Certified Trainers at the Center for Nonviolent Communication

Ndidi Anozie is a CNVC certification candidate from Nigeria but living in Ireland. She is a member of NVC Nigeria network and belongs to a Faith based organisation, an international congregation with members working in 14 countries of the world.

She is a teacher by Profession and is passionate about integrating, living NVC consciousness, and cultivating deeply connective relationships with people. Coming from a country where people are going through storms of emotions, grappling with disconnection and polarized times, Ndidi uses NVC as a tool to support them to stay connected, be the light as they work to create the world they want to see.

Ndidi is committed to Peace building by facilitating dialogues and mediation between individuals and groups. Her zeal in NVC targets supporting their members, collaborators and vulnerable groups to live more fulfilled lives by creating a safe space for authenticity, healing and growth. She believes that every encounter with each person should leave them more empowered to be the best version of themselves.

She longs to support teachers and school leaders to embody NVC, acquire, use the skills to create a welcoming school environment which can improve performance, reduce conflict and enhance relationships.

Ndidi’s profound enthusiasm for NVC has inspired her to participate in organizing this maiden IIT in Nigeria. As a member of the organizing committee, she laisses with the venue, arranges accommodation, feeding, and transportation.

Shawn Specht, a compassionate and dedicated holistic practitioner and coach, weaves her diverse expertise in health and wellness to empower individuals towards holistic well-being and emotional freedom. Shawn Specht radiates warmth and openness, curating workshops, retreats, and courses that inspire genuine personal growth. By integrating her knowledge of SVA Ayurveda and Nonviolent Communication, she empowers individuals to navigate conflicts and challenges across all spheres of life with grace and authenticity.

Learning and Growth: Influenced by her father's holistic chiropractic practice from an early age, Shawn embarked on a transformative journey, earning a B.S. in Health and Human Performance. Her comprehensive education encompassed a spectrum of disciplines, including psychology, anatomy, physiology, nutrition, chemistry, and biology. Balancing her deep understanding of modern Western medicine with hands-on experience in holistic alternative therapies, Shawn embarked on a personal quest to foster deep healing and transformation in others. Her consistent meditation practice, augmented by immersive experiences such as the 10-Day Vipassana courses, has further enriched her spiritual and emotional learning. Her passion for growth and making the future generations more socially-emotionally resilient brought her to work as a teacher in a Waldorf-inspired school, in Northern California for ages 7-14.

She loves to read and some of her favorite books are:

• “Women Who Run With the Wolves” by Clarissa Pinkola Estés
• “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• “Coyote’s Guide to Connecting With Nature” by Jon Young, Evan McGown, Ellen Haas
• “The Heart of Nonviolent Communication” by Stephanie Bachmann Mattei & Kristin K. Collier
• “A Heart Blown Open: The Life and Practice of Zen Master Jun Po Dennis Kelly Roshi” by Keith Martin-Smith

Christine is a creative focused on inspiring connection through events. She's practiced NVC for 5 years and is the co-host of the Courageous Conversations podcast which can be found on Spotify! When she's not designing and managing events, she's attending concerts, exploring local coffee shops, creating mobile photo sets and enjoying the sunshine in AZ.

A Passionate NVC Practitioner and CNVC Certification Candidate 

Joshua Patroba is a dedicated Certification Candidate in Nonviolent Communication (NVC) from Kenya with a wealth of experience spanning over a decade. Since delving into the world of NVC in 2008, Joshua has honed his skills through close collaboration with esteemed trainers and facilitators. His journey has led him to create and lead transformative retreats, workshops, summer camps, and events that integrate NVC principles for life-changing experiences.

A standout achievement in Joshua's NVC journey was his pivotal role in organizing the Nairobi IITs in 2014, 2017, 2022, 2023 ten days retreat in Nairobi and now supporting the organizing of the 2024 Nigerian IIT. He is also part of the organizing team for the first IIT in Nigeria scheduled for 2024. Joshua's passion for spreading NVC extends to the educational, corporate, family, and church settings, where he has effectively applied NVC principles.

Beyond his NVC endeavors, Joshua is an accomplished environmental expert, specializing in electronic waste recycling, environmental policy, and curriculum development. His diverse skill set also encompasses team-building, counseling, and business consultancy in change management and leadership, mediation and litigation. As a mentor and community member of NVC Kenya and Founder of NVC African, Joshua is committed to nurturing NVC beginners and fostering a supportive environment for skill development.

With a focus on intuition, empathic presence, and creating safe spaces for growth, Joshua's approach to NVC transcends conventional boundaries, emphasizing body language and non-verbal communication.
 If you are seeking training logistics or wish to connect with Joshua for guidance on  the Nigerian IIT especially on registration and bookings, feel free to reach out to him via the form at the bottom of this page.

Vidur Malik is an Organizational Development consultant specializing in Selection and Interviewing. He weaves the principles of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) into his training programmes. He's officially registered with the Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC) as a Certification candidate, and is actively progressing on his certification path.

Fazal has been working in the international development sector for over ten years. He has a strong passion for Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and has promoted its principles to build peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka through his peacebuilding efforts. He was a member of the organizing team for the 2017 International Intensive Training (IIT) in Sri Lanka and has also participated in several international NVC training programs.   

Lars Veraart, veterinarian by trade, is now giving his life energy to creating pathways towards a living planet for all.

Lars is living with his wife Robyn (trainer at this IIT) and their son Carsten in the community where our village IIT will be held. Lars and Robyn founded Provision Transylvania, an ecological farm and learning center with the mission of creating living and learning opportunities that contribute to health and well-being for the planet and people. Regeneration and Nonviolence are key themes in their work and NVC camps, teachings and counseling are core elements of Provision Transylvania.

Lars also co-founded and runs ALPA, a local land trust which focuses on common stewardship for agricultural lands and biodiversity protection within the broader concept of bioregional regeneration. Lars is the local logistics coordinator for our IIT.

Sandra is a clinical psychologist and has been facilitating groups for over 20 years with her life and work partner, Yuri Haasz, seeking, in diverse contexts and groups, to promote conflict transformation and systemic change towards a more empathetic and life-centered society.

Sandra is co-founder of Sinergia Comunicativa and has experience sharing NVC in Brazil and internationally. Over the years she has been conducting and organizing several events and retreats, seeking to strengthen the practice of NVC in Brazil and strengthen the connection with the international NVC community. She was the organizer of IIT Brazil 2019 and IIT Brazil 2023.

During the pandemic she conducted support programs for health professionals based on NVC, reaching hundreds of people, and she coordinates a project to spread empathy at the Hospital das Clínicas in São Paulo.

She was a columnist for UOL and for the magazines Bons Fluidos and Viva Saúde.

In the past 5 years, NVC Chinese Net has devoted itself to nurturing public, for-profit, and non-profit organizations, as well as schools, through Nonviolent Communication (NVC)-inspired training and initiatives.

We have lovingly crafted a robust and thriving web of communities, with Chinese-speaking NVC practitioners spread across China.

We are now embarking on an exhilarating journey, embracing a refreshed vision that aims to empower a thousand Chinese NVC leaders, while our organization is experiencing a profound metamorphosis, guided by teal organizational principles, to become an exemplar of the partnership paradigm.

Begüm has worked in the International Financial Reporting field for 14 years, and is a permaculture designer who hasworked with communities who support community supported agriculture and ecological food. She is a mother of two children, a son and a daughter.

Begüm began her involvement with Nonviolent Communication after she gave birth to her second child, and witnessed behavioral change in the elder child. By that time, she discovered that NVC was her healing field rather than her children’s. With the help of NVC, she empowered to be centered in herself and to connect with others and herself empathically. She has met with her "self-actualization power” in NVC fields.

Robin is an educator and author living in Silver City, NM. She spends her time teaching at the local Montessori school, offering support in a self-empowerment retreat space and serving as a leader in her community’s NVC practice group. Robin is dedicated to strengthening her community through honest, loving communication and authentic connection. She will be releasing her first book - a collection of poems and prayers - in May. 

Being born and raised in Switzerland I always dreamt of another life in a warm country and so, in 2006, I left Switzerland. I did not imagine it would be a goodbye for good but I have not returned to live there since. After traveling the world for some months, I ended up in Costa Rica, the place not only where my son was born but where I was reborn.

I love to connect with nature and I am a big animal lover. Going on my daily beach walks with my dogs early in the morning is my meditation and it is where I can get grounded and connect with mother earth and myself. Costa Rica has a wonderfully special energy, which invites you to look deeper and reconnect with yourself and nature.

I was gifted with a son whose soul clearly came to this world to guide and transform me. It very soon was clear, I cannot parent this child the way I was parented. It would mean rebellion and constant conflict and a lot of power over and lack of autonomy and freedom of choice. This did not align with me at all and I decided to look for support.

Finding NVC was like finding the language to describe what I feel in my belly, what my intuition tells me, or in other words, I discovered my feelings and needs and started to understand them. It was such a relief for my mind, to finally be able to understand what my heart always knew and have a concept for what I always felt. 

Since I can remember I have this deep desire to be an active part of change in this world. I have been working with the local community for over a decade, first through a project where we held workshops about menstruation and handed out free menstruation cups to the participants. Now I am eager to bring NVC into our canton, which is the least developed and poorest of Costa Rica and an area often forgotten by the government.

I want to share NVC because I truly believe in its power and magnificence. My dream is to spread NVC in Latin America and make it accessible also to the ones with less resources. I am currently on the path to become a CNVC certified trainer. I am also active in creating NVC community within Costa Rica, especially where I am at home, offering NVC workshops for free or at an affordable price to low-income communities.