THE TEAM

Author, Attorney, Mediator

Brian Muldoon

Brian is an internationally-known consultant and trainer, and the author of The Heart of Conflict (Putnam 1996), who has worked over the past thirty years with organizations of all kinds, including healthcare systems, private medical and legal practices, high-technology corporations, and not-for-profits.

Having started his professional life as a trial lawyer, Brian was one of the early pioneers in the field of conflict resolution and co-founded the first mediation firm in the Midwest in 1985. He has been a featured guest on Good Morning America and PBS and has made numerous television and radio appearances.

After a lifetime devoted to finding better ways to resolve conflict, Brian is currently focused on preventing conflict and improving customer satisfaction by applying the latest developments in the fields of neuroscience, positive psychology and emotional intelligence to the workplace. He was a co-director of the Synthesis Dialogues in 1999, which brought one hundred Western scientists and observers together with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India.

Educator, Mythologist, ministER

Rebecca Armstrong

Rebecca is a minister, mythologist and educator with graduate degrees from the University of Chicago, Meadville Lombard Theological School, and Chicago Theological Seminary. She has designed and taught more than three dozen college-level courses at major universities such as DePaul, Purdue and Indiana. Her courses in philosophy and religion are part of the core curriculum at Indiana University and utilize advanced techniques in cognitive awareness and reflective thinking.

For 12 years Rebecca served as International OutReach Director for the Joseph Campbell Foundation, developing programs and creating curriculum for study groups. Each year she was one of the core leaders for a week-long seminar held at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA. She traveled to five continents to work in person with local study groups.

In higher education Rebecca has worked as a trainer to groups of faculty and served as a subject matter expert for numerous courses and educational videos. She has a a background in art and design which she applies to all her thinking endeavors. 

screenwriter, videographer, mediator

Andrew Shepherd

Andrew is a filmmaker who majored in Film Production at USC School of Cinematic Arts, BA '05, and since then has continued to work in film production, screenwriting and directing. His work includes a feature documentary, a comedic series called “Campaign America” and numerous shorts for diverse clients. He has worked in front of the camera as an actor as well as behind the camera as director and cinematographer.

While at USC he studied with the renowned philosopher, Stephen Toulmin, which spurred his interest in the power of thinking. He encountered the work of Jonathan Haidt (The Righteous Mind) as part of his research for his project, Polarized, and was inspired to complete a training program in mediation.

He is the founder and president of Converging Perspectives, an arts company devoted to projects that build bridges between communities divided by politics, religion, ethnicity, or gender. His current project, Polarized, examines the crisis between left and right in American politics and provides solutions for friends and families conflicted over ideologies.

Brian and Rebecca met while working as group facilitators at the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago in 1993. They also participated at the Parliaments in South Africa and Barcelona, integrating techniques from Open Space Technology and Non-Violent Communication to promote fruitful dialogues among world religious leaders. They collaborated on the formation of a vibrant community of interfaith thinkers and activists  – Friends of Compassion – that made pilgrimage to India where they met with the Dalai Lama and established several long-lasting service projects. The group also worked on social action projects in Chicago and supported members to greater accountability and resiliency. Brian and Rebecca pioneered a Ritual of Divorce that guided couples through the emotional and spiritual trials of divorce in an early version of the mind-body-spirit synthesis that has become a hallmark of their work. The success of these collaborative efforts prompted them to turn their attention to other areas where their extensive skills could be of service.  Andrew joined the team with his visual and technical skills and his passion for dialogue-as-transformation. Together they form the core team for Mind University.