Linda Alton
Tribute to Linda Alton
The Institute of Cultural Affairs gives thanks for Linda’s’s life and her contribution to the Institute for over 55 years. In the face of great loss, no words convey the sadness we feel at this time. Yet we dare to say Death is sacred, and it is good. We don’t choose the manner of the moment and can only respond by acknowledging its finality and trusting what was, is and will be. We go on.
Linda provided leadership in the early 70s to the Institute’s Religious House and Local Church Experiment in San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia. Linda enabled the 1976 Philadelphia Town Meeting campaign. Following her ICA USA work, Linda spent 20 years overseas; first, 4 years in a small Philippine village, Sudtonggan ( part of the Global Band of 24) and then 6 years developing the New Village Movement across Kenya. Linda was part of the Brussels ICA International staff for 4 years and finalized the International Exposition of Rural Development book series. Linda came back to the USA in 1990 and helped launch the Technology of Participation (ToP) training series.
There has been no death like the death of Linda Alton and no life such as the unique and unrepeatable life of Linda Alton. What she did and what she was will never be repeated again.The Institute celebrates Linda’s life and her unique contribution to caring for this planet and being part of the People of Care.
In Loving Memory
Linda Alton’s life was one of courage, conviction, and compassionate service. From her early days at the University of California, Berkeley—where she earned both her B.A. and M.A. between 1963 and 1970—Linda was a powerful force for change. As editor of the Berkeley Yearbook and an active voice in the Free Speech Movement and the anti-Vietnam War resistance, she stood firmly for justice and truth, even when it wasn’t easy.
While still a student, Linda journeyed to Harlem to work in storefront schools, helping high school students who had dropped out find their way back to education and hope. It was there she encountered the Ecumenical Institute, whose mission of global community service would soon become her own. In 1970, she joined the Institute’s staff in San Francisco, beginning a lifelong commitment to international development and human dignity.
In 1976, with her young daughter Christina by her side, Linda moved to the Philippines to co-direct a USAID-funded community development project with the newly formed Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA). There, she led efforts to support women’s small businesses, empowering families and transforming communities from the ground up.
Her journey continued to Kenya, where Linda and her growing family—including her second daughter, Kay, born in Nairobi—devoted themselves to uplifting lives in both urban slums and rural villages. Together with a local staff of 150, she helped shape development initiatives that reached thousands of communities across the country.
Later, in Brussels, Belgium, Linda served as Program Director at ICA’s global headquarters, bringing her deep wisdom, compassion, and leadership to an international stage.
She moved to Minnesota with her partner Lynne Larsen to create a home for themselves in Minneapolis. She was a lead technical trainer/convenor with Minnesota Technology of Participation up until she retired.
Linda’s legacy is not just found in the places she lived or the programs she led—but in the countless lives she touched, the justice she stood for, and the love she gave so freely. Her spirit lives on in the communities she served and in the hearts of all who knew and loved her. (Daughters: Christina & Katherine Alton, Grandson: Wyatt Wren, Wife: Lynne Larsen)
~~ Richard Alton
Fred and I lived “next door” to Linda and Dick in the San Francisco house. Can it be 50 years ago? She was helpful and compassionate.
~~ Jann McGuire
Oh, my – news I was not expecting and would not have wanted, but with which I rejoice in celebrating Linda’s life.
She was always such an inspiration to me when I was working in Croatia and Bosnia. I remember very fondly when she came to help us with a 50-person facilitation training (and our skinny dipping at midnight in the hotel pool!). She was always ready to try anything and she always had such wise counsel for us. Likewise, when I (frequently) drove to Belgium and participated in your training sessions there and other meetings, I always looked to Linda for sage analysis of whatever situation presented. I hadn’t seen her in years, but I’ll miss her!
~~ Susan Fertig-Dykes
Dick,
I remember you and Linda were second priors at the Denver Religious House in 1971-72, when Tim and Kay Lush were the first priors; and you found the tunnel the Order kids had dug out from our basement dorm, our own Steve McQueen Great Escape.
Linda was a kind and loving soul, and more more patient and forgiving than we rambunctious teenagers deserved for all our shenanigans. The Denver RH was my best growth year during my 6-year Youth Deployment period, in large part because of the strong and steady leadership of the priors. What a beautiful tribute you gave her. ❤️
~~ David Marshall
Linda was always an ally, we worked together for five great years in Kenya and then off and on while she was in Brussels.
