custom-tailored facilitation * graphic facilitation * conflict resolution * training services * build relationships

About Ruth

Ruth Nicholson, CPF, is in private practice in Washington State offering custom-tailored facilitation, graphic facilitation, conflict resolution, and training services. Ruth's passion is helping people build the relationships necessary to develop sustainable agreements.

Ruth's environmental work with federal, state, county, municipal, and tribal governments includes facilitation in the areas of endangered species conservation, urban growth management, nuclear and hazardous waste cleanup, military base reuse, and rural wastewater services. She has also provided mediation services in the areas of land use and risk assessment. Ruth's facilitation work with both corporate and non-profit organizations includes visioning, organizational development and restructuring, strategic planning, and volunteer management.

Read on for more information about Ruth's

-Technical Experience

-Training and Conference Offerings

-Volunteer Work

-Education and Credentials

-Professional Affiliations

Technical Experience

Ruth's past technical experience includes work in corporate and public land management, environmental regulation, public participation and information, community and economic development, and volunteer management.

Training and Conference Offerings

In addition to facilitation training in the United States, Ruth regularly presents workshops at international conferences in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America on developing sustainable agreements, designing complex facilitated events, using graphics to improve group communications, and preparing for professional facilitator certification. She is also the co-author of When There Are No Easy Answers...A Facilitator's Guide to Designing Complex Events which is based on input from over 100 facilitators from five countries on three continents.

Volunteer Work

Ruth's volunteer work includes serving as a mediator/judge for the University of Washington Law School Moot Court Regional Mediation Competition and as the Volunteer Coordinator for the four-day Evergreen International Soccer tournament. (www.evergreentournament.com)

Education and Credentials

Ruth holds a master's in public administration with a concentration in natural resources policy and law and a bachelor of science in forest resources and land use planning, both from the University of Washington. She is a trained mediator and one of only about 400 Certified Professional Facilitators in the world accredited by the International Association of Facilitators (www.iaf-world.org). Ruth is also a member of both the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution (www.ecr.gov) and the Seattle Federal Executive Board Alternative Dispute Resolution Consortium (www.seattle.fed.gov/mediation.htm).

Professional Affiliations

Ruth's professional affiliations include membership in the International Association of Facilitators (www.iaf-world.org), International Association for Public Participation (www.iap2.org), and the International Forum of Visual Practitioners (www.ifvp.org).