Faces of the WDRC - Getting to Know Mediator, Ann McCartney

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We ask long time mediator, Ann McCartney, to tell us a little bit about what inspired her to become a mediator and what energizes her about the work of mediation. Get to know Ann and read her responses below:

1. What inspired you to become a mediator?
I grew up in a family where the conflict communication style was that my mother cried, my father swore and left the room, I yelled, and my sister had allergies..  So I have spent my entire life learning and teaching about communication.  In the Critical Problems of our Culture class at UW in 1964, I wrote about communication being one of the important solutions to the world’s problems.  I taught communication courses including conflict communication in many settings for over 30 years and did my PhD at age 55 in communicating across differences in group situations.  So when I heard about the WDRC, it was a natural extension of my vocation into my retirement years.  (Vocation being defined by Buechner as “the place your great gladness meets the world’s deep need”)

2. What energizes you about the work of mediation and your service at the WDRC?
I find that my service at the WDRC (small claims, community and foreclosure mediation, occasional trainer, and participant in ways to support the center) and my interactions with staff, client and supporters gives me great pleasure, challenges me to grow, and  inspires me.  The work of mediation fosters changes that make a difference in the world.

3. If you could share any conflict resolution or communication advice, what would it be?
I guess I’m answering this more from the perspective of advice for mediators.  This is what I try to remember:

  • Trust the mediation process, it works.

  • Resist the urge to want to“fix” things for clients.

  • Leave space/silence for the other person whether it is clients or colleagues.

  • When readying to intervene, ask yourself in what way what you are about to do will move the mediation forward.

  • And as Ivar Haglund of Ivar’s Restaurant used to say “Keep Clam”

Thank you, Ann, for your commitment to mediation and your service at the WDRC!

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