Empathy Movement Training Curriculum Updates.

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Edwin Rutsch

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May 23, 2026, 5:46:01 PM (13 days ago) May 23

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Some updates from this week’s project meetings.
Empathy Movement Curriculum Project

We are a group of volunteers who are developing a public domain, open-source resource and looking for collaborators to help design, develop and host the content. We are in the beginning phase of this project and are working on building the core team.

Do join us for the Friday Empathy Movement Training Curriculum Development Team Meeting

We are dedicated to the strategic growth and development of the Empathy Movement and the Empathy Movement Training Curriculum. Our goal is to make mutual empathy a core cultural value. This is also a Meet and Greet for anyone interested in joining the Empathy Movement Training Curriculum Project

2026-05-21 Meeting - Edwin and Susan Christy
Working on the ‘Listening and Speaking More Deeply’ Training Module
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This meeting focused on developing an empathy circle curriculum and improving the quality of empathic listening practices. Susan and Edwin discussed issues with current empathy circle implementations where participants tend to repeat single sentences rather than sharing full ideas, which doesn't capture the deeper essence of empathic understanding. They agreed that the curriculum needs better explanation of paraphrasing techniques and felt sense awareness, drawing from experts like William Miller and Gendlin's focusing work.

Susan offered to create draft content explaining paraphrasing and felt sense concepts, while Edwin suggested incorporating exercises and expert quotes into the curriculum. They also discussed plans for upcoming empathy summits, organizational training opportunities, and building a network of empathy experts. The conversation included practical discussions about creating a LinkedIn event to promote the project and potentially hosting their own empathy circle session to demonstrate effective practices.

2026-05-22 - Fri Empathy Movement Curriculum Team Meeting
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Edwin Rutsch, William Filler, Daniel Hirtz, Heather Rosso

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Heather Rosso - Disinformation, Extremism, & Influence Operations Researcher |Strategic Communications Leader | Bridging Research, Policy, & Practice.

This meeting was a general introduction and check-in session for the Empathy Center team and new members. Edwin, Director of the Empathy Center, welcomed participants and shared updates on the current curriculum project aimed at creating a public domain empathy training. The team discussed ongoing empathy circle activities, including weekly online and in-person sessions led by Bill Filler and Daniel, who also mentioned plans for international circles.

Heather introduced herself as a doctoral student in peace and conflict resolution researching social alienation and extremist radicalization, expressing interest in adapting empathy circle practices for elementary school settings. The group explored challenges around implementing empathy training in schools, particularly regarding parental concerns and resistance, and discussed potential strategies for reframing the approach to make it more appealing to resistant audiences. The conversation ended with technical discussions about website domain registration and updates to the Empathy Circle Training website.

2026-05-22 - Meeting with Edwin Rutsch and Marta Burnet
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- director of advancing empathy at Woodland Park Zoo and oversee the network of zoos and aquariums who work to foster empathy for wildlife. We have developed many trainings and are currently working on developing curriculum from our 200+ resources.

Edwin and Marta discussed their respective empathy-focused initiatives, with Marta sharing details about the ACE for Wildlife Network, a community of practice started in 2019 that has grown to over 1,200 participants nationwide and globally, focusing on fostering emotional connections between humans and animals to drive conservation action.

Marta will take part in some empathy circles and signed up to speak at the Empathy Summit on

“A Review of Empathy Training Programs From Around the World. “

All Empathy Trainers are invited to speak at an upcoming Summit.

Select Your Preferred Speaking Date(s):

[ ] Saturday, October 3, 2026

[ ] Saturday, January 9, 2027

[ ] Saturday, April 3, 2027

Warmly,

Edwin

Edwin Rutsch

Director: The Empathy Center
Building the Empathy Movement

http://TheEmpathyCenter.org
http://EmpathySummit.com
http://CultureOfEmpathy.com