Inspiring awareness and change

We spend 90,000 hours at work over our lifetime. My goal is to make that time as enjoyable, fulfilling, and successful as possible.

I have been working as an organizational development and conflict resolution practitioner for 20+ years.

Planting the seed

Growing up in a small town in Wyoming, I distinctly remember seeing Peace Corps commercials on TV.

The images of people from different cultures stuck with me. Joining the Peace Corps could be my ticket out of a small town.

I largely built my college career to ensure I’d get in.

I got in.

After college, I did join the Peace Corps. I went to Armenia and spent two years living with a family and teaching English in a village school.

Armenia was steeped in historical and current conflict. Elementary-age kids would tell me they couldn’t wait to be old enough to join the military, be issued a machine gun, and be able to kill their enemies in neighboring countries. As I truly embraced the “peace” in Peace Corps and never had heard anything like that before, I found myself in disbelief and struggling for answers. My answer came to me while on a bus in Bulgaria. My friend and I were on our way to Romania when we heard from the back of the bus English being spoken for the first time in weeks. We learned these two Americans were traveling throughout the region teaching conflict resolution skills to children as a way to contribute to peacemaking as the Balkan wars were coming to an end. Once I heard that one of the men was getting a degree in conflict resolution, I immediately knew what I was going to do after finishing the Peace Corps.

Monastery of Odzun, Armenia / Photo by Ani Adigyozalyan on Unsplash

Entering the workforce

With a Masters degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution, I entered the workforce and saw a lot of extremely unhappy people.

Instead of finding myself back in the former Soviet Union, I ended up following my love of the Rocky Mountains to Colorado where I worked for a conflict resolution-focused non-profit providing services to schools, at-risk youth, and organizations. A lot of the work I did there was with people in conflict at their workplaces. Here I was entering the workforce for the first time, and all I saw were people toiling away the majority of their waking hours at work and being extremely unhappy due to their interactions and relationships at work – and most likely taking that unhappiness home to their families. This led me to take a deeper dive into organizations and conflict resolution.

Finding my passion

I want to help people have “a-ha” moments about themselves and how they can better interact with others at work.

While pursuing a PhD in Organizational Performance and Change, I launched a conflict resolution and restorative justice program at a university. Following that, I managed a municipal mediation program. Eventually I found my passion while working in organizational development and leadership development in the healthcare industry.

Interactions among people and a variety of organizational aspects directly impact engagement, performance, and ultimately an organization’s ability to achieve their purpose.

My focus is to enable and support people to be fulfilled, effective, and engaged to achieve a purpose that they and their organization believe in.

Credentials

  • PhD, Organizational Performance and Change, Colorado State University

  • MS, Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University

  • BA, English—Professional Writing, University of Puget Sound

Certifications

  • Mediator | Mares-Dixon and Associates

  • Birkman Signature Facilitator | Birkman International

  • Co-Creative Coach | Coach Training Alliance

  • Social + Emotional Intelligence Coach | Institute for Social + Emotional Intelligence

  • Korn Ferry Leadership Architect and 360 Facilitator | Korn Ferry

  • Lean Green Belt | UCHealth Process Improvement

  • Bridges Out of Poverty Trainer | Aha! Process, Inc.

“The best vision is insight.”

– Malcom Forbes