Our last real connection was 10 years ago co-assessing a Ukrainian facilitator. She in Minnesota and Larry first in Taipei and then in Kyiv. Her energy and joy at the opportunity to connect with them and me was joyful
Linda was always present with positive energy even when she was describing a challenge. A quick recognition of reality or a question that allowed it to be explored.
Evelyn and I will miss her and stay in deep appreciation for her spirit and care. With love and respect
~~ Larry and Evelyn Philbrook
I remember Linda fondly in Chicago and in Kenya. She seemed to handle chaos with Grace.
~~ Bill Parker
With Deep Gratitude and Profound Respect
Linda Alton along with colleagues in Minneapolis inspired us and many others to develop creative ways to train and apply the ToP Methods. She consistently guided people who applied the ToP core understandings and methods in various sectors of society including the government officials. Linda and her colleagues built robust mentoring programs where participants developed exemplary facilitation skills embracing generative engagement.
As a ‘wise woman’ of integrity and creativity in facilitation, she encouraged us to take the ToP Methods to the United Nations. When the door opened at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) in Rome, we successfully trained many UN officers and innovators in the methods of productive and meaningful participation. This ripple of impact reflects the global scope of Linda’s amazing life’s work.
Linda, we are grateful for your creative persistence and abiding presence in our midst. Everything about you is a testimony to the power of our past, and a reminder of what is possible on the road ahead. Journey on, dear friend, journey on…and thank you!
~~ Eunice and Sherwood Shankland
Remembering Linda’s Gifts to Our Community
Though Parkinson’s disease may have dimmed Linda’s light in recent years, the brilliance of who she was—and the love she poured into building our ToP community—will shine on forever in each of us she touched.
When Linda left the full-time ICA staff and made Minneapolis her home, she didn’t just relocate—she planted seeds that would grow into something beautiful. She became the heart of our training and facilitation family, and I was blessed to be her partner in this work. Together, we poured ourselves into creating something meaningful: more than 15 Mastering the Technology of Participation trainings, countless facilitation events, and a network that became so much more than the sum of its parts.
Linda had this extraordinary gift—she could see potential in everyone she met. I used to joke that she could recruit anyone to our cause. Put her in an elevator with a stranger on the eighth floor, and by the ground floor, they’d be signed up for a course! But it wasn’t just her persuasive charm—it was her genuine belief in people and her infectious passion for what we were building together.
She was our anchor when storms hit. When the ICA community faced its darkest hour and the training staff was dismissed, Linda didn’t retreat—she opened her arms wider. She organized meetings to help us find our way forward. When new trainers and facilitators needed a chance, Linda became their champion, sharing not just her connections and expertise, but her generous heart.
How many times did Linda welcome not just me but so many of us into her home for trainings and meetings? Her table was always set with good food, great humor, and even better conversation. Those evenings weren’t just about work—they were about friendship, about sharing our dreams and dilemmas with someone who truly understood. Linda had this way of making you feel seen, supported, and never alone in the work.
Linda was more than a colleague or ToP Network co-founder (among many) —she was a mentor to many of the those who Mentor today. She was a cheerleader and a friend who believed in the power of bringing people together. And she contained so many multitudes the Network had to invent a new title – the ToP Network ‘Animator’ when it hired her to bring life to it’s early years. Her legacy lives on in every facilitator she guided, every trainer she encouraged, and every life touched by the community she helped nurture.
We will carry her spirit forward—that generous, innovative, unstoppable force for good that was uniquely Linda. She is deeply missed and will be forever cherished. Grace and Peace,
~~ Marilyn Oyler
Memorably, on my first RS1 weekend, October 20-22, 1967, I first met Linda (with Richard) in the Finger Lakes area near Rochester, N.Y.
They were Participant Observers, on the way to being pedagogues.
Her integrity shone.
Ever grateful for her multitudinous contributions to building the earth.
~~ Ken Fisher
humor, also humor. So honored to have known you.
~~ Jim Wiegel
Dear OE/ICA Colleagues on the Long March of Love,
I remember when Linda was married to Dick Alton, and they were an amazing couple in our Order. I miss seeing in her “Loving Memory” any reference to that Sacred Covenant and partnership, and wonder why?
Let’s not us, the OE, also like other outfits in our culture, unabashedly rewrite our own history. Some of us Old Folks will still cherish and never forget the real stories.