They practised unfinished work
Early programs changed. Language changed. Exercises changed. Some Plank Owners came back more than once and experienced those changes directly.
Conflict First Aid™ Plank Owners
They were here before the bearings were settled.
Plank Owners are part of the early development history of Conflict First Aid™: people who stepped aboard while the work was still being tested, named, practised and changed.
They learned without the benefit of a finished system. They repeated programs, challenged assumptions, tried emerging tools, asked hard questions, gave feedback and helped Joan see what held up in practice.
They were there early. That still matters.
What is a Plank Owner?
The expression comes from naval tradition. A plank owner is a member of the crew who was aboard when a ship was first commissioned.
Conflict First Aid™ borrowed the idea because it fit what these early learners were actually doing. They came aboard before the work had all of its present language, guardrails, learning architecture or ecosystem around it.
They did not arrive after Conflict First Aid™ was finished. They helped us learn what it needed to become.
The term has also been used during later periods of recommissioning and redevelopment as the ecosystem continued to evolve. Its value is historical and relational: it marks meaningful participation in the building of the work.
What Plank Owners contributed
They gave us terrain intelligence
Feedback, critique, questions, observations and word-of-mouth helped show what made sense, what confused people and what needed more work.
They helped test the learning
Practice and action research helped distinguish what could be taught, remembered, used and improved from what merely sounded good on paper.
A little history
The first pilots began during the research and development period leading into 2020. On January 25, 2020, early participants gathered for the launch of the first Conflict First Aid™ certificate cohort.
In 2021, Plank Owners were invited into the Conflict First Aid™ Community Training Portal. The portal later closed in 2024 as the work entered another period of rebuilding.
The old portal closed. The Plank Owner relationship did not.
The technology, program names and some of the early learning architecture belong to their time. The contribution of the people who helped build the work does not disappear with them.
That distinction matters now. Historical participation should be remembered accurately without freezing Conflict First Aid™ at an earlier stage of development.
What has changed since those early years?
The doctrine has matured
Current Conflict First Aid™ is built around The 5 SAFE Steps of Conflict First Aid™, the STANCE guardrails and a clearer first-aid boundary: voluntary, brief, bounded and non-judgmental.
The work is not limited to early conflict
Conflict First Aid™ can fit before, during or after escalation. The question is not whether a conflict is small or early. The question is whether brief first aid fits here, now.
Competency is treated more carefully
Early participation, a historical certificate and current competency are not the same thing. Competency develops through practice, reflection, feedback and respect for the guardrails.
The ecosystem is being strengthened
Conflict First Aid™ is currently in Foundations and Stewardship mode: strengthening doctrine, standards, learning, research, access and stewardship before growth outruns coherence.
What Plank Owner status means now
Being a Plank Owner is a recognition of participation in the development history of Conflict First Aid™. It is not, by itself, a claim of current certification, current competency or authorization to teach the work.
It does mean that your contribution belongs in the provenance of the ecosystem.
Joan remains the point of contact for the Plank Owner community while the next forms of practice, connection and participation are rebuilt.
“They were there earlier than anyone else. They’ll always be special.”
— Joan A. Feringa, Founder and Steward
— Joan A. Feringa, Founder and Steward
Plank Owner questions
How do I know if I am a Plank Owner?
If you participated in one of the early pilots, research-and-development learning groups, initial certificate programs or a later group explicitly identified as a Plank Owner or recommissioning crew, you may be one. If you are unsure, email Joan with your name and, if you remember it, the approximate year or program.
Does being a Plank Owner mean I am currently certified?
No. Plank Owner status recognizes participation in the development history. Historical certificates remain part of that history, but the title itself is not a current competency assessment or authorization.
What happened to the old Community Training Portal?
It was decommissioned in 2024. The ecosystem is now being rebuilt around current doctrine, learning and stewardship rather than simply restoring the old platform.
Will there be Plank Owner opportunities again?
The intention is to reconnect Plank Owners as the ecosystem becomes ready for the next forms of practice and participation. The timing and structure are being rebuilt carefully rather than promised before they are ready.
I was involved early but have lost touch. What should I do?
Email Joan. Old email addresses, platform access and program names may have changed; you do not need to reconstruct the whole history before reaching out.
Were you part of the early crew?
If you are a Plank Owner, think you may be one, or simply want to reconnect, Joan would like to hear from you.
Not a Plank Owner but want to be part of what comes next? Join the waitlist.