In law school, I was frustrated by the litigation process. Why was it so complicated, inefficient, and costly? There had to be a better way. I wanted to sit with the stakeholders and figure out a solution together. Such a simple concept! This is how my journey into Alternative Dispute Resolution began.
Over the last 25 years, I have worked as a mediator, dialogue facilitator, educator, curriculum designer, coach, and trainer. I have mediated workplace, neighborhood, family, landlord/tenant, and restorative justice cases. I have trained others to design and facilitate structured dialogues so people from diverse backgrounds and opinions can engage in civil discourse. I have worked extensively with Palestinian, Israeli, and American teenagers as they strive to understand each other’s perspectives on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. I have facilitated countless discussions with high-schoolers about current events, government, DEI, and history. I also use my dispute resolution strategies with my teenage sons; these are definitely the most challenging assignments!
Words matter. Throughout Kim’s career as a communications professional for non-profit organizations, she has been passionate about words and concepts that move people to take action. Her involvement in a dialogue-based organization called Hands of Peace sparked a different way of looking at words – as bridge builders across deep divides. Kim co-founded Olive Branch Conversations with Scott Silk to bring dialogue and civil conversations training to individuals, groups and communities to cultivate new ways of understanding and listening.
Kim integrates creativity and strategic visioning into facilitating dialogue beyond differences to help people feel empowered to challenge polarization and division by having constructive conversations, even when there is disagreement. At Olive Branch Conversations, she trains individuals and groups to approach challenging conversations with curiosity, openness, humor and compassion.
Kim is trained in facilitation to lead dialogue across differences through Essential Partners, a Boston-based organization that trains leaders in Reflective Structured Dialogue to build trust, cohesion and collective solutions. She is the founder of LandeInk, a writing and strategic marketing studio that serves non-profit organizations and is an award-winning journalist and feature writer. Kim is also an artist who facilitates and leads Intentional Creativity workshops. For many years, she served on the board of Hands of Peace, and also as interim executive director and interim San Diego site director. In 2019, she was awarded Peacemaker of the Year by the Encinitas Rotary.
Dating back to the Ancient Greeks and Romans, the olive branch has been a symbol of peace and reconciliation. It takes years for olive trees to bear fruit. People who planted olive trees on their lands anticipated their community would experience a long period of peace and stability, during which they would eventually be able to harvest their olives. For this reason, extending an olive branch became a metaphor for peace and reconciliation.