Global Dialogue Foundation-USA
Mitigating Multicultural Mishaps through Candid Conversations
WHO WE ARE
PHILOSOPHY
GDF-USA works in the field of citizen diplomacy and uses dialogue to promote intercultural understanding. GDF-USA is dedicated to fostering cross-cultural understanding through dialogue. We collaborate with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, initiating and promoting programs and processes that aim for peaceful communications that lead to sustainable change among individuals and communities.
OUR HOPE
Our president, Lenora Billings-Harris, a global diversity strategist, founded the Global Dialogue Foundation-USA (GDF-USA) out of a desire to reduce culture collisions, and equip people with skills to conduct candid conversations across differences that lead to inclusive, innovative decisions and actions that impact their community.
PURPOSE
Our purpose is to initiate and encourage a compassionate dialogue through interactive learning programs and forums intended to foster cooperation among the global community.
TRUSTEES
Our team is comprised of career professionals dedicated to enhancing diversity and inclusion in our community.
OUR STORY
Our founder always knew she wanted to create a way for people from all walks of life to learn how to effectively engage in difficult conversations about differences without escalating to an argument. Being able to learn from differences enables better decision-making that impacts individuals, families, and communities.
When Peter (Pece) Gorgievski, the co-founder of GDF (International), Global Shipment and Unity in Diversity, and Lenora Billings-Harris met in 2018 in New Zealand, they discovered their mutual goals were aligned. Billings-Harris and Gorgievski began the process of creating Global Dialogue Foundation-USA to work together in the USA and across the globe as a member of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.
GDF-USA is an independent not-for-profit organization that focuses primarily on skill-building within diversity, equity, and inclusion. The vision of GDF-USA is that graduates of the programs will be inspired to affect long-term sustainable change within their communities, and organizations. Some of the areas of impact are: housing, education, healthcare, social justice, race, and economic access.
