Who is Andy Mason?

Andy is a friendly guy who passionately believes that people shouldn’t have to live unhappy lives, either in the workplace or the community.  This has taken him to practise as a development professional for sixteen years in the UK, Sri Lanka and Lebanon.

He holds a Masters Degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Sydney and is an internationally Accredited Mediator with the Regents College School of Psychotherapy and Counselling in London. Andy is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (UK).  He’s also followed intensive training in Nonviolent Communication™ (NVC) in the USA with Marshall Rosenberg.  

Andy’s view on transforming communities, managers, teams and organisations:

“All trainers will tell you that communication is important if you want a group of people who can get along, be creative and productive, solve problems and, hopefully, have some fun on the way.  Most trainers will cover techniques and skills such as ‘active listening’ ‘body language’ and ‘paraphrasing’.

What they probably won’t cover is answers to questions like:

• Why do people perform poorly in the first place?
• What's really happening for people in conflict?
• What's really going on when your staff aren't talking?
• What's really getting in the way?

Once you understand the answers to these questions the solutions become more obvious and can, with practice, really contribute to transformation in communities and the workplace.  However, if these questions go unanswered you may find the behaviours of your staff or community in a year’s time to be the same as they are now.

The test of identifying whether or not a trainer really understands this dilemma is quite simple; listen for them focussing on 'the outcome' instead of 'the process’.  This is a tell tale sign that they, like some others in the ‘self-help’ industry, haven’t yet grasped how focussing exclusively on achieving goals and outcomes can be the source of conflict in the first place........”

Who is Tamara Laporte?

Tamara is a driven individual with a very warm personality.  She has a rare combination of talents. On the one hand she has managed market research accounts for blue chip organisations such as Vodaphone, whilst on the other she prolifically draws, paints, writes plays, sings, plays piano, produces high quality photography and teaches drama.  Her professionalism in art and IT are demonstrated by her production of this website!*

She uses intuition when facilitating conflict transformation, her grasp and tireless self-application of which is supported by psychology studies in the Netherlands and the UK, along with qualification as an NLP Master Practitioner and Hypnotherapist with the Quest Institute in 2003.  Tamara has followed intensive training in Nonviolent Communication™ (NVC) in the USA with Marshall Rosenberg.

On personal change, Tamara says:

“My belief in my work with individuals and groups comes from the changes I have experienced by applying conflict transformation ideas to others' situations as well as to my own life.  Regardless of background, whether during my time as a teacher in Sri Lanka or therapist in London, getting people of all ages in touch with their needs has had a real impact on how they see themselves and the world around them. When people become aware of - and in touch with - their own and others' needs, a deeper understanding and connection seems to arise, allowing for growth, development and true transformation."

(*Tamara asked it be emphasised that this was not written by her!)

People we enjoy working with - Associates

Sarri Bater - Working for MLCT in Lebanon

Sarri is a conflict transformation specialist who is committed to social change. Her core experience was in Sri Lanka where she worked for four years with communities and staff in the East. Sarri is very conscious of the contribution of structural violence in aid settings and has done much to not only build the capacity of local peace workers but also transform the organisations they work for.

Sarri's work is underpinned by her training in Nonviolent Communication and her first class degree in Peace Studies from the University of Bradford, UK.

Selene Aitken - Working for MLCT in Jordan

Selene is passionate about creating more understanding, peace and compassion in every moment. She uses her skills and experience as a teacher and mediator to share the tools and philosophy of Nonviolent Communication with youth in the context of Restorative Justice, with families suffering from conflict as well as with ngo’s and  professional organisations. She graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in Languages and Linguistics, received a Masters degree from Stanford University and continued her graduate level studies in education at the University of California in San Francisco in the US. She became a Certified Mediator in Oregon, USA in 1993 and received certification as a trainer from the Center for Nonviolent Communication in 2006.

Her NVC work in Kabul, El Salvador and Buenos Aires as well as in  the US has confirmed for her the universal application of NVC principles and practices.

Whether teaching a workshop, consulting with a professional group, mediating a conflict in a non-profit organization or coaching a couple in private sessions, Selene enjoys the process of untangling misunderstandings to transform them into collaborative relationships. She loves working internationally and teaching in Spanish as well as in English.

Mark Walsh - Lead Trainer of Integration Training & Holistics

Mark is a driven and friendly individual who runs both Integration Training and Holistics. The focus of his work at Integration Training is on creating effectiveness and well-being through stress management, teambuilding and embodied leadership training. His passion is helping organisations become better at what they do. In his Holistics classes students can enjoy gentle, relaxing exercise that helps health, happiness and personal development. It consists of stretches, movement with a partner, visualisation and breathing exercises.

Mark's Experience
Mark has extensive training experience with large and small organisations in the UK and abroad, e.g. The Brighton and Hove Primary Care Trust (NHS), SOS Children (a Cambridge based charity) and Brazil's national oil company - Petrobas. In addition to having 10 years of aikido training and teaching on five continents he also spent three years organising projects and conferences for the international organisation Aiki Extensions Inc. This included conflict resolution work in the Middle East alongside the UN, in the slums of Brazil and with an HIV awareness circus in East Africa.

Mark has attended residential training in Somatics (the study of the conscious body) at the Strozzi Institute, California and with Being In Movement founder Paul Linden in Ohio, USA and he has three years of Non-Violent Communication training, including residential retreats and study with NVC founder Marshall Rosenberg.

Mark brings his skills and experience to his own Brighton business training consultancy.