Mona Hassouna is a consultant for change and advocate of human rights in all aspects of life. Mona has 15 years’ experience in building the capacities and competencies of NGOs, teams, youth, women and individuals on conflict transformation, conflict sensibility, leadership, peace building, non-violence, training and facilitation skills, proposal writing, project management and organizational development. Mona has worked with local NGOs in Lebanon and Syria in different roles as a program manager, proposal writer, capacity building focal point and quality assurance for many years which gained her different lenses to look at NGO work and operations.  

Mona founded Steps, a consultancy for change, in 2015 with a group of like-minded consultants and dreamers who believe that consultancies are for change. Through Steps, Mona and her colleagues were able to create a teamwork model in consultancies and proved efficiency and quality in assignments they implement. Together with her team, they were able to reflect the soul of consultancies for change and practice it. She is a certified consultant by INTRAC, Consultants for Change program which empowered her and Steps team with concepts, tools and skills to consult with soul and enable change to happen. In 2016, Steps joined Empowerment Institute family through Imagine program with Mona as a facilitator for the trainings in Lebanon and then Elissa Shamma and Jana Morshed joined the facilitation team. Empowerment trainings aimed at increasing urgency for change and agency within disfranchised women.

Mona started her consultant’s dream and journey with the British Council, and since 2008 has been the Master regional facilitator with the British Council on two global programs, “Active Citizens” and “Leadership in Community Development”. 

Mona’s experience strengthened her belief in participatory and rights-based approach to change, she is inspired by appreciative inquiry and influenced by UBUNTU philosophy of life and is reflected through her work. 

Mona studied Audiovisual Journalism in the Lebanese University and had a Masters in NGOs Management from La Sagesse University Lebanon.