CircleUpSquad
Care as a
Collective Practice
Better care takes more than good intentions.
We teach the skills. We support the people. We provide the tools.
CircleUpSquad helps organizations strengthen how care is communicated, coordinated, and delivered.
Through experiential workforce training, coaching and technical assistance, and practical care coordination technology, we help organizations and communities build stronger networks of support.
Our services can be offered independently or combined into customized organizational partnerships.
The framework underneath the work
Comfort in. Dump out.
Our training, coaching, and technology all share one foundation: Ring Theory. Picture concentric circles. The person living the hardest thing sits at the center. Their closest people form the next ring, then friends, colleagues, and community beyond that.
Support flows inward, toward the center. Worry, frustration, and grief flow outward, to someone further from it. Nobody vents toward the person with less capacity than them.
It sounds simple. In practice it changes how a care team talks, how a volunteer offers help, and how a patient gets support that actually lands — which is exactly what we teach, coach, and build toward.
Three Ways to Strengthen Care
The Art of Caring
Workforce Training & Professional Development
Care is something we practice.
The Art of Caring offers experiential learning designed to strengthen the communication, collaboration, and practical skills of people working in care-centered roles.
Designed for
- Community health workers (CHWs)
- Peer navigators
- Volunteer mentors
- Victim advocates
- Patient support professionals
- Community-based care teams
Training topics
- Coaching-informed communication and motivational interviewing
- Collaborative action planning, autonomy, and advocacy
- Professional boundaries, referrals, and support-network coordination
Available formats
- 90-minute experiential workshop
- 3-hour intensive
- Customized modular workforce training
Continuing education curricula are in development. CEU approval has not yet been established.
Care Team Lab
Coaching & Technical Assistance
Supporting the people who support others.
Strong care programs require thoughtful design, effective communication, and opportunities for teams to reflect, adapt, and grow.
Care Team Lab provides customized coaching and technical assistance for organizations developing or strengthening patient navigation, peer support, volunteer engagement, and community-based care programs.
Services include
- Program development, implementation, and workflow design
- Coaching for navigators, peer supporters, and team leaders
- Reflective practice, training reinforcement, and evaluation
- Communication and support-network engagement strategies
Our approach
- Professional coaching
- Practical learning design
- Collaborative problem-solving
- Tailored to organizational needs
CircleUpSquad
Care Coordination Technology
Make it easier for people to show up.
When someone experiences illness, friends, family, and community members often want to help. But organizing that support can become another responsibility for the person who needs care.
CircleUpSquad is a digital platform designed to make practical support easier to communicate and coordinate.
The platform helps people
- Communicate needs
- Organize offers of help
- Activate existing support networks
- Coordinate practical assistance
For organizations
- Organizational pilots
- Platform onboarding
- Multi-site partnerships
Inside the Room
What this looks like in practice
Real sessions with real care teams — moving, practising, and figuring it out together.
Who We Work With
Different communities.
Shared responsibility.
Our work is designed for organizations and professionals supporting people through illness, caregiving, and experiences that require coordinated community support.
- Healthcare organizations and cancer support programs
- Community health worker programs
- Patient advocacy and navigation organizations
- Nonprofits and community-based organizations
- Faith communities
- Peer support and volunteer programs
- Educational and professional development organizations
Whether an organization is interested in a single workshop or a longer-term partnership, we can explore an approach that fits its community.
Meet the Founder
Shannon Ivey, MFA, PCC
Founder & CEO, CircleUpSquad
Healthcare educator. Professional certified coach. Author. Patient advocate.
Shannon brings together professional experience in education, coaching, facilitation, and patient advocacy with lived experience navigating serious illness.
Her work explores how people communicate, collaborate, advocate for themselves, and build meaningful support systems.
CircleUpSquad grew from a belief that care should not depend on one person’s ability to organize everyone around them. Care is a collective practice. We can get better at it together.
Organizational Inquiry
Let’s Build Better Care Together
Interested in workforce training, coaching and technical assistance, or care coordination technology? Tell us a little about your organization and what you’re hoping to strengthen. We welcome conversations about how CircleUpSquad might support your work.
Direct Contact
Shannon Ivey, MFA, PCC
Founder & CEO, CircleUpSquad