FROM THE ASSESSOR, Jim Manske

I met Mari on our first visit to Japan about ten years ago. She hosted the training events we offered in Tokyo at her home. It seemed clear to me upon first meeting Mari that she was both devoted to Nonviolent Communication and building a community of practice. Although a language barrier separated us, I recall finding ways to connect around her pet cat, and of course with the benefit of interpreters who made our work in Japan possible.

One of the hallmarks of the certification path, it seems to me, is growing into ever-deepening self-responsibility. I notice this so much in my decade of work with Mari. Although expressing frustration and discouragement at times about the limited availability of NVC trainers and materials in Japanese and thus the reliance on foreign trainers, Mari seemed to remain undaunted. As she entered her pre-assessment phase, she built a support team of Assessors in training and fellow candidates to help her navigate a system that is not "friendly" to non-native English speakers. A bow of awe and gratitude for all the extra work that candidates like Mari do in order to make the journey to certification.

I also deeply appreciate Mari's ongoing hunger for feedback and her willingness to be with her edges, celebrate her strengths, and work to continually integrate Nonviolent Communication. Working with non-English speakers has helped me to discover my strengths and edges, and I celebrate how Mari has helped to contribute to my Patience and longing for both clarity and brevity in giving and receiving feedback.

I'm sad thinking that the language barriers may inhibit some of you from getting to know Mari. I hope that Mari and other non=English speakers will consider using the Global Home's translation function (and/or other tools like DeepL) to enrich our community with mutual learning. Thanks to Mari and her team and all the Assessors in Training and Certified trainers helping us to build a community-based assessment system in Japan that transcends language.

From Mari:

[EN] NVC has been my way of life, and especially through the deaths of important people in my life, including my partner, it has truly made life wonderful. The certification process was mentally very challenging for me because I had to go through a language (English) that I didn't understand well, but now I celebrate the fact that by repeating the NVC process many times, I was able to meet the unknown parts of myself.

[JP] NVCは私の生きる道であり、人生をまさにすばらしくしてくれた方法であることを、特にパートナーはじめ大事な存在たちの死を通して実感してきました。認定プロセスは、私が理解しない言語（英語）を通さないといけなかったことで精神的に非常に苦しい道のりでしたが、何度もNVCプロセスを繰り返すことで未知の自分との出会いを繰り返すことができたことを、今はお祝いしています。

FROM THE ASSESSOR, Michael Dillo

In the Summer of 2020, the IIT in Hungary was canceled due to the angst of Covid. As the organizer, Éva Rambala had the courage to organize a 9-day NVC training as a substitute, in which I participated as trainer and assessor. During the nine days, Éva Ruczek supported me as a translator. Without knowing about Éva Ruczek’s NVC experience, it was a pleasant surprise for me from day one with how much empathy and accuracy Eva accompanied my work with her translation.

Bit by bit, I learned that Eva had already met Marshall in Budapest in 1996 and that her NVC knowledge (like mine) was based on Marshall's original teachings. She had been part of many Marshall training over the years in Hungary and in an IIT in Switzerland in 2001. That's how I found out that Éva had already made a lot of progress on the way to certification. When Marshall abruptly stopped certification worldwide for several years in 2006, this also meant the temporary end of Éva's efforts.

Even though Éva gave up the certification for herself, she has remained close and loyal to NVC. For example, she has been supporting an emergency call center of a Hungarian LGBTQI organization for many years, both with NVC training and as an emergency helper on the phone.

She only had the idea to restart her certification path in 2020 when we had the very inspiring collaboration during the summer camp in Hungary. We have worked together and exchanged ideas regularly over the past three years; we held a joint training session in Budapest and initiated a small group of Hungarian trainers that meet regularly online.

When Chris Rajendram had become an assessor in 2021 Éva was eager to invite Chris to support her as a co-assessor as she had known Chris for many years and he had become a close counselor. For me, the final assessment in Eva's NVC community in Budapest was particularly touching due to the presence of Chris. His spiritual path brings the deepest memory of Marshall's teachings to life in me. After this touching final assessment in late July 2022, I am very happy, together with Chris Rajendram, to recommend Éva for inclusion in the group of CNVC-certified trainers.

