Main Content
Welcome, Table Facilitators!
GID Lab Overview
The Global Innovation and Design (GID) Lab, established in 2018 at the University of Washington (UW) Tacoma, provides human centered design training and expertly facilitated design thinking workshops for campus and community. The GID Lab is a trusted partner in innovation and design in the South Sound Region, with over 120 workshops and 1500 participants since 2018. The GID Lab Internship program provides UW Tacoma students practical skills and valuable professional experience to launch careers across business and social sectors.
Project Description
The 2026 From Poverty to Possibilities Summit hosted by United Way of Pierce County (UWPC) on November 17, marks its tenth anniversary of efforts towards the bold goal of “lifting 15,000 families out of poverty by 2028 by moving them into financial stability.” Since 2016, the Summit has included thought-provoking keynotes, panels, and human centered design sessions to break through barriers to affordable housing by ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed) families. The 2026 Summit provides a rich opportunity to build on the insights, prototypes, and executed projects of the past, and focus on a central theme to take practical solutions forward.
To this end, UWPC CEO Dona Ponepinto has invited the University of Washington Tacoma’s (UWT) Global Innovation and Design Lab to help the UWPC team converge past work into a primary challenge and facilitate a design thinking session addressing this challenge at the 2026 Summit. Table Facilitators will play an important role in moving approximately 400 people to create solutions for a central design challenge.
Thank you for stepping up to serve as a Table Facilitator. You will help create the design challenge and will be trained to facilitate ideation (brainstorming) and prototyping (creating 3D models of solutions) at each table. Please complete the Need Finding Exercise and the Readings by the deadlines, in preparation for our in-person Facilitator Training Workshop in October 13, 2026, 1:00-3:30 pm.
Reading Materials and Exercises
TITLE AND Link | PLEASE COMPLETE BY |
|---|---|
NEED FINDING [5 WHYS] EXERCISE | AUGUST 30, 2026 |
SYNOPSES OF PAST POVERTY TO POSSIBILITIES | SEPTEMBER 30, 2026 |
TRAINING WORKSHOP FEEDBACK | OCTOBER 30, 2026 |
Schedule & Venue
| WORKSHOP | Venue | DATE
| TIME | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRE DESIGN WORK | ASYNCHRONOUS | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER | NA | Need finding exercise, assigned readings |
| TABLE FACILITATOR TRAINING | GID Lab in Milgard Hall, Room 203 | OCTOBER 13, 2026 | 1:00-3:30 pm | Ideation on primary themes and convergence into design challenge for November 17. Training for Table Facilitation |
| POVERTY TO POSSIBILITIES | McGavick Conference Center | Nov 17, 2026
| TBD | Design thinking session [60 minutes] |
Meet the GID Lab Team
| NAME | LINK |
|---|---|
| Dr. Divya McMillin | Divya McMillin | Institute for Innovation and Global Engagement | University of Washington Tacoma |
| Alyce McNeil | Alyce McNeil | University of Washington Tacoma Directory |
| Program Assistants Interns | Meet Our Team | Global Innovation and Design Lab | University of Washington Tacoma |
Parking Information for Facilitator Training Workshop
| Campus/Building Address | 1950 South C Street, Tacoma, WA 98402 |
| Building Location Map | Milgard Hall (MLG) | Campus Map | University of Washington Tacoma |
| Parking | Parking passes will be provided via email no later than one week PRIOR to the October workshop. These are to be printed and displayed on the dashboard. We recommend parking in the Cragle Lot or Tioga Lot. |
