SHARON KNISS Facilitating Change and Transformation
Sharon (she/her) is a collaborative process professional with 20 years of experience in facilitation, mediation, and training, supporting individuals and groups find their way forward together.
While some may say Sharon's career began as a middle child or a peer mediator in her elementary school, her professional career launched by supporting conflict skill development for organizational leaders in the U.K. and facilitating organizational conflicts in faith communities after completing her degree in Justice, Peace and Conflict Studies.
Upon returning to the U.S., Sharon invested in local community peacebuilding with non-profits and community leaders building healthy and resilient communities to prevent, end, and heal from violence. Interested in bridging best practices from international peacebuilding with the U.S. context, Sharon completed a terminal practitioner's degree in International Peace Studies, spending time in the Philippines and studying transitional justice contexts, drawing parallels with contexts in the U.S. Her continued investment in the U.S. included numerous investments in Restorative Justice implementation and supports in communities across Indiana, Kansas, and Maryland, in both school and community contexts.
An education advocate, Sharon has served as adjunct or affiliate professor at three colleges and delivered nearly 150 workshops or trainings on a variety of topics related to conflict and leadership skills. In a brief return to international peacebuilding, Sharon led a curriculum redesign for conflict management skills for United Nations Military Peacekeepers, supporting training across Africa and in Indonesia.
Most recently, Sharon supported the facilitation, training, and organizational development needs of multiple teams in government agencies (EPA, US Forest Service, USAID) and the World Bank. As a conflict practitioner, she excelled at leading change management efforts including supporting DEIA integration efforts.
Given her unique combination of facilitation, training, and conflict expertise, Sharon thrives when requested to lead team retreats where she can use years of collaborative group process expertise combined with fun facilitation techniques and organizational development savvy to ensure teams work hard and play hard, leaving feeling accomplished, connected, and refreshed.
A lifelong outdoor enthusiast, Sharon has recently expanded her services to support collaboration needs in the environmental sector through community engagement, public participation facilitation, mediation, and leadership dialogues.
Sharon is based in the Washington DC metro area and serves communities and organizations across the U.S.
