My experience in the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution program was a true inflection point. The people I learned from, both faculty and fellow students, were inspiring. I also see it as the key which unlocked my ability to shape my professional destiny and I have enjoyed weaving the training into my development career. In 2010, I relocated to the United Kingdom to help London Business School launch their first comprehensive funding campaign. I have since traveled everywhere from Athens’ Syntagma Square to Norway’s fjords. The self-awareness and skills I learned in the program allow me to align my institution’s case for funding with many worldviews.
The UK government is supportive of mediation in the workplace and one of the top advisors/practitioners is a fellow Columbia University graduate, Alex Efthymiades, founder of Consensio and former student of Peter Coleman. Along with volunteering for Consensio, I am a member of the Professional Mediators’ Association (PMA), I serve as a confidential advisor at LBS (a neutral assistant in disciplinary and grievance scenarios related to bullying and harassment), and I have participated in the UK’s National Forum for Mediation in Higher Education. I have also created a personal site for my volunteer mediation called Waters Bridge (www.watersbridge.com) and imagine a future life in consultancy, conflict coaching for private foundations and trusts, along with pro bono community mediation.
