Certified Trainers at the Center for Nonviolent Communication

Lars Veraart, veterinarian by trade, is now giving his life energy to creating pathways towards a living planet for all.

Lars is living with his wife Robyn (trainer at this IIT) and their son Carsten in the community where our village IIT will be held. Lars and Robyn founded Provision Transylvania, an ecological farm and learning center with the mission of creating living and learning opportunities that contribute to health and well-being for the planet and people. Regeneration and Nonviolence are key themes in their work and NVC camps, teachings and counseling are core elements of Provision Transylvania.

Lars also co-founded and runs ALPA, a local land trust which focuses on common stewardship for agricultural lands and biodiversity protection within the broader concept of bioregional regeneration. Lars is the local logistics coordinator for our IIT.

I am 27 years old and currently in the final stages of my degree in communication psychology. I also work in public relations and corporate communications and supplement my theoretical knowledge from university with practical experience. In my free time, I enjoy making music, singing and my husband plays the piano and guitar, reading, being in nature (whether cycling or hiking) and discovering the world.

I grew up with non-violent communication and am very grateful for the values that I was able to learn from an early age. After graduating from high school, I started to actively engage with it myself and I really value it in my life. Whether for contact with myself, my husband or other people. I am particularly keen to pass on non-violent communication to young people and to exchange ideas and learn together with people my own age.  I published a book about my experiences of growing up with non-violent communication in 2023.

Funding Institutions

Ruth Olari Proscovia is a dedicated development practitioner from Uganda with a passion for social transformation through the principles of Nonviolent Communication (NVC).

Ruth was introduced to NVC in 2019 during her peacebuilding work in the communities of the Teso sub-region in eastern Uganda, particularly in the prevention and response to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAW). Through NVC, she learned how to build and maintain relationships, partnerships, and collaborations that promote mutual respect for the feelings and needs of all, with the awareness that every human being has needs that matter.

Ruth's commitment to NVC has led her to participate in extensive NVC training programs facilitated by trainers from the Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC), including a 9-day International Intensive Training on NVC in Tanzania (2022), a 10-day Residential NVC training in Uganda in November 2023, and a 10-day Residential NVC training in Kenya in December 2023. These experiences have equipped her with invaluable skills for facilitating training and discussions that significantly enhance the quality of life and promote harmony in society.

Ruth has accumulated over five years of experience engaging communities and leaders in meaningful conversations aimed at addressing the deep-rooted challenges faced by underserved populations. She has done this through training, collaborations, partnerships, Alternative Dispute Resolution (mediation), appropriate referrals, counseling, and providing empathy to survivors of gender-based violence. She coordinates dialogues among community leaders—male and female cultural, religious, political, and government leaders, as well as policymakers—to influence policies, by-laws, and ordinances that support equality between men and women for peaceful coexistence in the Teso sub-region of eastern Uganda.

Ruth is currently leading a women and girls' social change initiative (the Women and Girls Empowerment Program), which seeks to empower survivors of obstetric fistula in the Northern, Eastern, and Central regions of Uganda by providing them with skills, capacity, and knowledge in civic education and advocacy. She applies NVC principles to offer psychosocial support and empathy to survivors of obstetric fistula and GBV, facilitating dialogues with policymakers, health workers, civil society organizations, government leaders, and survivors to advocate for improved maternal health outcomes in Uganda.

Through her work, Ruth passionately advocates for community engagement, partnerships, collaborations, alliances, and movements among like-minded individuals, organizations, policymakers, politicians, and government leaders to promote policy frameworks that support proper planning and decision-making for national development. Her efforts aim to uplift and empower marginalized communities, fostering a culture of understanding and empathy.

If you are seeking support with the logistics for the 2025 Kenya IIT or wish to connect with Ruth for assistance, particularly with registration, bookings, and general information, feel free to reach out to her via the form at the bottom of this page.

Zach Yocum is based in Columbus, Ohio, and offers coaching and workshops combining Nonviolent Communication with somatic/embodiment practices. He attended his first training with Marshall Rosenberg nearly 20 years ago. Continuing to study NVC under a variety of trainers, Zach has been teaching and facilitating workshops and practice groups since 2017. Zach strives to share processes that have been deeply impactful in his own life and to offer skills with real-life applicability.

