Fully booked
The challenges of mediation - stories from the frontline

Alex Efthymiades (Director and Co-Founder, Consensio)

Alex has over ten years of domestic and international experience in organisational conflict resolution, mediation and training across private, public and third sector organisations. She initially trained as a community mediator in the South Bronx, New York, before joining the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development in Geneva. She has worked in the field for one of Honduras' leading women's rights organisations, where she developed and delivered organisational conflict resolution training courses and workshops.

Alex holds an M.A. degree in Organisational Psychology, with a concentration in conflict resolution, from Columbia University in New York.

Anna Shields (Director and Co-Founder, Consensio)

Anna is an experienced mediator who combines a deep understanding of conflict resolution with a commercial background. Anna's interest in conflict resolution dates back to the early 1990s, when she studied International History and Politics at Leeds University. Anna has acted as an intermediary throughout her career, having started professional life in executive search. She has worked for Heidrick and Struggles and was also a founding partner at Hammond Haspel, a leading City firm.

Anna trained as a community mediator in London and then made the transition into workplace mediation. Anna's practical experience is backed by theoretical thinking: she has studied both mediation and coaching at University. Most recently, she undertook a one-year postgraduate course in Conflict Resolution and Mediation Studies at Birkbeck, University of London, where she gained a Distinction. Anna is a certified mediator with the International Mediation Institute.

The role of the mediator is a privileged one. For one day, mediators have a rare glimpse into other people’s experiences of organisational conflict. We hear about the destructive and constructive aspects of conflict and these stories range from the sublime to the surreal.

In this session, Consensio will share with its audience some of the most interesting experiences that are exposed during mediation. These stories show patterns of human behaviour that most of us are familiar with and they also reveal some of the challenges that mediators face that prove to be invaluable lessons on how to prevent organisational conflict.

• Email Central London Branch Administrator