Rebecca Walter has exceptional facilitating skills that allow her to make people feel comfortable sharing honestly. She instills confidence in people and makes them feel accepted. After workshops, people often speak to her to compliment her skills at making them feel comfortable sharing. She approaches topics calmly and is able to summarize different experiences to help people understand different perspectives. Her manner of speech is respectful of all identities.

1. Rebecca's facilitating skills exceed (beyond what would be considered "enough"). She
has a talent for making people feel okay-with their best selves. By this, I mean that she will
bring out honest answers from people (who, if they were not already honest, or hesitant about
sharing how they truly feel) will feel very comfortable sharing or "stepping up" to support or
speak up about a statement, cause, or conclusion. She has a knack for instilling confidence in
people (even at their most insecure dispositions) and thus makes everyone feel accepted for
who they are at any given moment in time, whether it is during a specific workshop or outside
of one.
Her communication skills speak volumes, yet she does this with only a few precise
words- nothing excessive. This is because she is such a genuine person; she inspires people.
After a workshop, people usually go speak with her, ask for advice, or complement her on her
facilitating skills. Some of these compliments may be, "Thank you, you made me feel very
comfortable," or sometimes, "Thank you, I was hesitant about sharing ______, but you made
me feel as though it was safe to. Something about your facilitating skills gave me confidence."
Although each person will have their own way of saying what I just said, that is my way of
expressing people's feedback on Rebecca's facilitating skills.
She doesn't "try too hard," (she doesn't need to) yet, she gives her best. She has a talent
for it.
Aekta Bandodker, Integrative Studies Major
Rebecca Walter has a unique way of verbally getting things across. She approaches the
topic in a calm manner, and once the members have jogged their mind, and had time to share,
she is able to recap the different experiences one person may have had- lets say growing up - to
the experience that another person may have had. Through her manner of speech and her
tone, she is able to make one feel and realize how easy of a life someone can versus how hard
of a life that another someone can have.
She encourages participation of all the members and gets across to introverts that like
to come out of their bubble and talk. Her manner of speech is respectful in all ways of race(s),
gender(s), and identities. Her ability to capture everyone's focus is I would say a special gift.
These are my reasons of why I am recommending Rebecca Walter. Wherever Rebecca
goes, she brings a burst of sunshine with her!"
Best Regards,
Veeraj Modi
Student Staff, ODIME
I am pleased to provide a testimonial for Dr. Rebecca Walter who I have known for over
eight years. During this period Rebecca has been my colleague, my supervisor and most
importantly a dear and close friend. To say that this is the most challenging testimony I have
ever written is an understatement; while it is extremely easy to recount and document

2. Rebecca’s attention to detail, exceptional written and oral communication, outstanding
classroom management, and flawless facilitation skills, it is daunting to try to capture that
brilliance in a brief testimonial. There is not enough paper to articulate the accomplishments of
this seasoned scholar, social justice warrior, and determined grassed roots organizer. Dr. Walter
will be a monumental asset to any environment she is present. Many will relish, and quite
frankly be privileged to be in an audience where they can learn and more importantly be in
community with this exceptional educator
T. Garey Davis
Assistant Director, ODIME
Co-Teacher for six years
Dr. Rebecca Walter is a phenomenal and culturally competent facilitator of creating
communities. She has the ability to meet the needs of our diverse classroom populations. Dr.
Walter has thoughtfully and methodically created interactive activities designed to build
communities. In disparate courses like university 141 (for international students) and
University 100 (for transitioning freshman) she was prepared to meet the needs of these
culturally and linguistically diverse students. She has the ability create a safe classroom
environment and thereby draw out different student voices. Students are actively engaged
from the beginning of the session until the end. Dr. Walter has students physically moving
around and conversing with new peers to bring a new level of awareness. She poses thoughtful
questions that challenge our students to dig deeper and take on new perspectives as they share
their personal stories and hear the differing experiences of their fellow classmates. Having Dr.
Walter come into our classrooms is always a memorable experience.
–Jerusalem Merkebu Graduate Lecturer/Graduate Research Assistant
Doctoral Candidate, Educational Psychology, CEHD
George Mason University
In my five years of service to a public university as a community coordinator, I’ve
facilitated or co-facilitated several dozen difficult conversations both in and beyond the
classroom space that has impacted hundreds of students. Dr. Walter is perhaps the most
empathetic and competent facilitator with whom I’ve had the pleasure to serve. Her ability to
protect and champion underrepresented perspectives proved invaluable to the quality of
discussions I witnessed her lead. Students, staff and faculty always grew, whether they realized
it or not, from engaging in the healthy and safe dynamic she created. She challenged
participants to seek and establish this same dynamic for themselves and others elsewhere. She
has a way of holding people accountable to their words and actions that inspires them to be the
best community members they can be. I, too, am a better teacher and facilitator for having the
opportunity to learn from and serve with Dr. Walter. Our community has not been the same
without her.
--Kevin Stoy, Honors College
George Mason University

3. I have both observed and co-facilitated with Dr. Walter with a wide variety of
participants – ranging from first year college students to professional staff – and one skill that
stands out is her ability to adapt to a group of participants and change her communication style
in response. Dr. Walter is able to challenge participants without alienating or pushing them
away. This was particularly important with many workshops through Mason’s Office of
Diversity, Inclusion & Multicultural Education (ODIME) as they aimed to examine identity and
systemic oppression which often provokes strong feelings in participants. However, in
situations where some participants could have decided to disengage, Dr. Walter was able to
reach these participants, keeping them engaged without derailing the workshop. But one of Dr.
Walter’s strongest facilitation abilities lies in her ability to deftly connect individual narratives to
broader systemic patterns. Being able to help the participants make sense of the patterns
developing within the space is critical. This rests on Dr. Walter’s deep knowledge of these
patterns, her ability to rapidly synthesize information and communicate it to a group. This skill
is challenging, as it also relies on a degree of intuition, and I haven’t encountered a facilitator
who has mastered it nearly as well.
--Aneesa Ansari
Global Affairs Major, Former Mentee
I have worked alongside Dr. Walter in many different capacities, and I have benefitted
from their unique facilitation skills in each and every instance. On a personal, one-on-one level,
Dr. Walter mentored me as a student leader at George Mason University and has graciously
continued this mentorship now that I am an alumna. Through this mentorship, we have
engaged in experiences and conversations together that have helped me understand who I am,
where I’ve been, and where I want to go in life. While many may view facilitation as something
that happens in a group setting, each and every conversation I have had with Dr. Walter has
been incredibly insightful and empowering; these conversations have always left me feeling as
if I understand more about myself, my peers, and the world around me or has left me with
questions to ask and actions to take in order to reflect more deeply on those things. I believe
this is because Dr. Walter brings mindful facilitation skills into each conversation they have with
everyone they meet, regardless of whether or not it is in a group setting or on an individual
basis. Every conversation I’ve engaged in with Dr. Walter has been filled with mindful questions
(I know they are mindful because oftentimes Dr. Walter will pause to reflect before responding
to things that I say), space for reflective silence (which took me a while to get used to, but I see
the value in silence now), and questions/space that always led to the topic we are discussing
being contextualized within larger structures and power dynamics that, I now understand,
influence everything we do, every part of who we are, and every assumption we have about
ourselves and others. Dr. Walter’s facilitation skills have made me aware of myself and those
around me because they are not afraid to ask me hard questions so I can effectively unpack my
feelings, nor are they scared to push me when it is apparent that I didn’t reflect as deeply as I
could have or when I was doubting myself in ways that were not constructive. This has
empowered me to engage in difficult conversations, become more mindful of myself and the
space I take up, and trust myself more deeply than I ever have in the past. It is rare to come

4. across an individual that can use mindful facilitation, which can often seemawkward and
planned, and incorporate them into a conversation in ways that seemso natural that you are
unaware that it is happening… you are unaware, that is, until you leave the conversation with a
more deep, concrete understanding of the issue at hand and a feeling of empowerment that
you know will allow you to take that conversation and turn into actions that will sincerely
change your world and, if applied appropriately, the worlds of those around you.
On top of this, I have been empowered by Dr. Walter in ways that has allowed me to
adopt similar facilitation skills and apply them in my personal life (having tough conversations
with friends and family) and apply them as a student leader on campus. I believe I have a
unique perspective on Dr. Walter’s facilitation skills, as I have had the privilege of co-facilitating
many conversations with them. Dr. Walter advised a student organization I was a part of that
was dedicated to activismand social justice on campus. Since we were trying to address major
social issues within this organization, it seemed as if every conversation was a tough
conversation. While every bit of the outreach, organizing and campaign development the
organization did was driven by the ideas and goals of the students involved, I am confident that
Dr. Walter's support and facilitation skills were vital to the growth and sustainability of the
organization. Here, when I say growth of our organization, I do not mean growth in members,
events hosted, or goals achieved, but growth in the leaders that were developed within our
organization. It is one thing for a group of people to come together every week for a meeting
and leave; it is another thing for them to come together and, through the facilitation of silence,
space for reflection, and tough questions, become a family that sincerely trust each other and
themselves. Within the student organization, I saw that this development of trust allowed
students to take risks, achieve difficult goals, and be open to new ideas and perspectives. Dr.
Walter was invested in supporting the development of confident, empowered, and culturally-
competent students who have a strong foundation in social justice, intersectionality, and
community. While students may learn organizing and campaign development skills from the
work our organization does, I know that students left our meetings more confident in asking
questions, critically exploring power dynamics and systemic oppression, and seeking new ways
to improve their leadership due to Dr. Walter's facilitation and empowerment. As an alumna, I
see this work continuing even though Dr. Walter and I have both left George Mason. I credit the
continued success of the student organization and the continued growth of the students in it to
Dr. Walter's intentional effort to value each and every one of our members, highlight the
strengths of our members, and create a space that is conducive to learning and growth. It is my
hope that I am able to facilitate such a legacy someday, and I know I will look to the skills Dr.
Walter taught me in my attempt to do so.
--Samantha Parsons, Former President, GMU Student Power
Graduate of George Mason University, School of Conflict and Resolution
Dr. Rebecca Walter has mastered the delicate art of creating safer spaces for individuals
to feel comfortable being themselves. I had the satisfaction of witnessing this facilitation as a
student in one of Dr. Walter’s classes, and by witnessing Dr. Walter in various social settings.

5. In the classroom, Dr. Walter serves as an educated, trustworthy voice for students to
gravitate towards. This demeanor allows them to present as an unwavering ally to all identities,
and it is this inclusive nature that fosters a genuine and substantive classroom experience. In
my experience as a black male, it has been difficult to find a feeling of safety and comfortability
with individuals in white skin. Dr. Walter’s proficient knowledge in history, accompanied with
their conceptualization of whiteness in many contexts, made building trust and fostering a safer
space a natural occurrence. Also, by demonstrating an extensive knowledge of self, Dr. Walter
is able to challenge and provoke this behavior in others. Their ability to lead students and
others through the process of self-reflection and processing is a rare talent, and key in the
development of self-aware individuals.
Transitioning back into my other classes has been a struggle, as I long for the
competency and inclusivity that Dr. Walter brought to the classroom each day. I am more than
confident that their vast array of capabilities will make them an integral component in any
professional setting.
Stephen Pitts
Global Affairs & Psychology
ODIME Student Diversity Coordinator
January 28th, 2017
To Whom It May Concern,
It is my great pleasure to write this letter of recommendation on behalf of Professor
Rebecca Walter. I spent the Spring semester as their student in a diversity course at George
Mason University during the 2016-2017 school year.
In the time I spent as a student in Rebecca's classroom, I became immediately
impressed with their ability to make connections with students. Rebecca's adeptness in
establishing meaningful, inspiring relationships with everyone they came into contact with
helped to contribute to their overall rapport with students and coworkers alike. That being said,
perhaps most impactful was Rebecca's commitment to making every student feel heard and
supported. There was never a time where I felt my voice was anything less than powerful in
Rebecca's presence. It was ensured that voicing my thoughts and opinions was both safe and
welcomed. This I consider to be Rebecca’s greatest tool and one of their most important assets.
I have witnessed this tool’s unprecedented impact on students and how it has immensely
contributed to all the amazing things that sets Rebecca apart as an educator and as a human
being.
Rebecca has a beautiful way of presenting their wide range of knowledge and education
to students. They use their knowledge in order to better serve the needs of the classroom and
create a learning environment conducive to learning and the absorption of new knowledge and
information. Rebecca could take difficult concepts and make them understandable for her

6. students. Rebecca was always prepared, on time, and could be found with the most welcoming
smile on their face.
Rebecca went out of their way to elicit feedback from their students, inviting them to
share their experiences at the end of the semester. It’s this commitment to growth and their
students’ well-being that makes Rebecca an outstanding educator who empowers their pupils.
Rebecca has my highest recommendation for the position of a university professor, and I so
look forward to learning more about the accomplishments that lie in their professional future.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me for any further information regarding Rebecca’s teaching
skill. I have no doubt that they will be an outstanding asset to your team. Thank you for your
time.
Josie Johnson
Student at George Mason University
Jjohn102@gmu.edu
602-448-6798