Maria Arpa

Name: Maria Arpa MBE

Location: London, England

In 2006, Maria founded the Centre for Peaceful Solutions in response to an increase in drive by shootings on her road. By 2010 the charity had developed a model of conflict resolution for violent crime using her brainchild, the Dialogue Road Map (DRM) which was founded on the principles of NVC. The work has taken her into some of the most socially deprived areas of London and New York where she has mediated everything from hostile parents and teenagers, pupils excluded from school, separated parents at loggerheads to neighbours at war, street gang rivalries, threats to life and business deals gone wrong.

Maria works with whole communities including African American and Hispanic Rivalries, a Native American nonprofit organization, a Christian charity, a Sufi Farm as well as schools and prisons. Her work is transformative in bringing practical applications and organizing systems to heart based conflict management. She has over 25  years experience in nonprofit governance and 15 years experience as a business owner.

The DRM empowers participants to be heard in ways which are more likely to be valued. The DRM has applications in families, schools, healthcare, prisons, workplaces, neighbourhoods and organisations. It is used for resolving conflict, repairing harm, decision making and healing at an individual and group level. It challenges people to live in harmony with their values.

Maria believes that the best way forward is to share the skills and empower people to resolve conflict without reliance on experts. So she trains violent offenders to be mediators in prison, challenging teenagers to be peer mediators at school and troubled neighbours to be tenant listeners.

Maria has authored two books, The Heart of Mindful Relationships and Mindfulness at Work and is a sought after speaker. In 2020 she received an MBE for Services to Mediation.

www.centreforpeacefulsolutions.org