About Shawn
Bringing Richmond together for collaborative solutions
Shawn Dunning has the experience and expertise to bring together people of different backgrounds and create effective solutions for Richmond.
As an independent consultant in organizational development and conflict resolution, Shawn Dunning has led improvement initiatives for numerous complex and high-performing organizations. An experienced trainer, facilitator, mediator, leadership coach, and public speaker, Shawn has trained thousands of people around the world to develop their collaborative leadership skills. This first-hand knowledge will enable him to bring constituents together in spite of their differences, and work out solutions to the city’s most pressing challenges.
Professional Profile
Shawn is the former chief operations officer of organizational development company Adventure Associates, Inc. During his tenure there, Shawn developed and facilitated leadership, team development, and conflict resolution programs for corporate, government, and nonprofit groups throughout the United States. Earlier in his career, he directed the Leadership Wisdom Initiative and also founded the Leadership & Training division for the international conflict transformation organization Search for Common Ground. Working from Washington D.C. and Jerusalem, Shawn led projects in the United States, the Middle East, the Balkans, Africa, and Southeast Asia that developed the capacity of emerging and elite political and civil society leaders to lead from a basis of common ground principles.
Shawn is also an avid community organizer, volunteer, and nonprofit board member. He studied speech communication and psychology as an undergraduate at Cal Poly and holds a master’s degree in conflict analysis and resolution from George Mason University, where he developed foundational theory and practice for Adventure-Based Conflict Resolution.
Learn more about Shawn’s professional experience at shawnmdunning.com and on his LinkedIn profile.