From Éva:

I have a long journey with NVC and also with the CNVC certification process. I met Marshall Rosenberg in 1996, and my journey started at that moment. At that time, I was teaching medical psychology at Semmelweis University in Budapest, and with Marshall's encouragement, I started to share NVC with my students, which I liked a lot.

I worked a lot with Michael Dillo for a formal procedure. During our weekly consultation, I learned a lot about myself, my struggles, my vulnerability, and about empathy, self-empathy, and so on. For me, this was the most enjoyable part of the process. I met lots of my old fears and pains connected to studying something. I also met the anxiety of finishing a task as well as some of my earlier expectations or misunderstandings. What an incredible inner journey! And I am still on that path of discovering how to connect moment by moment. I just recently discovered one of my fears is being seen as someone.

FROM THE ASSESSOR, Roxy Manning

Since joining TCCP, Phoenix has actively participated in community events, sharing many workshop offerings and inviting our feedback in a spirit of dialogue and collective learning. We enjoy her enthusiasm and playfulness as she experiments with new ideas for her workshops. As a poet, she brings in spoken word and metaphors to her trainings, e.g. "Our bodies are tuning forks - they tell us the truth."

When extending empathy to others, we've witnessed Phoenix's embodiment of needs energy. We also appreciate her capacity to tune in to her own experience and express her truth with care and vulnerability, owning her reactions, and checking in about the impact on others demonstrating, we believe, a deep sense of integrity and accountability.

In her work as an consultant providing organizational development trainings, TCCP members who volunteered as assistants have observed Phoenix guide her clients with compassion, encouraging people "to compost rather than repress" the full spectrum of their thoughts, feelings and needs, inviting them into more self-awareness and self-acceptance. Her clients have expressed appreciation for her warmth and clarity of purpose as she supported them to learn communication skills to foster respectful relationships and cultivate more inclusion and diversity in the workplace. 

We are delighted to introduce Phoenix to the global community and look forward to many years of collaboration and mutual learning with her. We are grateful to have your companionship in celebrating another certified trainer who is committed to a vision of creating a world where every person has all they need to thrive and nurture our collective wellbeing.

The Trainer Candidate Community Path

Mika Maniwa (advocate/assessor in training) in collaboration with Roxy Manning (advocate/assessor), Kathleen Macferran (advocate/assessor), Jennifer Warnick, (advocate/assessor in training), Marcia Christen (advocate/assessor in training)” 

From Phoenix:

I attended my first NVC workshop back in 2002 or 2003 with Dian Killian. I felt that there was something different about the way the strangers in that room were able to connect. I went on to attend courses and retreats where I increased intimacy with myself and others. It brought me a whole worldwide community where there was so much more authenticity and intimacy possible. NVC changed my life.

My journey in NVC brought me to the Bay Area Nonviolent Communication Leadership Program. It was through that community that I went to a new level of depth with the work. I saw how it could be used to understand society at large and it gave me a new embodied vision of what’s possible. I began to assist at retreats and teach, enjoying it so much that I wanted to make it my livelihood.

Eventually, I joined Trainer Candidate Community Path (TCCP). I was looking for a program that valued social justice, and saw the importance of making space for voices that have been underrepresented in the NVC community. The TCCP program required a lot of self-motivation, however there are plenty of people who are happy to help when you reach out.

I love the community of deeply committed people at TCCP. Even though I have completed all of my requirements for certification I'm still participating actively in that community. I am especially grateful to Mika Maniwa, my assistant assessor and Roxy Manning, my assessor. The opportunities to discuss my course planning and mediation process and receive feedback in one-on-one sessions has made me a better trainer. I feel when I facilitate or lead, I have a whole community at my side.

