I became curious about the power of work to offer some stability and resources for communities experiencing armed conflict, so I moved to the Thailand-Burma border to work with refugee and migrant communities creating small businesses. While some of these groups were fighting politically, they found common ground in the need for resources to support their families and we were able to develop a successful collective that is still going strong.

Returning to the US, I experienced multiple organizations with important missions where staff and leaders did not have the skills to address conflict. As workplace tensions grew, people blamed each other and labor-management trust was eroded. Silos were created, the organizational culture suffered and staff felt burned out and unappreciated.

Conflict interferes with the openness and collaboration that is necessary for organizations and companies to be successful, which is why workplace conflict continues to hold my attention and curiosity. From this grounding, my conflict transformation practice has grown into diverse forms of interpersonal conflict in all areas of life.