About Susan

After an orange cloud — formed as a result of a dust storm over the Sahara and caught up by air currents — reached the Philippines and settled there with rain, I understood that we are all sailing in the same boat.

Vladimir Kovalyonok (Astronaut)

Susan’s passion is to support people, organizations and entire societies to build a more collaborative and peaceful world. She provides her clients with the most up-to-date change strategies to "get to yes" and reach consensus on forward action. These include:  intercultural negotiation skills training, women’s negotiation skills development (virtual and live), organization culture change around gender and inclusion, large group facilitation using processes such as Open Space Technology, organizational mediation, women’s leadership coaching, and public speaking.  She has over 30 years of experience working from war zones to board rooms with people from all continents.

Susan is the Creator and Host of  The Peacebuilding Podcast: From Conflict to Common Ground which features bimonthly pre-recorded interviews with the most innovative practitioners around the world who are applying best practices to build common ground in complex systems

Earlier in her career, Susan established the United Nations' first programs on negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution and rolled these out worldwide and was central to creating a similar program at Columbia University in New York City.  As a global change consultant with years of varied experience, she strives to bring deep leadership, guidance and insight in support of her clients.

Susan’s representative client engagements include:

• NASA, ESA, JAXA and other space partners in Intercultural Negotiation Skills which supports building collaboration for the international space station

• Government of Afghanistan Leadership Development for Senior Women

• The World Bank

• Intercultural Mediation and Change Process for International News Organization

• Women’s Leadership and Change Initiative for Financial Services Firm

• UNICEF Liberia – Whole System Retreat and Leadership Coaching

• Government of Switzerland, GAAMAC International Facilitation for Genocide Prevention

• UN Peacekeeping South Sudan Organizational Facilitation

• Global Fashion Company Leadership Coaching and Cross-Team Mediation

• Global Internet Advertising Firm Leadership Development and Coaching

• Columbia Medical School Senior Team Mediation and Coaching.

Susan has authored and co-authored numerous publications:

• Building Common Ground: Negotiation, Mediation and Facilitation Methods (2014) Codex Alimentarius Commission

• Handbook of Conflict Resolution, 3rd Ed. (2014), Co-authored “Managing Conflict through Large Group Methods

• Handbook of Conflict Resolution, 3rd Ed., Co-authored “Teaching Conflict Resolution Skills in a Workshop”

• “Women and Negotiation: Tips from the Field (2012) S. Coleman and D. Weaver, Dispute Resolution Magazine, Spring

• The Sage Handbook of Conflict Communication (2006), International/Intercultural Conflict Resolution Training.

• AEIOU On-Line 360 Assessment of Negotiation and Conflict Communication Behaviors http://cglobal.com/products/aeiou/.

Susan holds an M.P.A. from Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government and a J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law. She has many advanced certifications including from the International Coach Federation, Gestalt International Coaching, Team and systemic coaching processes, Working with Groups Intensive from the Gestalt OSD Center in Cleveland, the International Coaching Certification Program and the Organization and Systems Development Program from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. In addition, Susan completed the MIT Program on Negotiation from Harvard University.

Susan is on faculty of the Center for Global Affairs, New York University where she teaches “Working with Groups”.

Susan cares deeply about wilderness and loves adventuring with family and friends to remote parts of Alaska, treks around Sagarmatha (aka Everest), and kayaking on the Hudson River.

Susan has worked in the following countries:

• Denmark

• France

• Gabon

• Germany

• Ghana

• Italy

• Lebanon

• Liberia

• Mexico

• Netherlands

• Panama