FROM THE ASSESSOR, Sabine Geiger

When I first met Nadine years ago, she was translating at a NVC seminar. I remember being impressed by the way she tuned into every person she translated. She not only translated the words; she also matched the energy of the speaker. This flow seemed quite natural to her. Getting to know Nadine better, I found that this capacity is not only present in translating but also in her empathic being. There does not seem to be any doing on her part - just entering the space in which empathy can happen.

Nadine studied with Robert Gonzales; her NVC work is infused by Robert’s spacious, compassionate presence. The way she inhabits that space seems effortless. Her knowledge of NVC theory and processes is infused by the consciousness we are all striving to inhabit. No wonder her focus is on creating space for her participants to experience living compassion first-hand. It has been my honor to accompany Nadine on her journey to certification. Now I am happy to formally welcome her into our community contributing her deep sense of compassionate beingness.

From Nadine:

I stumbled upon NVC in 2004 during my Social Work studies in Berlin. After approximately 10 years of an ever-escalating dynamic of tension in my family, it was a more than needed refuge. I will never forget how stunned I was reading Marshall’s book. It felt like coming home. There was another way, I knew it, and somebody wrote it down: there it was, in black and white!

Almost immediately NVC helped me build a bridge between my heart and the heart of my family members, (as well as others). It gave me concrete tools to connect to myself and to hear and understand others. NVC therefore helped me overcome the separation I felt in my family and gave rise to compassion. It enabled me to access and live the love I carry in my heart, the love that was buried by bitterness, anger, frustration and powerlessness.

To me the NVC process invites us onto a very personal, yet universal human journey. In my own life, NVC helped me to discover how much I long for love and harmony in my family, provided me with the tools and got me in touch with the inner power (self-empowerment) to co-create it. 

Alongside being blessed to meet and learn from Marshall B. Rosenberg between 2004 and 2007 and feeling deeply inspired and devoted to the way of living with honesty and empathy, I came across NVC teacher Robert Gonzales in 2006. His spiritual emphasis on NVC immediately touched my heart, and I felt a deep resonance. I followed the call to deepen my learning with him and have done his two-year course three times (participating once, assisting twice). He taught me how to deeply be with my own and others’ pain and to apply the powerful and concrete tools NVC offers to help transform the hardened knot of suffering into the vibrant living energy of life. Robert midwifed me into living more fully and embracing my pain.

My journey with certification was stretched over many years. When I started to pick the thread up again more consciously in 2020 I was blessed to already have a vibrant community of NVC practitioners/ friends around me. Diving into reflections together, discussing key distinctions, reviewing each other’s portfolios, creating podcasts, collaborating and birthing events were all part of the colorful journey of certification in community. I am grateful to Sabine Geiger my assessor to encourage creativity to make sure the process stays alive and meaningful and is tailored towards the individuals needs.

Marshall’s dream to create a world and systems (education, justice, family, work, social, etc.) in which the needs of all living beings matter and are served speaks to me deeply and I am happy to now officially become part of the certified trainer community of dedicated people who like to work hand in hand to make this dream come true! I look forward to thriving collaborations!

FROM THE ASSESSOR, Sabine Geiger

I first met Stephanie at an IIT a few years ago and I loved her energy right away. She is such a bright presence; people are drawn to be around her. I experience her as living NVC consciousness in daily life, in a natural way. After she became a candidate, I also discovered her NVC skills. She trained with Klaus Karstädt and incorporated his clarity and structure into her teachings, but she is also playful while teaching NVC. Whenever I meet her, she comes up with new, inspiring ideas of teaching, sharing and living NVC.

Stephanie works at Forum Demokratie in Düsseldorf, a non-profit organization offering programs to actively support people in learning more about lived democracy and constructive ways to deal with conflict. NVC is one of their basic pillars. In this context, Stephanie reaches a broad circle of people - not just teaching NVC but actually living it. She is modelling what an organization (or life) could look like when we embrace the consciousness of NVC. It has been an honor to accompany Stephanie on her journey to certification. I am looking forward to enjoy her inspiration and contribution in our trainer community.

