Ellen Cosgrove is an expert in community-building, facilitation and convening. She has a background in peacebuilding, advertising, non-profit management and in eating and cooking delicious food.
After working in Belfast, Northern Ireland doing peacebuilding work, she went to Brandeis University to get her Master’s in Coexistence and Conflict. Going to school with practitioners from around the world, she was struck by how potluck dinners created space for connection and relationship-building.
Ellen decided to start her own project after working for various non-profits. Using themes to connect food, life and society, Ellen has created a model that uses food to bring people together to listen and have meaningful conversations. She is passionate about creating spaces for people to build community and believes that through interventions such as this we can begin to break down divisions that exist in our society and increase mutual understanding.
Ellen partners with non-profits and community-based programs in addition to creating programming for corporate communities. She is currently running virtual events and workshops to create opportunities for people to come together and build community at this time of crisis.