Conflict Resolution Center Hires New Director

Lejla Bratovic

It is the Conflict Resolution Center’s great pleasure to announce that CRC’s Board of Directors has hired Lejla Bratovic as our new Executive Director.

Originally from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lejla came to the United States as a refugee in 1993. She holds a Master’s degree in International Policy Studies and a Certificate in Conflict Resolution from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. For the past fifteen years, Lejla has promoted negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution in both the US and abroad. She is an advocate for peace and nonviolence. She lives in Santa Cruz and has called Monterey and Santa Cruz counties her home for over 2 decades.

Lejla comes to CRC with extensive experience in conflict resolution, mediation, and non-profit work. She is a co-founder and President of Global Majority, an NGO (nongovernment organization) dedicated to the promotion of nonviolent conflict resolution through education, training, advocacy, and mediation. Through Global Majority, Lejla has initiated and executed programs locally and globally, focusing on “Promoting Peace through Dialogue” and encouraging the use of interest-based negotiation as a preferred method for conflict resolution.

Lejla was a recipient of the prestigious Weinstein International Mediation Fellowship, assisting in complex multiparty mediations at the JAMS San Francisco office, and participating in the “Making Peace Our Business” initiative, which was focused on mediating violent conflicts over natural resources. Prior to this, she was also an Ariane de Rothschild fellow on social entrepreneurship and cross-cultural dialogue at Cambridge, UK. She specializes in mediation and training and has consulted with various United Nations organizations and educational institutions.

Although much of her work has been international, Lejla has a strong community focus. She spends much of her time working towards institutionalizing conflict resolution education in our public schools.

The Conflict Resolution Center has been serving the people of Santa Cruz County for over 30 years, offering affordable, accessible mediation, training, and facilitation services. Through a variety of services and programs, CRC supports individuals and organizations in finding satisfying solutions to difficult problems.

CRC is proud of the fact that we accomplish this goal with the assistance of our many skilled and dedicated volunteers. Over the last year CRC volunteers provided 4860 hours of service to the Santa Cruz community.