Suzanne Ghais, Ph.D., is Convergence’s Programs Director and an expert on conflict resolution, consensus building, and peace processes. She has nearly three decades’ experience as a mediator, facilitator, conflict analyst, and trainer spanning diverse subject matter including environmental, public policy, organizational, consumer, community, and political/armed conflict issues in both domestic and international settings.

Prior to joining Convergence, Suzanne was executive director of Pathfinders4Peace, which conducted Track II (unofficial) diplomacy on the “Anglophone Conflict” in Cameroon, and principal at Ghais Mediation and Facilitation, LLC. She has served as an adjunct faculty member at American University’s School of International Service, the University of Denver’s Korbel School of International Studies, and the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University, teaching conflict assessment, conflict prevention, international negotiation, and facilitation skills. She has conducted dozens of skill training courses on mediation, facilitation, arbitration, negotiation, and conflict resolution and is the author of Extreme Facilitation: Guiding Groups through Controversy and Complexity (Jossey-Bass/Wiley, 2005) as well as numerous articles.

Suzanne earned her bachelor’s degree from Brown University, her master’s degree from the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (now the Carter School) at George Mason University, and her Ph.D. in international relations, with a focus on peace processes, from American University’s School of International Service.

Suzanne lives with her husband and younger daughter in the Denver/Boulder area. In her free time, she enjoys playing piano, hiking, reading, and yoga.