CBI Transitions

Leading CBI: Looking Back and Ahead
As Stacie Nicole Smith stepped into her role as Managing Director at CBI, she took some time to think about what drew her to consensus building two decades ago, landmark developments in the field over the years, and what this era is demanding of practitioners – and CBI. Read more >>

 

A Time to Follow
After nearly 20 years, Patrick Field is stepping down as Managing Director at CBI and passing the torch to Stacie Nicole Smith. Pat reflects on his time leading the organization and why he decided to make this transition and continue his work as a Senior Mediator at CBI. Read more >>

 

Back to the Future
Colin Rule, recently appointed chair of CBI’s Board of Directors, speaks to the unprecedented challenges that have surfaced in our society in recent years and the importance of consensus building to finding a path forward. Read more >>

 

CBI New Faces

CBI is pleased to welcome Ekow Edzie as a Senior Associate and Mariana Rivera-Torres as an Associate, both based in California on the CBI West team.
 

Ekow Edzie joins CBI as a Senior Associate based in San Francisco, CA. Ekow brings nine years of experience in stakeholder engagement and facilitation as well as design and implementation of trainings. He facilitates and mediates environmental planning and public policy disputes within a wide range CBI's areas of expertise, including land use and transportation planning, natural and cultural resource management, and economic and social policy. Ekow previously worked with the Harvard Negotiation Institute and Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation; the City of Cambridge, MA; and managed a project innovation team for Education First. Ekow has a BA in environmental studies with a minor in biology from Middlebury College as well as a master’s degree in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Tufts University as a Swizter Fellow, where he concentrated in environmental economics, land use policy, and negotiation.

 

Mariana Rivera-Torres joins CBI as an Associate based in Sacramento, CA. Mariana bringing more than five years of experience as a facilitator in participatory community development and collaborative planning process. Mariana has a rich background in domestic and international social and environmental issues, and she works with the CBI West team across many of CBI's areas of expertise, including climate adaptation, water resources, and natural and cultural resources. She has a master’s degree in Water, Society, and Policy from the University of Arizona, where she undertook research focused on U.S.-Mexico conflict and cooperation in the Colorado River Basin. Mariana completed her bachelor’s degree at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala from 2015-2017.