Hi! I’m Shira (she/her). I’m a mediator, dialogue facilitator, and educator, supporting people seeking to live with greater presence, courage, and connection.

I create spaces—both practical and sacred—where people can return to what’s true, heal what’s been fractured, and imagine new ways of being together. Whether in a living room, a classroom, or a conference room, I help groups embody truth-telling as the foundation for our relationships and our lives.

This site is a home to bring together my personal and professional journey, to share my insights, revelations, and lessons learned, and to weave together wisdom from ancient spiritual traditions to cutting-edge scientific discoveries - all in service of supporting humanity in our collective liberation.

My Approach

So many conflicts boil down to one thing - a sense that we can’t talk freely about the real issues. And yet I have seen firsthand how even the most heated conflicts - whether around workplace harassment, sexual misconduct, racial harm, Palestine/Israel, or any other highly charged topic - can be radically transformed once people are given the space and support to speak their truth from a place of empowerment, safety, and connection.

My work weaves together 20+ years of community-based leadership with a deep spiritual practice rooted in listening, ritual, and collective transformation. Through the use of restorative, mindful, and trauma-informed practices, I work to create spaces that promote safety, respect, and dignity, and that turn silence into storytelling, resentment into curiosity, and harm into healing and repair.

My Story

My own path has been one of awakening to the power of finding my voice - and sharing that gift with others.

As a trauma survivor, my journey of recovery has been supported by countless individuals and groups that have helped me to name, own, and share my story, and to take my power back from the forces that for years worked to suppress, minimize, deny, deflect, and blame me for my experience.

As I began to experience the power of restorative circles, where the structure of a safe, predictable container creates opportunity for storytelling that is safe, connected, and healing - I learned that when I tell my story, I am not alone. Storytelling is medicine that brings people together, allowing us to hear one another in our humanity.

Through the tools of restorative practices, I invite others into that same discovery: that our stories are the building blocks of our collective liberation.

Professional Background and Experience

My approach draws on my professional experiences as well as my community-based volunteer work as a mediator, conflict coach, restorative practices Circle keeper, community dialogue facilitator, and Nonviolent Communication practitioner.

I have taught several undergraduate and graduate level courses, including Conflict Resolution at Nazareth University, Interpersonal Communication at Monroe Community College, and a number of Education and Human Development courses at the University of Rochester. I speak, lecture, and lead trainings on a variety of topics including conflict skills, restorative practices/Circle keeping, trauma-informed care, implicit bias, and diversity/equity/inclusion (DEI).

I work as the President/CEO at the Center for Dispute Settlement, a non-profit organization providing mediation and conflict resolution services in the Rochester and Finger Lakes region in New York State. I am the current Board President of the New York State Dispute Resolution Association. I also volunteer as a Circle keeper with Hidden Water, a restorative justice approach to supporting those impacted by childhood sexual abuse.

My writing has been published in Braver Collective, Discourse Processes, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, and Mentoring and Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, among other publications. I have presented at the International Institute for Restorative Practices World Conference, American Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Conference, American Educational Research Association Conference, and New York State Dispute Resolution Association Conference, and many other local forums.

I hold a Ph.D. in Education and Human Development at the University of Rochester, a B.S. in Cognitive Science from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership from St. John Fisher University.