Welcome to our new Mediator Practicum cohort!
Gayle LaCroix
Gayle is thrilled to have been accepted into the newest mediation practicum cohort. She believes it is incredibly worthwhile to invest time and energy into helping people have the conversations they need to have to make their lives, their community, and the world a kinder place. She hopes to be a lifetime mediator and she sincerely looks forward to working with, and learning from, everyone at the WDRC. She is a full-time mama to a sweet, inspiring two-year-old boy, and she is a part-time bookkeeper.
Lisa Chandler
Lisa comes to mediation with a diverse set of interests and skills: website builder, novice coder, marketer, administrator, project manager, jewelry artist, business-owner, introvert, international traveler, and animal lover. As a teen, she studied abroad and had her first real taste of connecting with people across completely different paradigms. She has a deep sense of respect for the mediation process, and is thrilled to be able to hold a container for people in our community to have difficult and important conversations. Lisa lives in a Sudden Valley “treehouse” with my spouse and feline, surrounded by an outdoor family of botanicals and wildlife.
Steven Hetcher
Steven had an educational background in law, public policy and philosophy. He has practiced law in Washington, D.C., Tennessee and Washington, and has taught at Vanderbilt University and the University of Tennessee.
Daniel Soloff
Daniel had his sight on the WDRC as soon as he graduated from Fairhaven College in 2013. From Youth Program Volunteer to Youth Program AmeriCorps Service Member and now continuing to engage with the organization as a Mediation Practicum Student. Daniel is delighted to join the newest cohort of practicum students. His self-declared super power is facilitating difficult conversations, which he gained from years of living with housemates and working with at-risk youth. Daniel finds his therapy in the outdoors while hiking, camping, swimming, gardening, and sailing.
Lara Welker
Lara has wanted to take the WDRC's Professional Mediation Training for years, and last fall the opportunity finally arrived. The training was inspiring and humbling, and she was so impressed with all the staff who participated in various ways throughout. Lara just started the Practicum program and she’s excited about learning from the staff, mediators, and peers. After working for over 25 years in public health, she recently transitioned to independent consulting with a focus on facilitating collaborative health initiatives. Her family and flower garden keep her busy and happy.
Donna Loken
Shortly after moving to Bellingham last April from the Washington DC area, Donna Loken became a volunteer with the Queer Youth Project at Northwest Youth Services.
Her concern over the many causes of family discord and how that affects the community at large lead her to the Understanding Conflict class at the WDRC. That first
WDRC experience turned into additional classes including the Basic Mediation Training class. Donna then joined the WDRC as a Volunteer in the Youth Program
and spent the Winter and Spring, along with the Youth Program staff presenting workshops and teaching new skills to Whatcom County youth and teens on productive
ways to approach and deal with conflict. She is looking forward to training to be a certified mediator and hopes to focus on Parenting and Parent-Teen Issues.