Alice Shikina

The Peacemaker Who Turned Conflict into a Calling at initially felt like a temporary solution soon revealed itself to be a long-term opportunity. The pandemic accelerated a broader acceptance of virtual communication.” Today, Alice operates exclusively through online mediation, not as a concession, but as a deliberate professional standard. Her practice did not merely survive the pandemic. It emerged from it more streamlined and more accessible than before. The Philosophy of Peace: What Drives Alice Forward At the heart of everything Alice does is a commitment to peace, not as an abstract ideal, but as a daily, actionable practice. It begins, she argues, with internal work: the willingness to examine one’s own patterns, heal what has not healed, and resist the impulse to pass hurt forward. It extends outward through the quality of one’s listening, and the grace extends to those who see the world differently. “In a time when differences can easily divide us, choosing curiosity over judgment and seeking common ground can transform relationships,” she asserts. “It might not always be easy, but it is powerful.” In the mediation room, she creates conditions in which parties who arrived in opposition locate, often with surprise, the common ground that was always there. Through negotiation training, she equips clients with frameworks to navigate difficult conversations without defaulting to defensiveness. She sees the work as a ripple effect; each resolved conflict quietly opening space for greater understanding in the lives of everyone it touches. Strength, Self-Awareness, and the Art of Balance Alice identifies emotional intelligence as her foremost professional strength, the ability to listen at depth, hold space for conflicting perspectives, and build trust swiftly even in charged environments. She does not merely practice healthy communication; she teaches it, which has made her sharper, more consistent, and more credible as both a practitioner and educator. She is equally candid about her limitations. “I also see that I may occasionally undervalue my work, as my focus is often on helping others rather than maximizing profit,” she admits. Her instinct for harmony, so valuable in the mediation room, can sometimes make harder internal decisions more challenging than they need to be. Balance, for Alice, is not a destination. “I don’t know if balance is something I ever truly achieve in a perfect or lasting sense,” she reflects, “but it is absolutely a practice that I commit to every single day.” She schedules everything that matters, workouts, violin practice, sleep, alongside client appointments, because structure, she has learned, is what makes genuine freedom possible. A Life Fully Lived: Achievements Beyond the Boardroom Alice Shikina refuses to be defined by a single dimension. She plays the violin in a local community orchestra, rows with a dedicated crew, and competes with the seriousness of someone for whom challenge is a native language. In 2024, she completed the Waikiki Rough Water Swim, a 3.3-mile open-ocean race in Honolulu. In 2011, she placed first in her age group in the Alcatraz Decathlon. In 2013, she entered a National Muay Thai Kickboxing Tournament. She is also an accomplished writer. Her play Okinawa 1945 has been produced in San Francisco, across Oahu, and at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. She authored Negotiating with Your Kids and is preparing to release Don’t Sleep on the Couch: Winning More Arguments without Losing Your Marriage, with a third negotiation book already underway. Her service record is equally deliberate: she volunteer mediates for the Department of Police Accountability in San Francisco, belongs on mediator panels for the Community Police Review Agency in Oakland, Conflict Intervention Services, and Alameda County. Alice has served the San Francisco Unified School District, the Bar Association of San Francisco, and the Superior Court of California. She states, “Success, to me, is not just achievement. It is creating meaningful impact, fostering connection, and bringing more peace into every space I enter.” The Road Ahead Alice Shikina is not finished chasing dreams. She is at an inflection point, the kind that comes from having built enough momentum to move faster and farther than before. Her books carry her ideas into homes and workplaces no single speaking engagement could reach. Her platforms continue to grow in proportion to the urgency of the work itself.