The Mission of Bridges of Peace is to educate and support individuals, organizations, and communities to become empowered to fulfill their greatest potential through mindful action, dialogue, and collaboration.
Contact us to learn more!

Meet Kathleen Oweegon

Kathleen Oweegon is the founder of Bridges of Peace with offices in Oregon and New Mexico. She also serves on the Board of Directors of International Institute for Global Leadership.

Kathleen has been a educator in communication and leadership skills for over 40 years, working with institutions and in the private sector. She has received over 250 hours of training in conflict resolution and related skills, and has created, co-designed and delivered many trainings in mindfulness, leadership, mediation, facilitation and conflict-free communication.

In 2004 she authored “Create a Better Tomorrow – Tools for Conflict-free Communication” – a training on conflict-free communication skills. In 2008, she co-authored “Facilitating With Finesse”– a 32-hour facilitation training, which was updated in 2022 to a 36-hour training titled “Facilitating With Finesse in Today’s World”, which includes skills in virtual and hybrid meeting facilitation.

Kathleen currently teaches leadership, communication, and conflict management at the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Management Essentials for Managers Program, and negotiation skills for their Women’s Leadership Development Program. She also teaches leadership, facilitation, communication, and conflict management skills for the New Mexico State University EDGE Certified Public Manager Program.

Kathleen has delivered her training ­– “Create a Better Tomorrow – Tools for Conflict-free Communication”  – to businesses and non-profits across New Mexico. In March 2013, she presented this training at the IIGL/ICLDN International Leadership Conference in Lagos, Nigeria.

Because of her skill as a conflict resolution specialist, Kathleen’s work as a facilitator is often sought for meetings where conflict is anticipated. She has facilitated numerous Town Halls for New Mexico First, supporting stakeholders in arriving at consensus on controversial issues that affect the State of New Mexico and its residents, such as Education Reform, Watershed Restoration, Health Care Reform, Transportation and Energy, to name a few.

As a senior contract facilitator for the City of Albuquerque City Attorney’s Office (ADR Division), Kathleen facilitates Land Use cases involving developers and the neighbors most affected by the proposed development. In 2014 and 2015, Kathleen served as the Lead Facilitator for the Albuquerque Collaborative on Police/Community Relations, where she led a team of facilitators in facilitating 20 dialogues between representatives of the Albuquerque Police Department and community members from all sectors of the city.

Kathleen also facilitates Strategic Planning and Team-building sessions for several government agencies, as well as for private organizations and non-profits throughout the U.S. Much of her team-building work has been focused on helping leadership teams and Boards of Directors find shared vision and cohesiveness.

Kathleen has been mediating in a variety of contexts for more than 22 years. She has served as a contract mediator for the New Mexico Center for Dispute Resolution, the City of Albuquerque, and as a sub-contractor mediating cases for the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. Additionally, in her private practice, Kathleen mediates family, workplace and community conflicts, with an overall resolution rate of over 90%.

Kathleen’s mediation and facilitation work is focused on bringing seemingly discordant voices together in collaborations that produce wisdom, growth and harmony, and result in the greatest number of needs being met for the greatest number of individuals.

Affiliates: