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I work with individuals, families, groups and organisations. Whether there is a difficulty, trauma, crisis, conflict or simply time for a change, myself and my team can support you one to one, with the other people involved or through training and development. If you need a qualified Family, Civil or Workplace Mediator, I am a leader in the field. Feel free to contact me with any questions.
In 2005 I had the privilege of spending 15 days in a Special Session focussed on Social Change hosted by Marshall Rosenberg and his wife Valentina in Switzerland. There were 55 people from 22 countries living the process of NVC and learning from each other.
This experience inspired me to take immediate action for social change working with people in my community who have fewer options. Since then, the work has spread and my evolution of the NVC model, the Dialogue Road Map is being used in schools, prisons, social services, ngo's, families and workplaces internationally.
I work with individuals, couples, families, organisations and groups and my husband, David, has also become a master practitioner in his own right.
Together, we strive to model the values in our marriage in order to be authentic and the work we have done in our relationship means I am confident that I am congruent in my private life with what I practice in the world.
If you choose to work with me, you can expect the work to be challenging because change requires application. You can also expect that I will be a compassionate facilitator of your process of change.
Thank you for reading this far. Feel free to get in touch, give feedback or ask questions.
Below is my Biography as Founder of the Centre for Peaceful Solutions:
At a time when the mediation industry’s general opinion was that mediation was not possible when there had been physical violence, Maria set out to disprove that theory. With that in mind, in 2006, and as a direct response to the increase in drive-by shootings on her road, Maria set up The Centre for Peaceful Solutions; a charity dedicated to helping people resolve conflict without the use of violence, and convinced her (now) husband, David, to run the charity alongside her so they could ‘be the change they hope to see in the world’.
Maria created the Dialogue Road Map - a communications tool designed to break down barriers and get engagement when people are resistant, hostile, angry, violent or resentful – and then developed a model of mediation for Violent Crime. Maria came to understand how conflict is at the heart of destructive behaviour and that a change in attitude could be the source of positive change.
Maria has chosen to devote her life to sharing this learning with people who have fewer options in life. She works in prisons, schools and communities. Currently she is project managing a conflict resolution project in New York with ex-offenders.
Coming from the slums and born to immigrant parents, her background has been key in her ability to connect with ‘hard to reach’ people. Maria’s expertise is in building rapport quickly and teaching others even when they have limited capacity to learn.
Both her books, ‘The Heart of Mindful Relationships’ and ‘Mindfulness at Work’ have gone into reprint. She is also a family, civil and workplace mediator, described by the Civil Mediation Council as the best of the best.