About the Mediator: Barbara Blake Williams, M.P.A., M.Ed., Esquire
Greetings! I am glad to tell you a little about myself and about my philosophy of mediation.
In addition to life experience, I bring broad educational and professional background to my work in mediation. Trained as both a family counselor and a lawyer, I hold three graduate degrees: a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California; a Master’s Degree in Education/Family Therapy from Boston University; and, a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.
Former Program Director of the Mediation and Conflict Resolution Center in Howard County, Maryland, I have been in private practice for 18 years focusing on family issues including separation, divorce, and parenting as well as workplace conflict. In addition, I conduct extensive training in mediation and creative conflict resolution for numerous organizations in Maryland and the District of Columbia.
An Advanced Practitioner Member of the Association for Conflict Resolution, I have earned recognition as a Certified Mediator from the Maryland Council for Dispute Resolution (MCDR). Past President of MCDR, I am an assessor of mediators as a member of MCDR’s Certification Committee.
In addition, I serve as a volunteer mediator with both the Mediation and Conflict Resolution Center at Howard Community College and the Maryland Human Rights Commission. I mediate in accordance with the Maryland Mediation Confidentiality Act, I am a member of the Maryland Program for Mediator Excellence, and I subscribe to the Maryland Standards of Conduct for Mediators.
What have I learned? I have found that people in conflict usually try to talk constructively. When individuals have strong feelings around issues about which they care deeply, however, these feelings can create static through which it is difficult for folks to hear one another. Mediation can help individuals in conflict transcend the static, hear one another, and search for outcomes that meet the needs of all.
If mediation sounds like it might be helpful to you, please do call me and learn more about it!
In addition to life experience, I bring broad educational and professional background to my work in mediation. Trained as both a family counselor and a lawyer, I hold three graduate degrees: a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California; a Master’s Degree in Education/Family Therapy from Boston University; and, a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.
Former Program Director of the Mediation and Conflict Resolution Center in Howard County, Maryland, I have been in private practice for 18 years focusing on family issues including separation, divorce, and parenting as well as workplace conflict. In addition, I conduct extensive training in mediation and creative conflict resolution for numerous organizations in Maryland and the District of Columbia.
An Advanced Practitioner Member of the Association for Conflict Resolution, I have earned recognition as a Certified Mediator from the Maryland Council for Dispute Resolution (MCDR). Past President of MCDR, I am an assessor of mediators as a member of MCDR’s Certification Committee.
In addition, I serve as a volunteer mediator with both the Mediation and Conflict Resolution Center at Howard Community College and the Maryland Human Rights Commission. I mediate in accordance with the Maryland Mediation Confidentiality Act, I am a member of the Maryland Program for Mediator Excellence, and I subscribe to the Maryland Standards of Conduct for Mediators.
What have I learned? I have found that people in conflict usually try to talk constructively. When individuals have strong feelings around issues about which they care deeply, however, these feelings can create static through which it is difficult for folks to hear one another. Mediation can help individuals in conflict transcend the static, hear one another, and search for outcomes that meet the needs of all.
If mediation sounds like it might be helpful to you, please do call me and learn more about it!
MCDR Certified Mediator
