Training and Education for Individuals
FaciliTrainer Certification Program (FTCP)
The FaciliTrainer Certification Program (FTCP) prepares individuals from a wide variety of fields with the essential skills to facilitate dialogue around and train others on diversity, equity and inclusion content. The FTCP builds internal capacity for organizations to move from awareness of diversity to deep and lasting change that creates a truly inclusive and equitable community for employees and constituents.
We are committed to equity that encompasses ability status, age, appearance/size, gender, class, ethnicity, race, religion, and sexual orientation; participants will be expected to demonstrate their commitment to working towards equity in order to successfully complete FTCP and receive the Certified Diversity FaciliTrainer (CDFT) certification.
Program Scope
Each FTCP cohort accommodates up to 26 individuals and comprises over 100 hours of training, divided into three components: an Inclusion Institute (II), Training-of-Trainers (ToT) workshops, and the Peer Workshop Capstone. The FTCP process is intensive and designed for people who plan and lead diversity, equity and inclusion learning opportunities in their organization.
Inclusion Institute
A four-day intensive experience of our full-immersion diversity, equity and inclusion training program for adults. Our multi-identity approach to diversity, equity and inclusion provides an unparalleled learning experience for participants to create more inclusive organizations and demonstrates the dynamics of systemic discrimination and bias in our society.
Training of Trainers (ToT)
Six day-long workshops are spread out over several months that provide participants the theory, skills, and practice around diversity, equity and inclusion training. When completed, participants will have the skills, such as workshop development and building psychological safety, needed to develop and deliver powerful educational opportunities to their organizations.
Peer Workshop Capstone
FTCP culminates with a three-day capstone experience, where participants will have the opportunity to showcase what they have learned through co-leading a demonstration workshop of their own design, following FTCP guidelines. Participants receive in-depth feedback from their peers and FTCP trainers to help them continue their learning process.
“[The facilitators] fostered a space to dive deeply into understanding how social construct has impacted our society by creating levels of systemic power. Their guidance allowed us to engage in conversation, have the necessary skills to unpack our own experience, and carry forward those leadership tools to make an impact in rooting out all isms in our environment (professional or personal)”.
Jacqueline Carter
Certified Diversity FaciliTrainer (CDFT)
The Certified Diversity FaciliTrainer (CDFT) certification is earned through successful completion of the FaciliTrainer Certification Program (FTCP) put on by Gateway Equity Institute, and previously NCCJ St. Louis.
This certification testifies that individuals have participated in more than 100 hours of training, covering the following content areas:
Diversity, equity, and inclusion | Social power and social identity | Systemic oppression
The certification also testifies that individuals have sufficiently demonstrated the ability to:
Research, create, and deliver a workshop of their choosing related to diversity, equity, and inclusion
Respond verbally and in writing to common questions regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion
Analyze their own socialization and lived experiences, and how those impact their conscious and unconscious biases, stereotypes, and discriminatory behavior
Exhibit curiosity and understanding for individuals who have different lived experiences
Value the perspectives of those most impacted by inequity
Analyze inequity embedded in institutional policies, practices, and norms
History of the CDFT Certification
The CDFT certification was created by NCCJ St. Louis in 2011 to help organizations build their internal capacity to deliver trainings on diversity, equity, and inclusion. NCCJ St. Louis was originally part of a national organization founded in 1927 and became a standalone organization when the national office closed in 2005. In 2024 NCCJ St. Louis merged with Diversity Awareness Partnership (DAP) to become Gateway Equity Institute, which now delivers FTCP and offers the CDFT certification.
Connect with us
Please feel free to reach out to Christina Meneses, Education and Training Manager, at cmeneses@gatewayequityinstitute.org or 314-390-6603 with any questions or concerns!