One Circle Foundation

September 15th – October 15th is National Hispanic Heritage Month, when Americans celebrate the “histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.” One Circle Foundation is dedicated to ensuring equal access to Circles for all youth, including Latine youth, who often face higher than normal rates of depression, alcohol and drug abuse according to the American Addiction Center. To create a safe and supportive environment for these young individuals, we... Read More.

Nancy Roldán Johnson, the Interim Executive Director of One Circle Foundation (OCF), is an active participant in the Community Leadership Program (CLP). Recently, Nancy was interviewed by Lara Herscovitch, the co-creator and editor of the CLP blog, The Circle. In their insightful interview, they delve into discussions about personal values, leadership philosophies, and ... Read more.

One Circle Foundation (OCF) has the honor of partnering with incredible women leaders who are ushering in lasting, positive change and making history in their communities from Des Moines, IA to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  OCF has its own history of strong, intelligent, charismatic, and deeply caring women in leadership. These women have been developing and sharing circle programs to ensure that youth and teens get the opportunity to have healthy relationships with themselves and others in safe circle spaces with adults who are properly trained and equipped to be effective facilitators.  We celebrate these women who show up daily to walk the talk, do the work, and make history.

I went through Girls Circle Facilitator Training in 2017, and had the privilege of being trained by the wonderful Victoria Mahand. I remember going up to her after the training and asking her, “How do I do, what you do?” I was referring to her charismatic, inclusive, effective facilitation style. What she did next was model what a facilitator does. She didn’t give advice, she told me, “Danielle, go out and do.” So, that’s what I did for 5 years. I ran circles and grew our program within our community. However, I struggled those first few years with

A new video was released today featuring One Circle Foundation trainers, staff, and teen circle participants sharing all about One Circle Foundation and showcasing what an actual circle looks like in Aiken, SC. This video gives an introduction to the One Circle Foundation experience, mission, and impact. Share it with colleagues, friends, and family so they can learn about this powerful work that you are a part of and help us to expand our circle around the world. 

Dear Friends and Partners -   I am excited to announce that earlier this month, I joined One Circle Foundation's tireless and devoted co-founder, Beth Hossfeld, in the role of Board Co-Chair.   I have proudly served OCF as a director since 2019, most recently as Vice President during a time of significant change for the organization and the collective world. In partnership with the board, Beth and I grew and diversified our leadership talent and strengthened our policies to adapt to increased demand and our new ways of working. 

2022 has been a year of celebration as One Circle Foundations' 25th year anniversary. We want to share all that our team and you as circle and council facilitators and supporters have accomplished this year. Watch this slideshow video of photos from 2022 and below that you'll see a list of this year's major accomplishments. This year we... Trained 1,786 people from across the globe in one of our four trainings: Girls Circle, The Council for Boys and Young Men, Mitigating Gender and Racial Bias: Intersectionality and Allyship, and Mother-Daughter Circle Training. In-Person Training resumed in August, 80 scholarships were provided...

At One Circle Foundation, we often talk about the dedication and commitment of our facilitators. I want to take a minute and share two examples of this dedication of two individuals who attended Girls Circle training at the end of September. Sapphire was registered to attend our Girls Circle training online. When we began the training, Sapphire let us know that she was pregnant and that she may not be able to attend on day 3 of the training as she had a scheduled doctor's appointment. We let Sapphire know that it was no problem and that OCF could reschedule her third day of training. On day 2 of training, Sapphire let us know that although she had a scheduled appointment she would be attending on day 3 and wanted to complete her training as she had developed relationships with the other facilitators and wanted to finish the training with the individuals she had formed relationships with.  On day 3 we found out Sapphire was going to deliver her daughter later in the morning but

OCF Staff member, Fardous Ahmed has moved on this month from her work at One Circle Foundation to take on a new career in the US Government at the Dept. of Agriculture. Fardous wrote reflections on her time in the OCF training rooms and the grace that was found there in community and connection

The pandemic took anything that was challenging already in schools and poured gasoline on it.  Rather than punish kids or try to cure the problem, our job is to help them get through it.  The number one thing a kid needs while dealing with trauma or toxic stress is a loving, caring, reliable adult, per Harrison Bailey III, principal of Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.  Too many kids, which, consequently, are our future workforce, have been castaway, kicked out of their home, or virtually disregarded due to lack of parent involvement, lack of a healthy