Meet the Team
Kirsten Szykitka
Interim Executive Director
With a heart deeply rooted in peacebuilding and community-led growth, Kirsten brings a wealth of experience in fostering connection across deep divides. Most notably, she spent eight years as the Director of Operations for Tomorrow’s Women, where she designed and managed transformative programs for youth from Israel and Palestine. This pivotal role, facilitating summer peace camps and supporting alumni engagement in the Middle East, solidified her belief in the power of dialogue to heal conflict and build lasting bridges. Kirsten’s professional journey is shaped by over two decades of living and working internationally, with significant chapters spent in Mexico and the Czech Republic. This global path has equipped her with a versatile “toolkit” of nonprofit expertise and a dedication to helping mission-driven organizations thrive. Now serving as the Interim Executive Director, Kirsten is excited to help guide the organization’s strategic growth and sustainability. She remains committed to the art of listening as a catalyst for global healing and understanding.
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Alanna Faust
Operations Manager
Alanna hails from the desert Southwest and now calls Berlin, Germany home. She holds a master’s in Intercultural Conflict Management and brings a deep curiosity about how we relate to one another. As Operations Manager, Alanna oversees TCLP's day-to-day operations, serving as the main point of contact while supporting internal systems, communications, financial administration, outreach, and program delivery. She works closely with staff, facilitators, and partners to strengthen organizational capacity and help sustain the wider Compassionate Listening community. Alanna’s professional background spans fundraising and event coordination at a complexity science institute, field mentoring in wilderness therapy, whitewater raft guiding, bookkeeping for a home-building company, and analyzing startups for their funding potential. She brings a wide breadth of skills to her work and is always eager to keep learning.
Leah Green
Founder & Director Emeritus
Leah founded The Compassionate Listening Project in 1990. She holds a Master's in Public Administration from the Evans School at the University of Washington, where she also completed her coursework for a Masters in Middle Eastern Studies. Leah is recognized as a leader in Jewish-Palestinian reconciliation. Since 1990, she’s led 26 training delegations to Israel and Palestine and produced three documentaries about the conflict, including Children of Abraham, and Crossing the Lines: Palestinians and Israelis Speak With the Compassionate Listening Project. Leah has led delegations to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, and co-founded the Jewish-German Compassionate Listening Project in 2002. She is a facilitator of Systems and Family Constellations and integrates Constellations into her trainings. Leah is a past recipient of the Yoga Journal’s “Karma Yoga Award." She mentors new facilitators through the certification program and is available for coaching sessions by phone. Contact Leah for more information. Chapters about Leah’s work are included in the following books: • Soul Stories, by Gary Zukav • Peace In Our Lifetime, by Susan Skog • Soul of Success: A Woman’s Guide to Authentic Power, by Jennifer Hawthorne; • Peace, Justice and Jews: Reclaiming Our Tradition, by Stefen Merken and Murray Polner; • Beyond Bullets and Bombs: Grassroots Peacebuilding between Israelis and Palestinians, by Dr. Judy Kuriansky; • Love for no Reason: 7 Steps to Creating a Life of Unconditional Love, by Marci Shimoff; • Compassionate Listening and other Writings by Gene Knudsen Hoffman, by Anthony Manousos