LEAD TEAM BIO

BIANCA M. NEFF-URIBE, FOUNDER & PRESIDENT

Petra founder and president, Bianca Neff

ACC, INTERNATIONAL COACH FEDERATION
MA, CONFLICT RESOLUTION
BA, CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ROTARY PEACE FELLOW (2010-2011)

Languages: English, Spanish, Russian (limited)

Bianca is the daughter of an American father and a Basque mother from the historically conflict-ridden region of northern Spain. She is a humanitarian coach, credentialed as an Associate Certified Coach by the International Coach Federation (ICF). Her academic background in Conflict Resolution and Cultural Anthropology combines with her coaching credentials and expertise in global transitions to uniquely qualify her to help lead the current movement toward peacebuilder resilience. She serves as Founding Director of Petra Peacebuilders.

Bianca has been active in global humanitarian work for 20 years, beginning in Latin America in the 1990s as an interpreter for English-speaking professionals. She then moved into cultural anthropology in Central Asia (the ‘–stan’ countries) and Arabic-speaking North Africa, helping development expats in understanding and respecting their local context. Her grassroots work in various nations combines with her experience at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva (UNOCHA), affording her an exceptionally broad perspective on the global non-profit enterprise.

Her passion is to assist local grassroots leaders in the developing world, particularly those working in reconciliation and conflict transformation, in receiving the personal and organizational support they need to remain strong and resilient. As Petra's founding director, Bianca combines her drive for excellence with an overarching and decidedly people-focused goal of team harmony, a highly effective combination of leadership gifts in today's global climate. Her Myers-Brigs profile is INTJ ('Mastermind') and on the Enneagram she is a Type One ('Reformer').

Bianca's professional associations include membership in the International Coach Federation (ICF). Her extensive international experience naturally brings a unique and well-rounded perspective to her coaching. As a coach and social entrepreneur, her primary professional interests outside Petra include: Reconciliation, Conflict Transformation, Radical Disagreement and Engagement, and Sustainable Development.

In 2012, in keeping with her commitment to reduce her carbon footprint, she moved into a beautiful eco-friendly yurt. For fun, she loves cycling, tennis, DIY home projects, playing with her two rambunctious Dobermans Ninja & Neska, spending time with third-culture kids, and curling up with any book by Ahmed Rashid or Henri Nouwen.

Bianca has lived in Kyrgyzstan, Kenya, Morocco, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the USA. She is a dual citizen of Spain and the United States. She is also a Rotary Peace Fellow, and a two-time Rotary Paul Harris Fellow. She runs Petra Peacebuilders from Malaga, Spain.