Join the next livestream of the Social Change Career Podcasts with Michael Shipler who has spent 25 years leading teams and building coalitions in some of the most complex conflict zones in the world. He started on the front lines, working with gang members and youth leaders in Cambodia. He went on to grow Search for Common Ground's presence in Asia from 5 to 11 countries, serve as interim CEO of Soliya through a financial turnaround, and lead a transformational strategy process for one of the world's leading peacebuilding organizations.

Now he is leading Common Ground Leadership, a major new initiative from Search for Common Ground that translates decades of field-tested practice from 50+ divided countries into a leadership development program for anyone who leads anything.

In this live conversation, Michael shares what he has learned about leading across dividing lines, why collaborative leadership is the critical skill of the 21st century, and how the lessons from peacebuilding apply to leaders in nonprofits, business, education, and beyond.

Why Join the Stream

• Hear how a career that started with gang outreach in Cambodia grew into building a global model of collaborative leadership.
  
• Learn what multipartial leadership actually means and why bringing your opponents into the room is often the only way the work moves and holds.
  
• Understand how Search for Common Ground distilled lessons from 50+ conflict-affected countries into a world-class leadership development program.
  
• Explore why a win-lose, divisive approach to leadership is breaking down, and what leaders are doing differently to get real results.
  
• Get practical insight into the discipline of ceding power so that real coalitions, not just coalitions of the willing, can form.
  
• Hear how Michael led a turnaround at Soliya, reversed a six-figure deficit, raised $1.7m, and set up the organization for a successful merger with AFS Intercultural Programs.
  
• Learn how the youth, peace and security field was built, and the role Michael played in founding the Children and Youth division at Search that helped spearhead UN Security Council Resolution 2250.
  
• Understand what it takes to build a long career across program leadership, regional management, strategy, and CEO-level roles in the social impact sector.
  

Event Details

Join us on Monday, May 11 from 10:30 to 11:40 am EDT.

The event will be livestreamed on YouTube and LinkedIn. There is always time for audience questions and comments, so come ready to engage.

Can't attend live? The episode will be available shortly after, along with 200+ past conversations on impact careers and social change at pcdn.global/listen.

Bio

Michael Shipler is Vice President of Common Ground Leadership at Search for Common Ground, where he leads a major effort to accelerate a new model of collaborative leadership around the world. Common Ground Leadership equips, connects, and supports leaders to work across dividing lines and achieve real results, drawing on decades of Search's experience in more than 50 of the most divided countries on earth.

Michael previously served as Vice President of Strategy at Search, where he led a global team of 16 specialists in strategy, planning, learning, monitoring and evaluation, and capability building. He guided a transformational strategy process using foresight and scenarios to reimagine the organization's future, served on the executive merger team that brought Preemptive Love Coalition into Search, and led the design of 10-year impact strategies across 12+ countries and thematic teams.

From 2012 to 2018, Michael served as Regional Director for Asia, leading programming, fundraising, and operations across 11 countries and growing annual revenue from $6m to $10m. He established country programs in Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan and helped build a regional dialogue that contributed to a peace agreement between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

In 2024, Michael was seconded as Interim CEO of Soliya, where he reversed a six-figure deficit, raised $1.7m in new funding, launched a US Program, negotiated a preliminary merger agreement with AFS Intercultural Programs, and recruited his successor. He continues to serve on Soliya's board of directors.

Earlier in his career, Michael was part of the establishment of the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security (formerly the Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative) and founded the Children and Youth division at Search for Common Ground, which went on to spearhead efforts to pass UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security.

He holds an MA in War in the Modern World from the War Studies Department at King's College London and completed the Disruptive Strategy with Clayton Christensen certificate program at Harvard Business School Online.

Learn more about Michael on LinkedIn.