BY NATALIE GILBERT, NEGOTIATION WORKS INTERN AND CLASS 0F 2024, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Since 2018, Negotiation Works has provided services to a broad range of marginalized populations through partnerships with key DC-area community organizations. Its offerings have grown to include multi-week negotiation courses, professional development workshops for partner staff, and an Ambassadors program for former class participants to stay connected with each other and continue to hone their skills.

Over the last six years, Negotiation Works has continued to exceed expectations and expand in both size and influence. With the onset of COVID-19, it provided services continually by modifying its curriculum to be delivered remotely. Though it has now resumed on-site programming, it retains the capability to pivot to remote delivery as the need arises. In 2023, the organization reached its 1,000 program participants milestone and now counts 16 community-based organizations, plus the DC Jail, as program partners. Paralleling this growth, the Negotiation Works team is also expanding, as three new members have joined the organization in the past few months. These new members, Colie Levar Long, Lee Gjertsen Malone, and Isa Salazar, will serve as Negotiation Work’s newest Board member, Partnerships and Communications Manager, and the Programs and Evaluation Coordinator, respectively.

All three individuals bring unique perspectives to Negotiation Works. Colie was born and raised in Washington DC. At the age of 18, he was sentenced to life without parole. While serving 25 years, he became a youth mentor and an accomplished author who writes about the carceral condition and criminal justice. Colie currently works as a Program Associate at the Georgetown Prison and Justice Initiative, where he advocates for shifting the paradigm of incarceration and reentry in our communities. In discussing the perspective he brings, Colie explains, “I am a community-based individual who strongly emphasizes community engagement, and I want to bring awareness of who Negotiation Works is to potential partners and events we may need in the community.”

Programs and Evaluation Coordinator, Isa Salazar

Conversely, Isa grew up in the Philippines, where after college she did communications work for the office of President Aquino before moving to DC to attend a graduate program in International Development. After completing the program, Isa worked for over three years as a bookseller and the Subscriptions Manager at Politics & Prose before joining Negotiation Works. Isa believes her perspectives will allow her “to put into a more concrete nature how to do better, improve, and have a bigger impact in the community.”

Partnerships and Communications Manager, Lee Gjertsen Malone

Lee has spent more than ten years as a volunteer for the American Red Cross, most recently as the regional sheltering program lead for the National Capital & Greater Chesapeake Region. She has opened and run disaster shelters in DC, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Oregon, North Carolina, and beyond; as a Red Cross instructor, she has taught a variety of disaster response and preparedness classes. Lee also served as the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator with Volunteer Alexandria, through which she managed emergency preparedness volunteer programs and developed partnerships with city agencies and community organizations. In addition, for many years, Lee has worked as a freelance journalist, magazine feature writer, writing teacher, and book editor. Lee believes her “pretty eclectic career can bring a lot to the table whether it’s writing our newsletter, communicating with partners, or working with our classroom volunteers. It’s a wide variety of life and professional experiences that I hope will be beneficial to Negotiation Works.”

Both Colie and Isa were familiar with Negotiation Works before joining the team – a true testament to the vast impact of the program. During her time at Politics & Prose, Isa met Melissa Reinberg, the founder of the program; she recalls how grounded in the community Negotiation Works was and explained that she applied “because of how much Negotiation Works connects with its community.” Given Negotiation Works' connections with the Georgetown Prisons and Justice Initiative, Colie became familiar with the program early on in his time at PJI and was introduced to Melissa through his coworkers. He explains, “I believed in the mission of Negotiations Works and teaching negotiation inside of prisons especially, which is what drew me to becoming an ambassador.” Similarly, when researching Negotiation Works initially, Lee discovered that she had attended the same university as Melissa, which served as an “added bonus to joining the team.”

While each member will be fulfilling separate roles within the organization, each of them holds a deep passion for Negotiation Work’s broader mission and values, especially the commitment to teaching communication and advocacy. According to Colie, “Communication is everything in life, in all forms of interactions. A lot of people come from a background where you don’t know how to communicate, and their default response is not beneficial.” Isa explains, “People are so committed to winning their side that compromise leads to resentment. Often, people fail to take into account that there is almost never an objective way of seeing things.” By teaching program participants healthy communication skills, Negotiation Works empowers individuals to advocate for themselves positively. Lee explains, “People who can negotiate and handle conflict well are better at their jobs as well as at getting along with their families and friends. We’re sharing skills that people can use in all facets of their lives.” Isa hopes “more people in D.C. will be able to communicate and advocate for themselves in ways that whoever they are negotiating with will be able to see where they are coming from.”

Colie, Lee, and Isa’s roles also include introducing ideas for and supporting Negotiation Works’ continued expansion, and they are all incredibly excited to engage with Negotiation Works in this manner. Looking toward the future, Colie explains “I hope Negotiation Works expands to a younger demographic. There are 12-18 year-olds, especially in this time, who have no understanding of consequences and the power of compromise.” He hopes to give young children the tools to access alternatives to disagreement and aggression. Similarly, Isa hopes to “identify areas where Negotiation Works has really done well and expand that reach even further into the community. I am especially excited to work with the Ambassadors, learn from them about their realities, and better amplify their voices and lessons to the community.”

Outside of their roles at Negotiation Works, Colie, Lee, and Isa love exploring Washington D.C. and participating in some of their favorite hobbies. For Colie, much of his time is spent being part of team sports, such as soccer and pickleball; he also enjoys writing and hopes to get back to working on writing a screenplay very soon. Lee enjoys spending time with her identical twin and playing with her two dogs, Buddy and Honey Lemon, and two cats, Maggie and Cute Cleo. Three years ago, Isa took up rock climbing, which remains one of her favorite hobbies. Undoubtedly, Negotiation Works will benefit greatly from each different perspective and objectives these new team members bring to the table. As the program steps into the new year, it enters a time filled with promises of excitement and growth for everyone involved, as we all work towards creating a stronger community rooted in positive communication and negotiation.