Professional Background

I am a social educator, mediator and disciple of restorative practices. I worked for five years in an alternative high school and for a further four years in a child-welfare center as a school social worker, managing and delivering activities on a wide range of topics including team-building, anti-bullying, promoting cooperation, assertive communication and problem-solving, as well as working on conflict resolution and various community projects. I also provided training to teachers and consultancy for parents and teachers. I was voted leader of the employees’ committee, in a mediator-advocacy capacity.
Besides, I was involved in various projects in prisons and community centers.

Biography Letter

I’ve arrived at mediation through my professional development. I specialized in the field of experiential education, focusing on group dynamics and developing social skills through interactions, by creating an environment around my clients in which I facilitate the process and let the participants make their choices. This essentially has the same approach as mediation. The underlying value of self-determination is of fundamental importance to me. My mission is to empower individuals, partnerships, organizations and communities to be able to make their own decisions with respect to each stakeholder.
I am open to all kinds of mediation with community, workplace, school, family and intercultural cases as my specialty.

Professional Background

I come from a background of conflict studies and disaster management. In recent years, I have been working on food security in settings of intractable conflict and protracted crises. I hold a master’s degree in conflict management from the University of Haifa and I run a consultancy firm offering services for development and humanitarian actors. Further, I am currently researching at a Dutch University on the impact of humanitarian aid on conflict. Working in the humanitarian sector in an international environment and across borders and having lived in different countries within and outside of Europe, has shaped my understanding for intercultural conflict communication. These experiences have motivated me to absolve a master’s degree in conflict studies and to become a certified Mediator.

Biography Letter

I believe that in every-day conflicts and even in cases of intractable conflict and conflicts that have reached an impasse or mutually hurting stalemate, mediation and dialogue are the way forward to addressing conflicts on all scales. Only if all sides involved are granted the chances of being heard, of sharing their views and their respective narratives, finding an agreement becomes feasible.

Having lived and worked in areas that experience frequent conflict has further shaped my understanding of conflicts and I see mediation as the key component of any attempt for ‘partners in conflict’ to reach an agreement.

Being a European at heart and given my professional and personal background, I can best apply my knowledge and skills in cases of international, cross-border mediation.