BECO LICHTMAN
Consultant, Speaker and Facilitator
WHAT HOLDS US TOGETHER WHEN SO MUCH PULLS US APART?
I’m a speaker, facilitator and strategist working on questions of identity, belonging and social cohesion. I help foundations, NGOs, public institutions, universities, and European and international networks confront prejudice, navigate deep differences and find ways forward without pretending that agreement is always possible.
Organizations I've Worked With
WHEN DIFFERENCE BECOMES DIVISION
Questions of identity, religion, race, belonging and politics shape how we see ourselves and one another. But when those differences harden into divisions, it becomes harder to listen, harder to trust and harder to work together. Some differences are things we have to learn to live with. Prejudice is different.
Antisemitism, racism and hostility toward LGBTQ+ people are not simply opposing points of view. They should be confronted. Dialogue does not mean accepting prejudice or pretending that every position deserves equal respect.
At the same time, we will not agree on everything. We may see politics, religion, history, identity or even the meaning of justice very differently. If living together requires us to resolve all of those disagreements first, we are going to fail.
We have to be able to disagree without losing our principles or our regard for one another. So what do we owe one another when we disagree? We need to know when to keep talking, when to work together despite our differences, and when a boundary needs to be drawn.
Ways to Work Together
Three ways to help teams recognize what is happening.
SPEAKING
What Do We Owe One Another When We Disagree?
We are living through a time of deep division around identity, race, religion, politics and belonging. Too often, disagreement becomes distrust, distance and dehumanization.
This talk challenges the idea that living together requires agreeing with one another. It asks what it takes to hold onto our principles, confront prejudice and still recognize our obligations to one another.
Because sometimes we will not agree. What matters is what we do then.
FACILITATION & CONVENING
Making Difficult Conversations Possible
Some conversations are too important to avoid and too difficult to leave to chance.
I design and facilitate conversations where differences run deep, trust may be strained and the way forward is not obvious. The goal is not artificial agreement or common ground at any cost. It is an honest conversation that makes clear where people agree, where they do not and what may still be possible.
FROM DIALOGUE TO ACTION
Turning Conversation into a Way Forward
A good conversation can surface what matters. But then something has to happen.
I help organizations move from discussion to direction, making sense of different perspectives, identifying what matters most and turning what emerges into clear priorities, decisions and next steps.
The goal is not just a better conversation. It is a clearer way forward.
What Clients Say
Clients bring me in to provide clarity, structure, and thoughtful facilitation when an important conversation or decision needs to move forward.
Florida International University
BECO IS ENGAGING AND KNOWLEDGEABLE – JUST WHAT YOU WANT IN A FACILITATOR.
BECO IS ONE OF THE MOST SKILLED FACILITATORS I’VE HAD THE PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH.
Senior VP, J.P. Morgan
BECO HELPED US CUT THROUGH THE NOISE AND KEPT IT EASY… A SESSION THAT FELT RELAXED, COLLABORATIVE, AND LEFT US WITH IDEAS WE COULD USE RIGHT AWAY.
~Vicente Ariztía
Partner at PICTON
About Beco
I’m a speaker, facilitator and strategist with more than twenty years of experience helping people work through complex issues, have difficult conversations and find a way forward.
My work has taken me from leadership, strategy and organizational change to questions of identity and belonging, including racism, antisemitism, LGBTQ+ inclusion and relationships between different communities.
These questions are personal for me, too. I am Black, Jewish and gay. Those identities have never had much trouble coexisting within me. It is often the outside world that wants to put them, and me, on different sides.
Based in Paris, I work across Europe, North America and internationally.
Ready to have the conversation that needs to happen?
If you’re bringing people together across difficult differences, facing a conversation that feels hard to navigate, or trying to figure out what comes next, let’s talk.
