About Us

Meet Dr. Konyka Dunson

Founder and CEO

Konyka Dunson, Ph.D., is the Founder and CEO of the Center for Inspired Dialogue and Leadership. Her work in dialogue began with a spirit of resolving conflict anywhere and everywhere, amongst friends, in organizations, seeing the cost and missed opportunities due to misunderstanding. Ultimately grounded in her faith-based belief that love is the greatest binding force in humanity, Konyka upholds dialogue as a tool for social change.

Leadership, Dialogue, and Change: Konyka’s Path

After a career in education, spanning teaching and higher education administration, Konyka moved into training, where she found a passion for facilitating transformative dialogue. She is a Gallup-certified Strengths coach who has worked with organizations and leaders, utilizing multiple modalities, including Take Flight DISC and Personify leadership. Her passion for facilitating conversation led to media production, where she interviewed Nobel Prize winner laureate Betty Williams, recognized for her historic stand for peace in Northern Ireland. As a on-air host and producer at WPFW Washington, Konyka produced live event films, geared toward community conversation, including the Washington, DC premiere of “Concrete, Steel and Paint”, and produced the first-ever youth television series, for MCSR, Creating cultures free from violence. Konyka's work in social impact culminated in her doctoral research, with multiple scholarly articles published on dialogue as a tool for change. Having experienced the transformative impact of a dialogic process =, called gender reconciliation, and seeing its potential for social impact, driven to bring this work to public, she published one of the earliest independent studies and presented her work globally, including the United Nations for Communications on the Status of Women, with Gender Equity and reconciliation International.

The Vision Behind CIDL

She founded CIDL with the core mission to connect dialogue with leadership and change, whether personal leadership growth, organizational change, or community engagement. Her commitment to dialogue lies in the ability not just to understand positions, but being willing to hold the position of a commitment to dialogue, to hear and be heard, and believe in building a common understanding, path, for progress. The CIDL mission and belief, grounded in her faith, is that there is a sacred purpose in the work. She is the author of Sacred and & Overflowing: A 30 Day Devotion to the Woman God Called You to Be, and speaks to the audience to encourage the upholding of one’s sacred calling. Driven to social action in her community in Washington, DC. Konyka serves as ANC Commissioner. With the vision that “we are the ones” and that conversation can bridge conflict, create pathways and with the faith, move mountains, CIDL mission is to advance dialogue as tool for social change and grow the most extensive cadre of leaders at every level and part of the world to engage in dialogue for social progress

Guiding Principles

Our foundational approach is grounded in the core belief and research-backed reality that dialogue engages the capacities of humanity to bridge conflict, experience empathy, and create new collective progress. Our work, designed for participants from all backgrounds, industries, and cultures, is grounded guiding principles and in best practices of transformative dialogue for personal, organizational and social change.

Dialogue builds empathy

Dialogue bridges conflict

Dialogue creates progress

Dialogue is a sacred purpose

Our Vision

Every program - workshop, speech, coaching - is designed to unlock and amplify the power of communication to create positive change.

Our Method

Any program can be customized to the unique needs of your organization to achieve your goals and fit your timeframe.

We focus on three levels of communication:

Internal, personal communication - developing and strengthening powerful internal dialogue.
Interpersonal or group communication - developing and strengthening skills for effective collaboration, connection and conflict management.
Leadership communication - developing and amplifying a powerful and impactful voice to accomplish your vision.