Dr. Ada Gonzalez, a holistic thought leader, international speaker, and communication expert. She has the ability to create engaging, efficient and innovate conversation. She’s also an expert on transformation and relationships. Principal analyst, dialogue facilitator, and mediator Dr. Ada uses her exceptional interdisciplinary skills and experience to assist clients with complex, highly structured engagement, planning, conflict resolution and change efforts.
Through the years, Dr. Ada has spent more than 200,000 hours facilitating complex and often conflictive conversations among individuals, teams and couples. She helps organizations, business groups and professional couples going through a relationship crisis to prevent lockdown and find the best positive outcome. She is an expert in developing respectful, honest and constructive approaches to address difficult issues.
Dr. Gonzalez has spent the past 30 years studying, researching, and applying principles of psychology, neuropsychology, systems thinking, adult learning, transformation, and leadership development. Her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies with Organizational Behavior as the focus, and her training and experience as a Marriage and Family Therapist, makes her an expert in her field. Yet, She also knows how to translate theory and research findings into day-to-day practice, supporting business strategy, relationships, and results.
Because she grew up in Communist Cuba, she endeavors to create safe spaces for open conversations to happen, so that people connect and transform. The resulting deep transformation takes people from negative conflictive interactions to effective and happy ones fostering effective communication and productive actions so they can have more successful, fulfilled, and balanced lives.
Dr. Ada's executive consultations, facilitation, executive retreats, and relationship programs are based on proven scientific models and years of experience. Dr. Ada is also the author of the book: Transformative Conversations: The Heart of the Leadership Journey.
Skillfully facilitated dialogue often results in clearer, more workable plans, strategies, and agreements, incorporating the interests of each stakeholder. At the same time participants increase their own capacity and skills for future collaboration, problem solving, and tough conversations by learning better dialogue skills.
Born and raised in Cuba, she has lived internationally in 6 different countries and her multicultural experiences and fluency in both Spanish and English have contributed to shaping who she is, as well as how she communicates and interacts with the world. For the same reasons, she understands and cherishes diversity and embraces change.
Through her scientifically proven and neuroscience based Transformative Conversations® programs she shows executives and leaders how their most daunting leadership issues can be resolved by creating safe spaces where people are free to express themselves. Thus, leaders can optimize the power of diverse thinking minds and lead through conversations.
When working with women Dr. Ada shows them how to leave behind stress, worry, and fears in order to move forward and take the actions needed to develop pivotability for transitions and to fulfill their dreams.
Through her evidence based relationship programs she shows couples how to let go of conflict and negativity, and bring back the spark of intimacy and connection.
While growing up in Cuba, music was an outlet for her to be able to deal with the repression around her. Music would take her to a different world, and she would practice up to 6 hours a day. She became an accomplished pianist, and as a teenager, started giving piano lessons at her home. While teaching piano lessons she often experienced some of her students suddenly stop and start crying and sharing their heartaches with her.
Even with no training at that time, it was always easy for her to read people and to empathize. Therefore, she was able to help them. That was the beginning of the seed of her desire to find out people’s stories and seek the training that would enable her to professionally help individuals, couples, executives, and organizations.
When not involved in her work, Dr. Ada enjoys playing for Church and for her own pleasure, reading, photography and traveling. She relishes spending time with her husband Roger, her 2 grown sons and their families, and especially with her granddaughter. She appreciates conversations with her family and friends, and loves spending time at any warm beach, especially in the Caribbean.
Dr. Gonzalez completed her undergraduate and graduate work at Andrews University in Michigan with an MA in Educational and Developmental Psychology. She trained as a Marriage and Family Therapist under Harlene Anderson at the Houston-Galveston Institute. She earned her Ph.D. from the Union Institute and University in Ohio. Her degree is in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Organizational Behavior. Her main areas of study were leadership, dialogue, and change. Her Dissertation: "Transformative Conversations: Executive Coaches and Business Leaders in Dialogical Collaboration for Growth" was one of the first ones with coaching as the emphasis for a doctoral program.
Dr. Gonzalez is member of the Association of Corporate Executive Coaches and the Organizational Development Network. She is also a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the states of DE and TX and a Clinical Fellow of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.
As an experienced and effective presenter she has designed and delivered courses, seminars, workshops, and coaching clinics in the United States, as well as in many Latin American and several European countries.
Curious about what I do when I'm not working with people. . .?
