conflict midwife

equity-informed mediation for justice-rooted changemakers

your work matters. conflict is slowing it down.

Your team’s work is too important to be derailed — yet here you are.

There’s been a rupture, or there’s a slow-burning tension eating at trust.
People are cautious, holding back their best thinking. Decisions stall.
Energy drains. Quietly, momentum slips away.

This isn’t a “personality clash” or a “communications hiccup.”
It’s a live, frazzling power dynamic — shaped by history, values, and the systems in which we all operate.

Left unattended, it calcifies.

Handled with skill and care, it can be a turning point: a catalyst for clarity, repair, and a different way of working together.

what I do — and what I don’t do

I’m not here to “make everyone play nice” or smooth things over for optics.
I serve as a guide to walk you through the labor of resolving conflict without tearing the fabric of your team or community.

in our work together, you will:

  • Name the real stakes — without defensiveness or collapse

  • Diagnose how power is moving — and where it’s stuck

  • Unravel what’s happening beneath the surface, not just the symptoms

  • Offer sustainable agreements and boundaries you can actually keep

you and your people do the labor.
I make sure it’s safe enough to see it through.

when to call

  • A rupture has happened, and you need to repair before it hardens into mistrust.

  • Long-standing conflict is draining time, energy, and focus.

  • A board, team, or partnership is at an impasse and can’t get back to forward motion.

  • You want to address harm in a way that builds capacity, not just compliance.

who brings me in

  • Executive Directors, Program Leads, Board Chairs, and Cofounders holding both the mission and the weight of unresolved tension

  • Leaders in justice-rooted organizations who want to walk their talk, even when the talking is hard

  • Teams, boards, and community groups caught in cycles of frustration, mistrust, or unspoken resentments — ready to try something different

how it works

Every engagement is tailored to your specific context, but most include:

  1. Intake & Scoping

    • 60-min session with decision-maker(s) to clarify history, stakes, desired outcomes, and risks

  2. Individual Preparation

    • 30-min confidential sessions with each participant (up to 5 participants) to determine safety needs and build the container

    • Power mapping to surface both interpersonal and structural forces shaping the conflict

    • Larger groups use a written intake + selective 1:1s with key parties

  3. Mediation Session

    • 2-hour facilitated session bringing parties together in a safe, structured process

    • Diagnose immediate issues and the power patterns underneath

    • Build practices of repair and accountability

  4. Wrap-Up & Recommendations

    • 45 min debrief with decision-maker(s)

    • Written summary of agreements and next steps

    • Optional individual debriefs with participants

optional additions

  • Power Praxis Coaching or Advisory: 3 months of integration support for leaders to uphold agreements, navigate power shifts, and strengthen equity-informed leadership capacity

  • Sustainable Transition Design: For organizations ready to ensure agreements hold and culture shifts take root, we offer extended design and facilitation for accountability structures, role transitions, and long-term capacity building. Available by proposal following mediation.

  • Custom Facilitation for Larger Groups: For boards, coalitions, or departments of 10+, a facilitation arc addressing conflict exploration, repair, and sustainable systemic dynamics

timeline

Typical engagements run 3–4 weeks:

  • Week 1: Intake & prep

  • Week 2: Individual sessions

  • Week 3: Mediation

  • Week 4: Wrap-up & recommendations

investment

Mediation is high-stakes, high-skill work — and far less costly than the slow bleed of trust, capacity, and mission momentum.

  • Up to 5 participants: $6,500

  • Larger groups or more complex dynamics: $8,500–$12,000 (custom quote)

  • Additional sessions: $1,800–$2,500 each

why “conflict midwife”?

Because conflict, at its best, is a transition into a different way of working and relating.


It’s not my job to birth it for you — it’s my job to ensure you have the clarity, safety, and steadiness to get through the hardest parts without losing what matters most.

Conflict midwifery is the philosophy behind my work: tending to labor and rupture with the same skill, steadiness, and respect you’d give to any transformative threshold.

“Shivani skillfully led our team through a time of transition at our organization. She drew [on] evidence based materials and tactfully followed the energy in the room. I would highly recommend Shivani to anyone looking for external facilitation support!”

— CW, Global Manager

“Shivani’s use of metaphors, open listening style, and encouragement for acknowledging of harms, and actionable future steps made this entire process feel intensely positive. I’m hopeful for the future of my organization, and the ways that we work together and address issues.”

— Nonprofit executive director

next step

📅 Reach out to schedule a Conflict Readiness Call — a confidential, no-pressure conversation to assess your situation and determine if we’re the right fit.

You’ll walk away with a clear sense of your next best move — whether or not we work together.