My Story

My career as an international development and peacebuilding professional for over twenty years has provided me with a unique vantage on the increasing complexity of our world. Since the mid-eighties, I’ve lived and worked in several cultures outside the US, experiencing first-hand many of the intractable tensions and challenges that can lead to war and violence. Serving in a variety of roles, I have worked to address complex conflict issues in a long list of countries that includes Nigeria, Yemen, South Sudan and Burundi. 

Like many “experts” charged to somehow “fix” overwhelming challenges, I was quickly confronted with the ways that many of the tools and ways of thinking in common use simply don’t work in certain contexts. To understand, I turned to theories of complexity, and began to closely follow the ways that global development actors were drawing on complexity thinking and approaches. In doing so, I discovered elegant, practical ways to understand and engage with highly uncertain and dynamic situations.

But that’s not all. I discovered that navigating complex problems requires competencies that go beyond skills and technical expertise to whole other ways of being and knowing that underpin everything else that we do. My continued exploration into complexity took me further into leadership development, and to a whole body of cutting-edge theory, research and practice proven to help leaders in becoming the best possible version of themselves as they work to address overwhelming challenges.

Today my work includes helping global professionals develop what it takes

to thrive in complex situations.