From Stephanie:

I learnt about NVC 9 years ago when I was living in a shared flat of 7. My flatmate suggested we all educate ourselves in NVC to deal with our conflicts in a different way and to bring us all closer together. Little did I know this introductory NVC seminar with Klaus Karstädt would change not only my shared flat but actually my WHOLE life in such a profound way! I got hooked!

NVC to me is a form of life arts. My engagement with NVC really brought me freedom – to be who I am and live the life that I want. And brought me deep connection – my relationships to people around me improved so much and I found a deep sense of companionship. This is also what I found most inspiring and nurturing in my certification process: Meeting many more companions. I met and worked together with so many lovely people. I am really thankful for all the wonderful encounters and the wonderful people who supported and support me continuously on my path! I learned to appreciate how held I am. I learned the value of feedbacks, in its inspiration, appreciation, and nudge to grow, to the point where I am now obsessed with it.

I have a vision of a world where everyone feels truly alive, happily be who they are, to connect to each other and see and understand the shared humanity in us all. I work towards that vision to the best that I can in my private life and in my current work at German based NGO “Forum Demokratie Düsseldorf”, where we extensively teach NVC and related peace tools to the public. The end of the certification process is the beginning of something new – of what I don’t yet know. But I can clearly see that I want to put my energy into building community and projects that help us see our shared humanity.

FROM THE ASSESSOR, Jim Manske

Our journey together began in the fall of 2020 (remember those scary days of the early pandemic?) All of my NVC work had moved online, and I had started the North American pod for candidates. Celia joined that pod soon after it began. I recall that she integrated with the pod in a smooth way. This was among the first experimental pods that I co-created with candidates. It was unique in that some of the members were new to NVC, while others were veterans with many years of experience. Some aimed for certification, while others arrived with other aims.

Celia also started mentoring with Jori almost every week. Although I was never privy to what happened in those sessions, my trust in Celia’s commitment to integrating Nonviolent communication grew with each weekly session. They continue now as empathy buddies. Celia also participated in other online sessions with me, and I particularly enjoyed how our relationship deepened during the pre-assessment phase which includes several deeply connecting meetings. The culmination for me was spending an IIT together in Bali where I had a chance to see Celia shine in so many ways, including presenting her Assessment event with and for the community there. 

I’m touched by the mindfulness and heartfulness I experienced with Celia, as well as her leadership skills. I’m grateful she will share her life energy in the service of our shared mission and vision. And I love the deep dives we do exploring some of the deeper concepts of Nonviolent Communication. I don’t sense we always agree, yet I do sense a deep connection. That’s the world I want to live in!

From Celia:

Celia Landman, MA (Mindfulness Studies) loves writing, meditating, and finding ways to reconnect folxs with their power to choose the life they want to make. In 2013, she was ordained by the Venerable Thich Nhat Hahn as a member of the Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism. She especially enjoys working with teens, parents, and those impacted by trauma. Celia sees Nonviolent Communication training as a path to safety and peace in the world.

NVC has helped her see that she is loveable and matters and her greatest aspiration is to help others recognize that they are lovable just as they are. She is a mother of two mostly grown children, an author, and the servant of two dogs in Litchfield, CT.

FROM THE ASSESSORS, LAURENCE BRUSCHWEILER & LAURE GALVEZ

We applaud how Josiane learned NVC first for herself in order to live a better life before wanting to pass it on. Her great faith in the process allows her to take on challenges, such as offering empathy to a participant who expresses something that confronts her values.

We appreciate her great curiosity about others, which leads her to work with people from different cultures. She has a strong link with Africa and has already developed projects in several organizations working on social healing (NGOs, the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, where she used to work). She would also like to support associations working in the prison environment (e.g., for parenting).

From Josiane:

I became interested in the NVC process to improve my relationships with my family and colleagues. The realisations were so intense during the first training sessions that I quickly wanted to share the process by passing it on. So I joined A-Certif's French-language certification training course in 2018 while completing cycle 2 at the CNV Emergence mediator training institute to be specialized in psycho-social risks within organisations.

