborating with student clubs, faculty, and campus partners to promote wellbeing through meaningful dialogue and connection.

  • Zoe-Marie Mongbet-Lamare

    Zoe-Marie is a graduate student studying Social and Behavioral Sciences at the NYU School of Global Public Health. She possesses a strong passion for fostering empowerment within communities through meaningful engagement and advocating for mental health. She is incredibly thrilled and honored to serve as a Listening Lab Leader and is ready to support and bring a voice to the community.

With Special Guests

  • Tom Ellett

    Tom Ellett, PhD, joined Quinnipiac as the chief experience officer in August 2020, overseeing all student-facing functions, including enrollment management, student affairs, registrar, bursar, public safety, veterans’ affairs and career services. Prior to joining Quinnipiac, he served as senior associate vice president for student affairs at New York University. He oversaw student-facing functions and residential life for 11,000 students spread across New York City. Tom oversees the Listening Lab program at Quinnipiac and is passionate about fostering belonging on campus.

  • Katie Place

    Katie R. Place, Ph.D., APR is a Professor of Public Relations at Quinnipiac where she teaches courses in public relations, strategic planning, and ethics. Dr. Place's research examines the nexus of power, listening and ethics in public relations. She has authored more than 90 conference papers, books, or publications -- including peer-reviewed articles in Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, PRism, Journal of Media Ethics, Public Relations Inquiry, and Journal of Communication Management. Katie is also the host of Thank You For Listening, a podcast that explores listening in or lives, organizations, and communities.

FAQs

  • The training is on Friday, June 13, 2024, on the NYU campus in NYC, from 10am to 5pm. It’s a full-day, in-person experience. Exact location will be sent upon registration.

  • This training costs $2200 and the deadline to register is June 1, 2025. If you register by May 10, you can save $200 with the early bird rate. This price includes:

    • A full-day immersive training

    • Listening Lab facilitator certification

    • A comprehensive facilitator guide

    • Access to 12 months of ongoing community support, tools, and resources

  • Yes! If you are interested in financial aid, please send us an email at info@mindfulnessconsulting.net.

  • This is for anyone who wants to create spaces of belonging, trust, and deep listening. That includes:

    • College and university staff (Student Life, DEI, Residence Life, Wellness, etc.)

    • HR or DEI professionals

    • Team or community leaders

    • Coaches, facilitators, or therapists

    • Museum or nonprofit educators

    • Anyone who believes in the power of presence and wants practical tools to lead with care

  • Click Here to schedule a time for a 1:1 consultation to see if it is right for you. No pushiness - just an exploration of fit. Let’s chat!

🔥Spots are Limited

We keep this training intentionally intimate to maximize connection and personal support. Don’t wait—secure your spot today.