Your team retreat shouldn’t end with “that was nice.”

I’m Sara Weinreb, a design thinking facilitator who runs half-day, full-day, and two-day staff retreats. I get your team out of the usual loop and into real decisions, with a clear action plan before everyone goes home.

(And yes, I help manage all the team dynamics along the way)

Let's chat

Everyone’s in one room. Let’s make sure you’re making the most of it.

There’s so much potential when you bring your people together. But I’ve seen it time and time again—teams fall back into the same patterns and mindsets. They get caught in the loop of “that never works,” and team dynamics derail the agenda and goals.

That’s where I come in.

Through half-day, full-day, or two-day sessions, we will focus on team building and problem-solving. Using the Design Thinking process, I ensure you leave with fresh, innovative ideas and an action plan to make them happen.

Case studies: see the process in action

What happens in our time together

Half day, full day, or two-day facilitated sessions

We will work together to tailor the agenda to your team’s needs and desired outcome. More often than not, though, we go through the whole Design Thinking methodology, including:

  • An overview of the methodology

  • Framing our design challenge of the day

  • Empathy interviews + mapping

  • Synthesis and opportunity spaces

  • Brainstorming

  • Rapid prototyping

  • Action plan + next steps

THE AGENDA

The time we spend together is fast-paced, highly interactive, and focused on generative thinking. Highlights of the experience often include:

  • Cross-team and job-level collaboration, often with team members who rarely work together

  • A process that helps participants get out of usual thinking and loops

  • Hands-on activities, working in groups

  • A lot of progress on challenges and opportunities in a short period of time

  • Tools and processes your team will learn together and utilize after our time together

THE EXPERIENCE

Let's chat about your team's needs

How it works

  • We’ll jump on a call to discuss your goals, challenges, and what you’re hoping to get out of our time together. No commitment, just a conversation to see if we are a mutual fit.

  • Once we’ve made things official (aka signed our contract), we’ll jump on a call to deep dive into your ideas, visions, and goals for the session. I’ll ask you a bunch of questions to holistically understand your team, who will be in the room, and anything else I need to know to tailor the session to be as impactful as possible.

  • I will tailor the session to your specific needs using insights from your strategy call. This takes into consideration your goals, group size, format requirements, and team dynamics. As a facilitator with 15+ years of experience, I’ve seen it all, so I use that experience to ensure the session is successful and impactful.

  • The main event! I’ll guide your team through a structured but collaborative, interactive process. Half-day or full-day, in-person or virtual, or a combination!

  • After our session is done, I will deliver a document capturing key insights, decisions, and next-steps so the momentum persists well past our time together.

Each facilitation experience is tailored to your needs. Here’s a glimpse into the process.

LET'S SET UP A CALL

My facilitation is grounded in Design Thinking—a creative problem-solving methodology that puts empathy and human needs at the center of every decision. It's structured enough to keep things productive and open enough to surface the insights that matter.

The process moves through Inspiration (deeply understanding the problem), Ideation (generating creative solutions), and Implementation (prototyping and testing ideas). I've been practicing and teaching this methodology for 15 years, and what I love most is watching teams discover a new way of working together that they carry forward long after our session.

About the
Design Thinking
methodology

Deep dive into the methodology

FAQs

  • Design Thinking is the perfect modality for most staff retreats as the organized, interactive process helps generate real solutions to pressing challenges. It helps to move past typical team thinking and dynamics and quickly generate fresh ideas and an action plan to go along with those ideas. It’s also a process that your team can use for generating new ideas and solving future challenges long after our time together.

  • We calculate fees based on scope, complexity, and projected resources, then present a transparent proposal.

  • Engagements range from two weeks for focused audits to several months for comprehensive transformation.

  • Yes, we remain actively involved until solutions are fully operational and staff are confident.

  • Our adaptable methodology serves manufacturing, retail, professional services, and public sector entities.

  • Christina Stanton, First Peoples Worldwide

    “Sara's design thinking workshop was a wonderful way to learn something new together and foster team building in a virtual space. We reflected on the new, shared language around strategies we already employ and were able to direct conversation around intentional ways to build in what we learned to our daily work. Sara was thoughtful from the initial consultation about what would best serve our team and her commitment to equity was a necessary through line our work with her.”

  • Ariel Beery, serial entrepreneur

    “Sara is an incredible facilitator, and I was consistently impressed by her ability to hold a room and guide groups through complex conversations with clarity and energy. She brings a deep understanding of design thinking and group dynamics, and what stands out most is her ability to adapt in real time to the needs of the group: meeting people where they are while still moving the process forward.”

 A handful of Previous Clients