Lia is a London-based mediator and community practitioner, with extensive experience in the not-for-profit sector.

Born in Seattle, Lia left the Pacific Northwest for New England to study English Literature and Environmental Sciences at Wellesley. In 2000, she received a fellowship from the Watson Foundation to work with reforestation movements in Nepal, Madagascar and Ireland – on both sides of the border. She fell in love with Belfast and eventually made her way back there.

As Northern Ireland moved through the 10th anniversary of the peace accords, Lia worked with the grassroots peacebuilding process, specialising in conflict transformation and regeneration in communities with a strong paramilitary presence. She also held a remit for diversity outreach and hate crime prevention. As part of this work, she helped to equip communities to tackle racism, and to explore what it means to live in a 'shared society'.

In London, Lia implemented the national diversity strategy for the British Methodist Church and served as a community mediator in multicultural East London. She is particularly interested in the relationship between conflict, resilience and diversity in faith communities.

As an accredited mediator (registered with the National College of Mediators), Lia works primarily with organisational, workplace, community and housing disputes. In 2016, she was appointed to the Professional Standards Committee. She chairs the working group responsible for developing and implementing the Policy for Diversity and Inclusive Practice in Mediation.

Lia holds a doctorate in Geography from University College London and a Masters degree in Theology & Religious Studies from King's College London. She has extensive experience with coordinating participatory research projects – where the participants themselves shape the questions and the process of the research.

Her edited book Mapping Faith: Theologies of Migration and Community was published by Jessica Kingsley (Hachette) in June 2020.

 In her spare time, Lia enjoys hiking and baking. She runs the Death Cafe programme at Brompton Cemetery, where her infant son is buried.