Mosaic/Powell Resilience Series: Leadership & Resilience Through Community ft. UNA-USA's Kristen Hecht

Leadership & Resilience Through Community: An Interactive Session

Date: Saturday, December 6, 2025

Time: 2:00pm - 4:00pm EDT 

Venue: In-Person Location Shared Upon Registering (Same Location as the Annual Meeting in Washington DC) 

Virtual Location: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/9794618227

Cost: Free for BPIA members; $50 for non-members 

Join us for an empowering leadership development session on Resiliency in Leadership. This interactive training will guide participants through a reflective dialogue on how leaders can strengthen endurance, adaptability, and purpose in times of uncertainty. Together, we’ll explore practical strategies for overcoming obstacles, engage in resilience-building exercises, and connect the practice of personal growth to community-centered leadership.

This hybrid workshop invites BPIA members to strengthen their resilience and well-being through guided reflection, interactive exercises, and peer connection. Grounded in a resilience-building framework, the session will help participants explore sources of strength, deepen their sense of purpose, and identify actionable strategies that sustain their personal and professional journeys within international affairs.

This session will also highlight the importance of cultivating strategic partnerships and building networks that support both individual and collective resilience.

Co-Hosted by the BPIA MOSAIC Committee and the BPIA Colin Powell Leadership Institute 

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Biography - Kristen Hecht 

Kristen Hecht is the Founder and CEO of Kristen Hecht, LLC, a bespoke consulting firm that specializes in capacity-building, leadership coaching, and workshop facilitation. With over 15 years of experience in the social impact sector, she has developed a niche in designing, facilitating, and strengthening fellowship programs. Her clients include Columbia University (Social Impact Fellowship, Obama Foundation Scholars Program, and Neurodivergent at Columbia), Georgetown University (Women Faith Leaders Fellowship), Habitat for Humanity (Humanitarian Shelter and Settlements Practicum Fellowship), the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area (Graduate Fellows Program), Vital Voices (Bold Movers Program), and the Human Trafficking Legal Center (Harriet Tubman Fellowship). 

As a fellowship consultant, she is skilled in human-centered program design and management;  research and analysis; monitoring, evaluation, and learning; partnership building; and alumni engagement. As a workshop facilitator, Kristen is trained in Dare to Lead (Brené Brown’s courage-building leadership framework), adaptive leadership (New York University), trauma-informed and resilient leadership (Center for Justice and Peacebuilding), liberating structures (a facilitation framework that fosters participation and engagement), and diversity, equity, and inclusion practices (Nonprofit Leadership Alliance). As a professional coach, Kristen completed her training through Co-Active Training Institute, recognized as the most rigorous professional coach training and certification program in the industry. She has continued to build her coaching practice through Positive Intelligence coaching (mental fitness model to boost well-being and performance) and Neurodiversity-Inclusive coaching (coaching that supports the full spectrum of humanity).

Academically, Kristen received her Master of Arts in international politics from American University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Texas. She has also completed continuing education training through the Next Level Lab at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education.

Kristen currently resides in Washington, DC, where she serves on the Board of Directors for the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area (UNA-NCA). She has also served on the National Council for the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) and has been an active member of the Impact Fellowships Network, a community of practice for fellowship program managers and facilitators.

In her free time, Kristen enjoys hiking, cycling, and traveling. Her personal values - which also guide her professional ethos - include adventure, growth, and community.

More information: LinkedIn | Website