ISCB

“Awaken to Life: You matter! You belong!” is the driving inspiration on Monika’s journey that started with studying human anatomy and training as a nurse. Human bodies possess innate abilities to heal themselves and Monika felt compelled to implement self-healing functions in the human systems surrounding her. Pursuing careers in accounting, entrepreneurship and public relations, grounded her grasp of business management practices. In 2003, while completing her business degree at the University of Maryland, she co-founded the Entrepreneurial Partnership of Greater Washington. Recognizing that the inability to “decide together” tends to cripple human systems, Monika was drawn more deeply into conflict resolution work. In 2005 she started managing the mediation program at the Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County. While earning her Masters in Negotiations and Conflict Management at the University of Baltimore, she first encountered Sociocracy — a social technology that blended elements of what she held most dear in governance: equivalence in decision making and the ability to steer systems by the voices from within. In 2008 she partnered with John Buck in Governance Alive LLC, a consulting and training organization that helps human systems be more agile, inclusive and resilient — in short, more alive!