About
People come to me when work has become hard between them.
My job is to help rebuild what makes good work possible: the structure, the practice, and the trust.
I am an organisational conflict consultant, mediator, coach and writer, with decades of experience across Canada and internationally. Many years ago I immigrated to Nova Scotia from South Africa, and I bring depth of cultural competence earned across many countries — among them Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, India, China, and the United States.
I am brought in when something isn’t working — usually framed as a conflict between people or teams. Invariably I find the presenting problem is a symptom of something deeper: trust, integrity, or structure has been compromised. And so the work shifts to that deeper level — clarifying authority, rebuilding trust, redefining how the work is structured.
I lead with experience and maturity rather than certifications. The formal credentials are below, for anyone who wants them — but they are not the point. I also write, and I am an early, considered adopter of AI tools in my practice — not as novelty, but as an extension of the methodology.
Why this work
My interest in conflict goes back further than my professional life. I grew up the youngest of four, watching two older sisters in constant battle — loving all of them, and learning early that the desire for fairness is not the same as knowing how to achieve it. What I watched the mediators of IMSSA do during South Africa’s transition out of apartheid settled something for me: what they were doing was just, fair, and honourable. I wanted in.
The shadow stripe
Between the black and the white.
The Plains zebras of Southern Africa also carry a natural shadow stripe: a faint line that runs between the black and white stripes. It is simply there; once you’ve seen it you can’t unsee it. That shadow stripe is the metaphor I work with.
Choices are rarely between black and white. The work — and the resolution — almost always lives in the lines between.
Credentials & standing
- MSW — Master of Social Work, Dalhousie University
- Q.Med — Qualified Mediator, ADR Institute of Canada
- Practitioner Certificate in Conflict Resolution — UPEI
- Interest-based mediation & the Cinnie Noble conflict-coaching model
- Standing SOA with Health Canada
- Listed provider — Homewood Health, Employee Assistance & Workplace Mental Health (by invitation)
- Languages: English & Afrikaans (native)
No obligation
A 30-minute conversation costs nothing.
Thirty minutes can clarify more than months of circling the same problem. We’ll work out together whether, and how, I can help.
Not ready to talk? Seven questions, three minutes, nothing recorded.