My great interest in French-speaking Africa led me to attend training courses in Senegal, too, and to start training in Burkina Faso for NGO staff working in armed conflict zones and at the institute that employs me and works on research for development in southern countries. After the three prior learning assessment sessions spread over the six years of the Francophone certification course that I took, A-Certif recommended me to the CNVC for certification in March 2024.

from the assessor, Maria Hechenberger

I met Daniel six years ago at mentoring and assessment days, he was by far the youngest Candidate in the group. Even then, I could sense his passion for highlighting group dynamics and his enthusiasm for contributing to social change. Above all, he is committed to raising awareness of the inequality between men and women.

Daniel has been a member of our Austrian network for many years and has always supported the community through various volunteer activities. I find him very confident and creative in communicating the NVC concept and equally empathetic and present as a trainer. I also believe that, as an enthusiastic musician, he has a knack for inspiring young people and introducing them to Nonviolent communication in a very natural way.

from Daniel:

I discovered Nonviolent Communication when I was 17 years old. Back then I was searching answers for my question: What could I contribute to a future where humans are more connected with themselves, their fellow humans and with nature? How could I contribute to more sustainability and peace?

Marshall's visions of social change and a society that works need-based without punishment and reward genuinely inspired me and lit a fire of enthusiasm inside my soul. Since my original focus was on social change, I grew to an unexpectedly precious extent in my early twenties on my journey of inner work, that I was invited to in the NVC workshops and practice groups. I’m truly glad that I started this journey so early since I suffered a lot from the pressure of being enough of a “real” man – going to a technical school with thirty fellow-only male classmates. Paired with a big load of family expectations, there were more than enough beliefs of how I should be and how I should not be rooted deeply inside me.

I truly don’t know if I would have lived my third decade on earth anywhere near the extent of autonomy, authenticity, self-acceptance and connection, without opening the treasure chest of NVC, working through my belief systems, integrating painful childhood experiences and practicing expressing my true self despite fearing rejection. Inspired by Marshall’s story of how he learned to play guitar, I also started to write my own songs about my NVC learnings and experiences. Today I play live-looping concerts using 7 different instruments, rapping and singing about NVC, sustainability and being alive. In 2023 I developed a concept for school classes combining NVC with rap and beatbox to work with kids and teens in schools.

Riding the waves of my NVC journey alongside my studies in renewable energy, I decided one year into my career in the technical realm of renewable energy, to work more with my heart than with my head. I am happy to celebrate with you that I now sustain myself entirely through teaching NVC and making music. I’m grateful for all the support, encouragement and vivid encounters I have in the NVC community. Having empathic ears around is key to me, as I learn best by taking nose dives.

from the assessor, Gina Lawrie

Sofie has been studying and practicing NVC since around 2016. She has introduced NVC into her own world of work: the legal profession, where she offers training and coaching and is developing restorative justice practices. I enjoy the way she holds this as an important contribution to social change, given how the legal environment is so adversarial, and NVC brings another world of connection.

My judgment is that she is brave to do this work where NVC can be labeled ‘soft,’ and I celebrate the passion that gives her the strength to do it. In addition, she now plans to bring NVC increasingly to parents, especially local to her, where she can share all that she has learned with her own children. One of her strengths as a trainer is bringing her own self to the role and establishing safety that way. 

When Sofie came for a pre-assessment in August 2023, we concluded that she wasn’t ready to go for the final assessment in September. She had some jackals after this and I enjoyed how she shared and transformed them. She then applied herself to delve deeply into her development, especially self empathy and it is very touching for me when she celebrates how valuable the delay was for her. It was a joy to see her come to final assessment and shine based on the further integration of NVC within her. 

from Sofie:

I first came across NVC as part of my coach training (briefly) and then in my mediation training. NVC seemed to be calling me, and since 2016, I started to immerse myself. NVC has been a life changer for me. I started the certification process with "I need the title in the legal world" (unmet need of freedom and choice). I had resistance to journaling (unmet need for rest and lightness). At the same time, I did have a need for growth and to be skilled.

