First Speaker: OWL Member Deidre Combs is an author, consultant, teacher, an adjunct faculty member at Columbia University and an assistant professor at Montana State University. Over the past 20 years she has been facilitating dialogue and providing cross-cultural conflict resolution training after writing three books on that topic. She provides leadership training and coaching for State Department sponsored international activists, teachers, and government and university student leaders.

Deidre’s opening comments:

• Her work as a consultant on global leadership projects with the U.S. State Department. These involve bringing young leaders from around the world, from places that are often in conflict with each other, to the U.S., where they learn to bridge differences, and develop understanding, empathy, trust and cooperation across cultural, religious, and political divides.
• Her story. How she got from her technology consulting work with IBM, to the University of Creation Spirituality where she studied and taught with Matthew Fox, to her current roles with the U.S. State Department, Columbia University, and Montana State University.
• Her passion and mission in life: Conflict Resolution as a Spiritual Practice.
• Her question for the circle.

Also attending: Wendy Berk, Barbara Nussbaum, Kay Sandberg, Valerie Stinger, Len Traubman, Libby Traubman, Barbara Zilber, Aryae Coopersmith

Follow-up question from Aryae:

• Should the OWL community explore this topic further by convening a new circle, inviting peacemakers from around the world, focused on global conflict resolution?

Your comments: Please share your thoughts and reflections at Leave a Reply below.

Next gathering of OWL Wisdom Circle 1 is on February 10. We invite you to RSVP to join us then!