Elizabeth Fierman

Elizabeth (Betsy) Fierman is a mediator, facilitator, trainer, and researcher with 10 years of experience in the field of conflict management and collaborative problem solving. She has helped a range of organizations to address socio-environmental conflicts and design and implement public participation and multi-stakeholder engagement processes. A key focus of her work is facilitating constructive engagement between communities, companies, and government agencies. Based in Chile, Betsy is director of CBI’s Chile office. She has also worked with a variety of Chilean institutions, such as Casa de la Paz Foundation and the Agency for Sustainability and Climate Change. She has taught courses on alternative dispute resolution at the Universidad de Chile and the Pontifica Universidad Católica de Valparaíso.

Areas of Focus

A key focus of Betsy’s work is assisting communities, companies, and authorities to engage in constructive dialogue, for example around development, public policy, and individual investment projects. She designs and facilitates dialogue processes that provide space for these stakeholders to address past grievances, identify and address current problems, and create solutions for moving forward. She also conducts studies and conflict assessments to help different stakeholders understand existing and potential conflicts associated with these issues. As a trainer, Betsy has worked community leaders, government agencies, and private companies to help build capacity for negotiation and dialogue.

Exemplary Projects

• Circular Economy in Chile: Developing a new policy for circular economy through a participatory process.
• Chile’s salmon industry and communities: Facilitating dialogue among salmon companies and artisanal fishermen around managing the industry’s collective social impacts and investments. 
• Voluntary Pre-Investment Agreements: facilitating dialogue between a new industrial oil recycling company and a local community.
• Social Context Studies: understanding social risks around two new renewable energy projects in Chile.

Clients

The following is a partial list of clients:

• Inter-American Development Bank
• DEG
• Agency for Sustainability and Climate Change of Chile
• Environment Ministry of Chile
• Energy Ministry of Chile
• Environmental Assessment Service of Chile
• BHP Billiton
• WWF
• Acción Empresas
• Monterrey Bay Aquarium

Education and Affiliations

Betsy holds a Master's Degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a Bachelor’s Degree ​​from Haverford College. She is a certified mediator by the State of Massachusetts and is a certified facilitator for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations. A native of Boston, USA, she is bilingual in English and Spanish.