Advocacy

As a trained psychotherapist, I am a recognized advocate for mental health and emotional wellbeing.

During the pandemic, I developed a model for preventing and mitigating burnout on individual and organizational levels. It has been my pleasure to present this model in many global settings – and often on a pro bono basis.

MESPERO: Impact for Resilience, which I founded and for which I serve as Executive Director, is focused on building capacity and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) for those in last-mile settings. To that end, we develop and implement innovative projects, such as a psychological first aid remote training initiative benefiting front line humanitarian workers in Yemen.

As Executive Director of SDG2030.me, I head an intergenerational team initiating and implementing innovations around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

So far, that has included a variety of leading-edge events, sustainability initiatives, multimedia broadcasts, and learning architectures.

I have also initiated and organized related conferences, such as ‘Achieving Gender Equality and Female Empowerment: A Collaborative Vision of SDG 5’.

SDG 5 Thrive, for which I am a founder, promotes cultural sharing among youth – with an emphasis on women of a refugee background.

Engaged in the climate movement for decades, I scale results with a global yet community-based approach. 

Innovations have included television broadcasts viewed by millions via US public access (an example is here) and an SDG 13 HUB complete with virtual-learning modules and an interactive project showcase.

In July 2023, I launched Bridging Climate Divides at the United Nations in Vienna to promote inclusive development of transformative narratives and bottom-up solutions for climate impact. After that, I supported the OSCE in developing large-scale eLearning courses for renewable energy.

At COP27, I participated in bilateral meetings, mentored a youth team of activists, and co-launched a capacity-building project linking climate change with human trafficking. At COP26, I coordinated an informal side event.

For decades, I have taken an innovative media approach to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.

Via the Manhattan Neighborhood Network, I co-created a series of nuclear-related television segments that won multiple US national awards; The Medical Consequences of Nuclear Weapons is an example.

I also initiated and produced a related German-language documentary for the Austrian broadcaster ORF, some informational short pieces, and virtual-learning materials such as this sample.

Most recently, I co-organized the COP26-connected event ‘NUCLEAR CLIMATE CHANGE: An Interactive Forum Based on the Sustainable Development Goals.’

I have interviewed war witnesses from many countries and tried to understand how they had coped with ongoing devastation – and then gone on to create personal peace and societal progress.

My dream is to conduct further in-depth interviews with people who have witnessed war, both historical and contemporary conflicts, and then consolidate their insights into a book and eLearning material. Learn more about this project.