2002

I have a flexible schedule and enjoy working with diverse cultural groups. I accommodate the needs of the parties in mediation, including using technology. I am nonjudgmental, compassionate and committed to helping parties, sometimes experiencing high emotion, work through their conflict. I coach parties in private meetings to help them prepare for the sometimes difficult conversations that occur in the mediation process. I adapt the mediation process and guide the parties to resolution.

With over 34 years of combined training and professional experience as a lawyer, mediator, social worker and counsellor/coach, I bring a unique blend of skills and knowledge to helping people with communication, conflict resolution and well being. My lived experiences, both personally and professionally, have also led me to practice with deep empathy, compassion, and respect to help clients move through conflict, crisis, and transitions to create opportunities for hope, growth, and resiliency. I bring a varied mix of expertise and resolution techniques to help people have difficult conversations and find ways to work better together and move forward.

I graduated from the University of British Columbia with degrees in social work (1986) and law (1989), and am member of the British Columbia Bar and former member of the Ontario Bar. I am a registered social worker with the British Columbia College of Social Workers, a member of the British Columbia Association of Social Workers and the Canadian Association of Social Workers. I am also an accredited Family Law Mediator and Arbitrator with the Law Society of British Columbia and former member of Mediate BC’s Family and Child Protection Rosters.

My desire to help clients improve communication and resolve conflict, led me to transition from a traditional litigation practice to a dispute resolution practice, focusing on family and workplace mediation. Wellness, always a passion, fuelled my interest in coaching/counselling.

I began my legal career in family law, followed by insurance litigation and in 2002, established a mediation and consulting practice focusing on helping others resolve disputes and become the best versions of themselves and their organizations. I was formerly a mediator for Small Claims Court and consulted on projects related to dispute resolution and justice transformation initiatives on behalf of clients, including Legal Aid BC, Mediate BC and the Province of British Columbia, as well as for organizations seeking to improve their workplace culture. Most recently, I served at the Lawyers Assistance Program of BC as a lawyer counsellor and just finished 3 terms on the Board of Impact North Shore. In addition to my own practice, I am proud to be member of Southern Butler Price, a respected dispute resolution firm.