Tamara Bucic is originally an engineer of mathematics with a passion for movement, yoga, spirituality, nature, and music (singing). Her interests extend to dance, theater, and creativity. Since a young age, she has explored spiritual practices from various traditions and is a certified yoga teacher deeply committed to Nonviolent Communication (NVC). 

Growing up in Croatia during a time of war, she experienced a very hard environment both outside and inside her home, along with a lack of quality communication within her family, which influenced her relationships and self-perception. Recognizing the need for change, she discovered Nonviolent Communication through a book by Marshal Rosenberg, gifted by her yoga teacher. This encounter transformed her approach to communication, and she became an avid advocate of NVC, sharing its principles and techniques with others at every opportunity. 

Tamara's dedication to personal growth and meaningful human connections is evident in all she does, making her a passionate and inspiring advocate for Nonviolent Communication.

Khang has many years of experience working with youths, multi-generational families and sustainable agriculture communities. She is a certified Mediator at SEEDS Community Resolution Center and a Restorative Justice Level 2 Facilitator. Khang is currently a Certification Candidate with CNVC. She has designed and executed several training and dialogue programs with organizations such as CoLab International, Healing Circle Global, NEED Compassionate Communication Vietnam, etc. Khang has been working with organizations in many fields such as education, healthcare, technology and manufacturing, to improve conflict engagement capacity. Leaning on her humor and sincerity, Khang has a knack for inviting the raw truth to be told, and supporting all parties to digest it. She also helps teams to rewrite the hidden agreements that often creates burnout, blame and shame.

Robin is an educator and author living in Silver City, NM. She spends her time teaching at the local Montessori school, offering support in a self-empowerment retreat space and serving as a leader in her community’s NVC practice group. Robin is dedicated to strengthening her community through honest, loving communication and authentic connection. She will be releasing her first book - a collection of poems and prayers - in May. 

Exploring my internal world, and the external motivates the journey of my life, and I seek ways to live with integrity and harmony. Alongside other beautiful practices that I have embraced, like yoga and ayurveda, NVC enables me to uncover my inner-self further, and to foster more meaningful connections with people around. My journey with NVC began 4 years ago with reading the book, and I could feel its transformative energy. The 9-Day IIT I attended was a heart-opening experience, with absolutely brilliant trainers (some listed above on this page!). Bringing elements of NVC into my everyday life helps me in understanding needs of self and others better, in both personal and professional situations. I hope more and more people find access to such knowledge, and benefit from it. To be a part of the organizing team for this IIT is a small way in which I can contribute to the community, and this makes me happy.

Nessa Dertnig discovered NVC for the first time while on a permaculture course in 2011, and since then has studied with a variety of trainers in the United States and Europe. The practice of NVC has helped her create more connected and fulfilling relationships with many people in her life, and feel more balanced, aware, curious, and open. She is currently deepening her practice as a candidate for trainer certification.

Nessa lives and works on a small organic farm in southern Austria with her husband and two teenage children. She also teaches in a local secondary school and is eager to learn more about how to bring NVC into a public school setting and share NVC with students, parents, and teachers.

I am 31 years old and currently in the process of becoming a Certified Trainer in Nonviolent Communication. My journey began when I was 18 years old and experienced the power of NVC for myself. My father gave me the book "A Language of Life" by Dr. Marshall Rosenberg. After reading the first 20 pages, I knew I had found something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

Nonviolent Communication has not only helped me to better understand my own needs and feelings, but also those of the people around me. In recent years, I have met so many wonderful people in NVC circles. Among them is my wife. Together with her, I have experienced Nonviolent Communication on an even deeper level.

My wish is to help people discover the power of nonviolent communication so that they can enrich their lives and have fulfilling encounters. 
I am particularly interested in working with young people so that Nonviolent Communication is also lived by future generations.

Working and living in an international environment enriched my appreciation for the diversity of the world’s people and their cultures, making me improve and deepen my communication skills. My natural interest in interpersonal relationships and the inner world of each individual has led me to discover NVC. Since my first NVC retreat, I have gotten a completely new perspective of myself and the way the force of Life is expressed through me. Needless to say, it has also changed the way I communicate with others. My wish is to guide by example and to help others not only to discover their needs but also to find a unique way to authentically actualize them. When I started walking this path I began accepting who I am and what my needs are – now my mission is to support those who decided to go on that journey too. Organization of NVC reatreats and workshops is a small step of making a social change.