Our Team

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Beth Wonson

  • CEO and Founder of Navigating Challenging Dialogue®
  • Communication expert and leadership coach
Beth developed the Navigating Challenging Dialogue® process out of a desire to help herself become a better manager, leader, parent, and friend. As she began working with the tools she developed, she got requests to help people, teams, and organizations become better at having tough, but essential, conversations. 
Now, Fortune 500s, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and schools use the tools and strategies of NCD to become communicators who empower others through meaningful, drama-free conversations.
Beth speaks nationally about the urgent need to have high-stakes conversations in healthy ways, even with people we don’t agree with. “Until we learn to listen with curiosity, build empathy, and focus on the good of the whole when having tough conversations, we will not be able to move the needle on our most complex challenges.”
In addition to training and speaking, Beth is an ICF accredited Leadership Coach, providing mentoring and consulting services. Her latest book, Turn This Conversation Around: The 4-Stage Process for Communication with Connection is the official handbook of Navigating Challenging Dialogue®. 
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Andrea Buchtel

  • VP of Operations and Communications
  • NCD Facilitator and Business Coach
Andrea is a Business Systems Architect with over 30 years of experience. In addition to being a Navigating Challenging Dialogue® Facilitator, she is also responsible for directing the operations of the company in support of its goals. This includes handling marketing and communications, curriculum development and deployment, and the design and implementation of all technology services.
Andrea’s work as a business coach is to provide guidance on clarifying goals, building roadmaps, and facilitating the change necessary to succeed. 

Our Mission

Beth Wonson & Company is a woman-owned, California-certified small business enterprise.
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Beth Wonson founded Navigating Challenging Dialogue in 2015 out of frustration for the ways in which traditional leadership skills fail the mission and goals of organizations. She realized one of the most critical needs was an awareness and development of self-leadership and effective communication
Today, all of our work is in service of benefiting the highest good for society as a whole. Our mission is to make organizations healthier and more collaborative using Navigating Challenging Dialogue®, a proven framework for ending miscommunication and unhealthy conflict. 
Navigating Challenging Dialogue® is informed by research and analysis in the areas of social and emotional intelligence, diversity, and inclusion. Anti-racism is a priority for our internal work as a company, as individuals, and we expect it to be top of mind for our clients as well. If you need assistance identifying practitioners who can support your organization in diversity and inclusion work, please contact us.
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