Congratulations to Harriet Emerson, PhD, Mii, who has recently achieved Elder Mediation International Certification (Cert EM).
Harriet has worked in conflict resolution, supporting dialogue for positive outcomes through facilitation and mediation for over 20 years, across public, community and voluntary sectors. She is self-employed and recognised as an expert in the design and delivery of processes for meaningful engagements that build lasting agreement in sensitive and challenging multi-party and multi-issue situations. She has experience working with different cultures and in handling disputes where parties have widely varying capacities to engage.
Starting her career in environmental policy research, she focused particularly at the interface of policy, the rural environment, and communities, Harriet went on to lecture in conflict resolution and international environmental policy, rural social change, women’s access to services, social policy and the environment, expanding her experience internationally with projects in the Amazon, Brazil, and Peru.
Simultaneously, Harriet moved into conflict resolution practice working with communities in Ireland; leading successful delivery of an EU-funded initiative applying a unique approach to stakeholder generation of community-wide, consensus-based, agreement on a realistic plan for sustainable management of a large and complex coastal zone, including resolution of multiple ingrained conflicts.
Harriet believes that the capacity to generate the optimal solutions in a particular situation rests with the parties involved. Her facilitative approach supports all those concerned to fully understand one another and their circumstances, to explore and research all possible options, and to collaborate successfully to develop and test their own solutions to determine what outcomes will work best. She uses this client-centred and inclusive approach to ensure all parties have the information and support they need to participate, and emphasises consensus-building and shared ownership of sound outcomes for the all those involved.