Now I can say that the certification process - and certainly the journalling - is the most beautiful gift I have been able to give myself, and it really met some of my - for me very important - basic needs:

1. Growth: Personal growth is very important to me. It is only by putting together your portfolio and by re-reading some of the major events in the last couple of years in your life you can see your growth.
2. Self-care: The way I was guided towards the assessment by my assessor (Gina Lawrie), co-readers (Dionne Verbeet and Ian Peaty) and trainer (Thera Balvers) have, for me, really opened the way to self-care. The joint decision to postpone my assessment for a few months was the "gentle push" I needed to allow true self-care.
3. To carry and Being carried, care, emotional safety, and belonging: the assessment itself. We candidates have created ourselves “a holding space” where all of these needs were met.
4. Equality, care, and trust: the assessment itself. The experience of having an assessment from ‘power with’ really met my need for care, sharing, support, and companionship. I have no words to describe what it was like for me. And having had this experience creates hope for the future (e.g., schools. How wonderful would it be if our children could

from the Assessor, Sylvia Haskvitz

Elke’s path has been unique, as I trust each Candidate in their own way. She lives in a remote area of Canada, so in-person training was not as easy for her to participate in. This did not stop her from jumping into deep learning and integrating NVC. I admire and am inspired by her willingness to create what she wants to learn. This collaboration and co-creation is the reason CALF (Candidates/Community Active Learning Forum) was formed.

When she joined the CALF community, she dove into her learning and supporting so many others on their NVC journey. She began journaling circles, KD practice, and support sessions for other candidates and community members. She also supported the creation of a CALF certification. Elke created many games and other learning tools for her benefit and for the benefit of those with whom she shares NVC. She has jumped into co-organizing an in-person gathering for First Generation NVCers later this year as a way to continue her learning.

Raising four kids with her husband certainly contributed to her learning to live in NVC. I was honored to walk this path with Elke and look forward to her joining the trainer community and continuing her involvement in the CALF community.

from Elke:

Throughout my life, I have valued communication. At age 11, I told a friend about the divorces in my family and shared that I wanted more lasting relationships. As an adult, I experienced the value of transparency in personal relationships and the costs of its absence in some workplaces. When I completed my law degree, I delved into organizational analysis, facilitation, and public consultation and worked as a project facilitator and educator using my communication skills. When I discovered NVC in 2015, though, I felt delight and excitement.

With a way of being rooted in mutual consideration, self-response-ability, honest expression, and choice, NVC felt like a natural fit. The more I acknowledged my feelings and found ways to speak about my needs with an intention to connect, the more authentically I lived and the more alive and joyful I felt. Awareness of others’ needs opened the way for creative ways to move forward together. I saw myriad ways NVC could be supportive, from personal development and family relationships to business innovation and peaceful international relations. I knew I wanted to learn and to share NVC.

People have described me as optimistic and creative. As a trainer, I aim to facilitate fun, safe, participatory learning environments and enjoy creating tools for learners and facilitators. I am creating The Road to Connection, a printable game aimed at combining learning and laughing that invites players to try on various perspectives, for example, and made: printable, two-sided puppets with additional, new characters like “Should Otter” (“you ought-to-do this”), Stratapus (an octopus who does everything but empathize, such as advise, reassure…), and mindfulness sloth Max L’Aware.

I have enjoyed creating communities of learning with my peers to support my learning during my certification journey within CALF, such as a journaling group, self-acceptance group, Candidate Circle. Learning together was a gift – and a much larger one than I anticipated; I experienced deep connection, acceptance, support, and inspiration. I’m happy to have heard from my fellow participants that these groups support(ed) their journeys, too.

I’m called to support families and have an interest in bringing NVC to schools, politicians, and the media. I’m taking some time to consider my focus as I have limited time. I hope you will reach out to me if anything I shared moves or interests you. That would be exciting! I’m looking forward to getting to know more of you!