Print pageBarbara Cheives is the President and CEO of Converge & Associates Consulting. Converge specializes in race and ethnic relations consulting, community engagement and cultural competency training. Barbara’s consulting expertise includes law enforcement and public safety; not for profit organizations; media; education; and corporations.
Barbara served as the first Executive Director of Toward A More Perfect Union in Palm Beach County, Florida - a non-profit initiative addressing the critical impact of race and ethnicity in a diverse community.
Among the organizations that Barbara has provided training for are International Speedway Corporation; Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office; Broward County Children’s Services Council; Florida Department of Juvenile Justice; The City of West Palm Beach; Planned Parenthood of Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast plus numerous municipalities and non-profit organizations.
Barbara has planned and executed county wide community engagement and community dialogue projects with difficult to reach communities for the YWCA, Children’s Home Society and Community Partnership Group of Palm Beach County and statewide for the Florida Network of Youth and Family Services.
Barbara has presented at state and national conferences for the National Council on Crime and Delinquency; HR Florida; Florida Network of Youth and Family Services; YWCA; and the National Leukemia Lymphoma Society. She has designed and delivered workshops around youth violence prevention; Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC), and the portrayal of minorities in the media.
Additionally, Barbara is a certified Ethics Trainer providing training for the Palm Beach State College Center for Applied Ethics.
Barbara's community appointments include Immediate Past Chair of the Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Commission. She served on the West Palm Beach Mayor's Transition Team where she chaired Neighborhood Improvement and Community Outreach. She was also appointed as a Commissioner to the statewide 2007 Blueprint Commission for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.
She serves on the National Board of the Institute of Community Peace in Washington, DC. She is immediate Past President of National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. West Palm Beach Chapter and the Co-Chair of the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church Social Justice Ministry. Barbara is an alumna of Leadership Palm Beach County, from the Class of 2002.
