Tim Hicks
Tim Hicks is founder of Connexus Conflict Management, providing mediation, facilitation, training, and consultation to individuals and organizations in the private and public spheres. In addition to his training work, he teaches two courses a year on conflict and its resolution for Endicott College. From 2006 to 2014, he was the first Director of the Master’s degree program in Conflict and Dispute Resolution at the University of Oregon, leading the program to a position of national prominence.
Biography
Prior to his career in conflict resolution, he and his wife started a business that grew to 150+ employees over the course of seven years. That project gave him first-hand experience with the dynamics of organizations and the challenges of leadership, allowing him subsequently to understand what management and staff are dealing with in the organizations he consults and works with. In addition to his most recent book, Embodied Conflict: the neural basis of conflict and communication, he co-authored The Process of Business/Environmental Collaborations: Partnering for Sustainability (Quorum Books, May 2000), a text on collaborative partnerships to resolve environmental disputes between corporations and environmental organizations, and wrote a book-length thesis, Barriers to the Use of Mediation in Environmental Dispute Resolution (Antioch University, 1997), a study of the barriers to the use of mediation in the environmental/public policy arena. He published a novel in 2015, Last Stop Before Tomorrow, that addresses the challenges and dilemmas of climate change. His current research interests follow from his most recent book and involve the nature of consciousness and the self.Education
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Master's degree, Conflict Resolution, Antioch University
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
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Consciousness and the nature of the self; the neuroscience of perception, communication, and relationship; conflict resolution; mediation.
Books
News
recent unsolicited reader comments on "Embodied Conflict"
By: Tim Hicks
Subjects: Cognitive Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology, Neuropsychology, Psychology
"I attended your workshop at the ACR conference in Tucson, bought "Embodied Conflict", and feels as if my life nad my mediation practive have been changed."
"Hello Tim. Just finished your book. I have never underlined so many passages in a book as I have with ‘Embodied Conflict’. More than presenting the new insight of neural structure and physiology into conflict understanding and resolution you have provided an immensely valuable compendium of conflict resolution concepts and practices."
"I love your new book. I am running out of highlighters. This is a must read for every conflict worker or anyone in a related field!"
Recent book reviews
By: Tim Hicks
Early reviews of Tim's new book, Embodied Conflict: the neural basis of conflict and communication, include:
“Practical, accessible, easy to read, and yet deeply
rooted in science, Tim Hicks has written an extremely valuable book
for conflict specialists or for anyone struggling to understand the
conflicts they face in life. Starting from the premise that
‘an understanding of the neural workings of the brain’
will help us to better understand and intervene in conflict, Hicks
walks us carefully through an understanding of essential concepts
of neural science and then applies these both broadly and
specifically to how we can understand what happens in conflict and
how we can use this understanding in very practical ways. This is a
very valuable addition to our understanding of conflict.”
Bernie Mayer, conflict specialist and author
"Embodied Conflict: The Neural Basis of Conflict and Communication
by Tim Hicks is a well-written and thoroughly researched
explanation of this new and vital area of thought for mediators and
dispute resolution professionals, the best compilation of this
knowledge base that I have seen.” Jim Melamed, mediator and
CEO of Mediate.com
"Addressing one of the important issues of our times, Tim Hicks
provides a clear and readable analysis of the scientific basis of
human conflict. At a basic level, he explains the mind’s
embodied basis in the neurobiology of personal development. At the
same time, he also recognizes the psychological reality of
conflict. We must realize that what are negotiating in our most
intense conflicts is not just some material self-interest, but the
very foundations of our identities.” Don Tucker,
neuroscientist and psychologist