Monica Giannone

Monica Giannone is an Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School where she teaches courses in negotiation. Giannone’s teaching and work focuses on international climate negotiations, value-based conflict and dialogue, process design, and power in negotiation. She is the founding Director of the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Collaboratory (NCRC) at HKS’s Center for Public Leadership, leading a multifaceted portfolio of academic research, curriculum development, and engagement with faculty across Harvard, students, and external practitioners.

Within NCRC, she co-leads Turn the Tide, a globally accessible curriculum and training platform that equips hundreds of climate negotiators each year with the tools to navigate high-stakes, multilateral negotiations. She also directs Why It Worked, a global research initiative examining how some of the world’s most protracted conflicts have transitioned to durable peace, producing practical tools such as the Propeller Toolkit and contributing to a Negotiation Journal Special Issue. In addition, she oversees the Negotiation Coaching Clinic, an intensive program that runs every semester and trains students and alumni coaches through one-on-one coaching, live simulations, and structured reflection. Her global engagement through NCRC includes work with democracy movements, climate delegations, and stakeholders in regions of entrenched conflict.

Giannone has additionally worked with foundations, nonprofits, government institutions, and private-sector clients to deliver customized trainings and strategy workshops on interest-based negotiation and effective decision-making. Clients include Burmese, Israeli, and Palestinian diplomats and political leaders, members of the U.S. Congress, the U.S. military, multinational foundations, and companies in the manufacturing, consulting, and tech sectors. Her work with these groups spans two-party and multiparty negotiations, internal/external team dynamics, influence and persuasion, and navigating power or status asymmetries.

In addition to her work at HKS, Giannone has taught or coached students and alumni at Harvard College, Harvard Business School, Harvard Law School, MIT Sloan, and Dartmouth. She is a core instructor in numerous Executive Education programs including the Negotiation Strategies Executive Education program at HKS. Giannone holds a Master in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard Kennedy School and a BA in Political Science and Religion from Wake Forest University, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa.