Welcome to Ibis Collaborative

Opening New Worlds through Discussion Forums in Your Community

In an era characterized by significant divisions on both domestic and global fronts, Ibis Collaborative fosters community, connection, and mutual understanding through discussion groups with “golden agers.”

By delving into current events, analyzing news, and exploring history, Ibis enhances understanding, bridges divides, and stimulates learning and intellectual growth.

All current in-person groups are in the Chicago area (independent living centers and public libraries),
while Zoom groups include participants from across the country.

Current Events

Current Leaders

Weekly In-Person & Zoom Sessions

Ibis

Discussion Group Topics and Resources

We host groups focused on current events, on major historical leaders and events, and on major issues of the day.

Examples of Topics Discussed
  • Many major Supreme Court cases.
  • What is gerrymandering and how does it work?
  • What are the core elements of Supreme Court reform being considered now?
  • What is the Senate filibuster?
  • What are unlikely (unexpected) political alliances and why are these rarer now?
  • How does the US electoral college work?
  • What is NATO, what has driven its expansion, and how is it decided who can join?
  • Understanding key dynamics in US elections.
  • What is the debt ceiling and why does it matter?
  • How are federal level appropriations supposed to work and why is the system broken?
Examples of Resources Utilized
  • “LBJ and the Great Society” podcast series
  • “If You Want Something Done” by Nikki Haley
  • Podcast series’ by Pulitzer Prize winning historian, Jon Meacham, “Hope Through History” and “It Was Said”
  • “History This Week” podcast
  • “Throughline” podcast about Frederick Douglas
  • “The American Experiment” by David Rubenstein
  • ‘Ultra,” “Deja News,” and ‘”Bag Man” podcasts by Rachel Maddow.
  • PBS Newshour – “Brooks & Capehart” and “Politics Monday”
  • “Last Archive” podcast on the Scopes Trial
  • San Francisco City Arts and Lecture Interview with Doris Kearns Goodwin on her book “Leadership in Turbulent Times”
  • “BBC Sounds – Great Lives: Golda Meir”
  • “Oath and Honor” by Liz Cheney
Join Now!
Sally Sachar

Meet Sally, Ibis Founder

For nearly 5 decades, Sally has dedicated her life to improving our society from leading a program for low-income East St. Louis youth to her current commitment to public service and civic engagement.

Sally’s career is robust with accomplishments and contributions. She was a presidential appointee where she served in four major leadership roles at the U.S. Labor Department including as Deputy Chief of Staff, Associate Assistant Secretary for Policy and others.

Read more about Sally

Each community works with our team to set its own format, cadence and focus.

Examples of current programs — reflecting the format, length, frequency and focus that each community seeks.

Weekly Zoom Sessions

Weekly Zoom Sessions<br />
Weekly Thursday morning Zoom sessions with a group of North Shore women, most of whom are members of a large Reform synagogue. Each week, participants engage with a resource shared in advance—ranging from podcasts to books to news articles —which serve as the starting point for discussion. We then spend 30 minutes on current events. Sally facilitates an hour-long, highly interactive conversation with no formal presentation; participants are encouraged to jump in at any point with questions, reflections, or insights.

Ongoing In Person Sessions

Weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly in-person sessions held in independent living communities, public libraries, and a large church in downtown Chicago. Sally leads discussions on the most significant current events of the week, along with occasional special sessions that take a deeper dive into a single topic. She provides a PowerPoint presentation to offer context, key background points, and visuals, drawing on a wide range of news sources. At times, groups choose to focus on a specific issue; in those cases, Sally shares optional advance readings and recommends additional resources to help participants stay informed about current events.

Diverse Resources Shared Per Year

Active Groups

Group Meetings Anually

Ibis Session Format

At its core, Ibis Collaborative is about fostering engagement and community through learning and exploration.

Ibis Programming takes place in your community – where you live, work, meet friends, worship, or even where you went to school (we have a group of graduate school alums). Programming can be in person, virtual, or hybrid – your choice! Together we form a group that meets as often as you wish, with the topical focus and theme of your choosing.

We create a meeting format that works best for you, customizing it together. We then tweak the approach as we go along. We work with you to answer the questions below (and others too).

Do you want to meet weekly, bi-monthly, monthly? 

Do you want the sessions to be in person, video conference (such as Zoom) or hybrid?
Do you have thoughts on topics you want to cover? For example, do you want to focus on current affairs, or the historical background of an issue, or its role today? Or a combination of both? The descriptions of some of our current programs below gives you an idea of the type of programming we offer now (though again, we are flexible and want to work with you on the best content approach for your group).
What approach do you think would work best — freewheeling discussion, a presentation with discussion or a hybrid format?

We help our participants master the use of podcasts, audiobooks, and online articles to supplement and guide our discussions.

Currently all sessions are facilitated by Ibis Collaborative Founder Sally Sachar.

We seek to enlist and train other facilitators, so if you are interested, please reach out to Sally at sally.ibiscollaborative@gmail.com.

At its core, Ibis Collaborative is about fostering engagement and community through learning and exploration.

This is central to the Ibis bird as well.

Inquire About Ibis Programs
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