Who We Are

We envision a community where we live in peace and compassion for all.

Compassionate Communication of Central Ohio (CCCO | NVC Ohio) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to the principles and practices of Nonviolent Communication (NVC), as developed by psychologist and international peacemaker, Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, and inspired by the teachings of Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We are based in Columbus, Ohio, USA.

NVC Multimedia Library Resources with Jeff Brown

Jeff Brown (pictured above) is the Executive Director of CCCO.  Jeff has been a Certified Trainer with the Center for Nonviolent Communication since 2005, and has led trainings in 19 U.S. states and five countries. Learn more about Jeff here and watch a short video of him presenting at a retreat.  Since 2009, Jeff has been an Associate Trainer with the NVC Training Institute. 


Our Board of Trustees:

Jerry SaundersJerry Saunders, Sr., Past President, is Chief Executive Officer and President of Africentric Personal Development Shop.  Learn more about Jerry's work. (pictured at left)

Carole Menge, Treasurer, is Director of Family Education and Grants at Buckeye Ranch, Inc.  

Gayle Miller, President, is First Vice President and Senior HR Business Partner for Retail Financial Services at Chase Bank. (pictured at right)
Gayle Miller
Susanna Warren, Vice President, is the Founder and President of Honest to Goodness Real Estate Solutions and a Licensed Unity Teacher with the Association of Unity Churches.

John Parmater, Secretary, is a Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) coach and owner of Parmater Entertainment.

Amy Diener, At-large member, is an intern with Basileia, LLC.


CCCO Guiding Principles


Within CCCO, we commit to foster the spirit and practice of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) in everything we do.

Our core principles, by which we check each and every decision we make, is to serve our mission and vision.

  1. Connecting with our hearts is our highest value.
  2. We value everyone’s needs equally.
  3. Gratitude and celebration are the underlying energy of what we do.
  4. How we do something is as important as what we do.
  5. We honor the Africentric Elder Tradition.
  6. We will operate in the spirit of social entrepreneurship.
  7. We celebrate and give thanks for every resource entrusted to our care, and fully commit to use them wisely and ethically.

 

Our organization's history


The original impetus to form Compassionate Communication of Central Ohio came from Mark Feinknopf, who, together with his life partner, Cynthia Moe, had come in contact with the teachings of Marshall Rosenberg in 2003.  Cynthia and Mark quickly adopted Marshall's work and the principles of NVC in the Atlanta, GA area, working with the Carter Center and the Martin Luther King Center.

Mark Feinknopf & Cynthia MoeMark had been a well-known architect in Columbus, Ohio, in a firm bearing his name and founded by his father. He has retained close ties with Columbus and wanted to see NVC become part of the Columbus area. A steering committee was formed which initiated the idea of the organization which has become Compassionate Communication of Central Ohio.

The organization's initial goal was to bring Marshall to Columbus, a goal that was achieved in March 2006 during which Dr. Rosenberg led a highly successful 3-day conference.