What Guides My Work
I believe that people should be able to express their voices, have those voices respected, and see them reflected in decision-making and positive social change.
Throughout my work in international organisations, and now through coaching and facilitation, I have remained committed to creating the conditions that make this possible.
When facing complex challenges, it is rare that a single leader, expert, or organisation holds all the answers.
That is why I believe in creating spaces where diverse people can engage in dialogue, learn from one another, and think together.
I also value our connection with nature. Nature can offer restoration, insight, and a space to reconnect with ourselves and the values that matter most to us. At the same time, it invites us to reflect on our relationship with the natural world and biodiversity, and to consider how we can respond through our actions.
Guided by these beliefs, I continue to explore and practise what I call Nature-Conscious Self-Leadership*, while creating spaces for dialogue and learning that connect people with one another, with society, and with nature.
The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people.
But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind
— David Orr
What I Learned in the Field
For more than 25 years, I worked in international organisations in areas including refugee protection, human rights, peacebuilding, international development, and the elimination of weapons of mass destruction. Along the way, I collaborated with a wide range of actors, including community-based organisations, civil society groups, and government institutions.
Working across Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and other regions, I found myself returning again and again to one central question:
“How can we genuinely ensure that people's voices are heard and valued?”
For me, this means more than simply listening to people. It means creating dialogue and decision-making processes in which their experiences, knowledge, and perspectives can meaningfully inform outcomes and actions.
I also learned that achieving this requires more than effective methods, systems, or institutional frameworks. It depends on trust, relationships, and genuine human connection.
Of course, the field also taught me humility. Along the way, I made mistakes—some of which still make me cringe when I look back. Yet those experiences became some of my greatest teachers, helping me better understand both the challenges and the importance of dialogue, participation, and collaboration.
These lessons continue to shape and inform my work today in Leadership & Talent Development, Dialogue & Participatory Processes, and Diversity & Organisational Culture.
Profile
I was born and raised in Kaisei-machi, a small town in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
My interest in English and the wider world began at the end of primary school, when I started learning English from a neighbour whom I greatly admired. Raised by a single mother, I grew up encouraged by her optimistic belief that “you never know until you try.”
After graduating from Keio University with a degree in English and American Literature and gaining a few years of professional experience, I moved to the United Kingdom and earned an MA in the Theory and Practice of Human Rights from the University of Essex.
I subsequently worked with organisations such as UNDP, UNOPS, UNHCR, and IOM in the fields of humanitarian assistance, human rights, peacebuilding, and international development. Over the years, I lived and worked in countries including Samoa, Kosovo, Jordan, Zambia, Sri Lanka, Angola, Eritrea, Nepal, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan.
During a Special Leave Without Pay, I became a mother and moved to the Netherlands with my infant daughter to complete an LLM in Public International Law at Leiden University. I later returned to UNHCR field operations with my daughter for several years before eventually settling in the Netherlands. After working for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), I officially left UNHCR after approximately fifteen years of service.
Following professional training in facilitation and coaching, I founded Synergy Facilitation in 2021. I also taught at The Hague University of Applied Sciences for five years.
Today, I draw on both my international career and my work as a facilitator and coach to create spaces where people can learn, engage in meaningful dialogue, and realise their potential.
* Nature-Conscious Self-Leadership is a concept that guides both my work and my daily life.
It begins with reflecting on our values, assumptions, and way of being, and translating those insights into how we live and work. It also involves making conscious choices that reflect care for the natural world, biodiversity, other people, and the wider communities of which we are a part.
At the heart of this approach is inclusion. I believe that diverse voices should be respected and that people should have the opportunity to participate in decisions that affect their lives and communities. It also means recognising that relationships between people and relationships with nature are deeply interconnected.
We are not separate from nature; we are part of it. By spending time in nature, we can reconnect with sources of energy, inspiration, and awe, while deepening our awareness of ourselves, others, and the world around us.
I continue to explore and practise this approach in my own life and work.