LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

Susan Goodwin, with Good Solutions, LLC, based in Boise, Idaho, is a dedicated facilitator, mediator, and trainer.  She specializes in guiding organizations and groups to work cohesively, unlock their best thinking, and arrive at sustainable solutions. She brings over three decades of experience with the U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution, helping diverse stakeholders navigate complex issues and find common ground in high-stakes situations. 

She is passionate about fostering collaboration and resolving conflict, especially in the context of organizational development, environmental policy and public lands management.  Her work is rooted in the belief that effective collaboration and conflict resolution can drive meaningful, lasting change for organizations and communities alike.

Dianne is a public engagement practioner and facilitator with The Langdon Group. She has a demonstrated ability to engage a variety of interests in environmental studies, collaborative decision-making efforts, facilitated process development, grassroots outreach, and interested based negotiation. Her work with local governments, State and Federal agencies and community planning organizations includes creating inclusive, transparent community engagement.

Dianne’s diverse project work demonstrates adaptability, a combination of thoughtfulness and research on interested party identification, inclusive outreach strategy development, a personable approach to every team and interested party relationship and dedication to effective project management that benefits the entire project team.

Mary Dumas is an independent conflict resolution professional, educator, and author,  with over 35 years of experience working with local, state, and federal clients on some of today's most challenging problems. She provides confidential mediation, facilitation and public engagement services to private businesses, universities, research teams, NGO’s, public agencies, and gov-gov engagements with tribal nations.  Mary is known for translating technical and regulatory information and mandates into accessible pathways (advisory, negotiated or collaborative) and equitable processes. She uses a developmental approach that expands the collaboration capacity of leaders, teams, and communities they work with.  Her current projects engage diverse perspectives in policy, research, and organizational change initiatives seeking to actively recognize and address historical and organizational trauma, healing, and repair.

Aireona Bonnie Raschke, Ph.D. (she/they) is a political ecologist and conservation practitioner who is currently immersed in the study and practice of collaborative conservation. She is the Associate Director of Practice for the Center for Collaborative Conservation (CCC) of Colorado State University. In this position, she is spear-heading efforts to build out CCC’s program to support conservation work on-the-ground and connect practitioners with academic researchers, and directing the Western Collaborative Conservation Network.

Thomas is an experienced natural resource professional, facilitator, and project manager who has supported a wide range of collaborative policy and planning processes throughout the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. He is a Senior Associate at Triangle Associates, a Pacific Northwest based facilitation, mediation, and community engagement firm. Thomas’ recent projects have focused on hydroelectric dam relicensing, public lands access and recreation planning, forestry and fire management, and Section 106 cultural resource programs. 

Debra Nudelman is a consensus building and dispute resolution professional with nearly 40 years of process expertise addressing high-level, sophisticated and often sensitive projects in a wide range of areas including: energy/renewable, public land use and natural resources management, water/watershed (including water quality/quantity issues), hydroelectric facility decommissioning, relicensing and implementation, and transportation. Debra is a principal owner of Kearns & West and oversees the Portland, Denver and Seattle offices. 

Kimberly Horndeski is a certified mediator, facilitator, and the Executive Director of Community Consulting LLC. Her work focuses on transforming conflict into successful strategies for the future. She has led multiple state, national, and international working groups to overcome challenges and reach agreement. Her projects include bottom-up approaches, such as establishing a coalition with fundamentally conflicting interests to collaboratively negotiate agreement on a $2.5 billion dollar component of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, and top-down approaches, such as assisting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to incorporate nationwide stakeholder values into the decision-making process for federally-listed threatened and endangered species. Kimberly knows it is not information alone that produces positive outcomes or reduces conflict. It is the ability to effectively design, plan, and implement an engagement process that results in creative and lasting solutions for the future. 

Ava Stone is a conflict resolution practitioner guided by restorative justice principles. She holds a Master’s in Conflict Analysis and Resolution and has applied her expertise across government, nonprofit, and consulting sectors. At the U.S. Department of the Interior, she managed the Mediation Program and led collaborative engagement and tribal listening sessions. More recently, she served as a project lead and facilitator for a FEMA interagency task force developing a national disaster relief and recovery data hub. Ava now runs her own conflict resolution practice, The Kairo Lab, based in Northern California.

Gideon Kracov is a distinguished mediator with thirty years of experience in civil, real estate, and environmental matters. He has an extensive background navigating complex legal disputes, coupled with significant experience at the highest levels of California state government. Using his mediation and facilitation skills, Mr. Kracov can break through impasse and settle before litigation, and after lawsuits are filed. The Daily Journal describes him as a “highly collaborative” and “pragmatic” mediator with a “committed approach to preparation.” He has “credibility with all parties, perhaps the highest currency.”

Erin Magee Barlow is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) with the International Coaching Federation and a specialist in Positive Intelligence Coaching. She brings a neuroscience-informed, whole-person approach to leadership development, helping clients align their values with purposeful action. Erin is the founding creator of the Department of the Interior’s Internal Coach Training Program and has coached leaders across cultures in Tanzania and Germany. Her coaching style emphasizes clarity, resilience, and authentic connection, using tools like DiSC and Adaptive Leadership to foster growth and collaboration. Erin is also certified in Brené Brown’s Daring Workshop and has deep experience in organizational development and team building.

Coming soon...

Dr. Larry Schooler is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Department of Communication Studies at The University of Texas at Austin, where he teaches in the Communication and Leadership program. With a background in civic engagement and public dialogue, Larry brings academic insight and practical experience to leadership development and collaborative communication.

Heather Stokes is the Director of Practice at The Center for Natural Resources and Environmental Policy  at the University of Montana. She leads the strategy, planning, and implementation of the Center’s consultation and facilitation projects and services. Heather facilitates complex public policy deliberations on a variety of substantive issues, such as water policy and administration, water resource management, watershed restoration, land use planning, and public lands management. Of particular interest are complex, adaptive natural resource and environmental initiatives involving multi-party, multi-interest groups which usually include federal and state agencies, tribes, local municipalities, NGOs and community members.