As a development strategist, evaluator, capacity builder, and mediator, focusing on the needs of diverse groups in divided societies, conflict regions, and disaster zones, I assist international agencies (UN, EU, WB, NGOs), donors (banks, multilateral funds, foundations, private sector), governments, and civil society in defining needs, assessing resources and capacity, and devising the structures and strategies that lead to improved results. I have lived and worked in more than two dozen ethnic conflict regions, and established a network and resource center for those interested in improving development interventions and indigenous activism.

As an Executive Coach, I help heads of donor and development agencies to resolve the impediments to effective programmes, including policies, processes, systems, staffing, and contextual factors–and their dynamics. My coaching methods follow those of mediation, in which I have more than 20 years of experience as a court-certified and private mediator. They include communication skills, identifying issues, examining resources, generating options, agreeing a solution, monitoring results, and revision. My experience as a development specialist and evaluator, working in all sectors and with many agencies and donors, assures I understand the constraints and divisions between agencies, headquarters and the field, in context-specific settings.

As a Conflict and Life Coach, I work with individuals facing challenges or conflicts in their professional or personal life, who seek guidance in building the skills for self and situational mastery. In addition, I engage with those living in a conflict region and seeking to find solutions to local problems. This includes residents as well as staff of international agencies facing the transitional hazards of working in fragile settings far from a familiar support system. The isolation, alienation, and difficulties encountered often require alternative approaches to maintain a balanced life.

The butterfly in the cocoon symbolizes unfulfilled capacity, ultimately representing emergence, mastery, fulfillment.