Sharon Sutherland, Director of Strategic Innovation for Mediate BC, was recognized for her contributions to conflict resolution through practice, advocacy, and the training and mentoring of mediators across Canada.
For more than 20 years, Ms. Sutherland has spearheaded and advocated for the increased use of conflict resolution and mediation in B.C., helping expand access to justice both within and independent of the court system.
Her work has helped shape B.C.’s justice system, and the skills of those who practise within it. This has included serving as one of the original designers and program managers of the Court Mediation Program in the B.C. Provincial Court, and working with Mediate BC to develop a province-wide practicum to increase the number of child protection mediators in under-serviced parts of B.C. She helped develop the Civil Resolution Tribunal, focusing on strata and small claims disputes, and in 2001 she founded CoRe Conflict Resolution Society.
She earned both a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of British Columbia, and a Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School. In between, she earned a Master of Arts in drama and theatre studies from the University of London and completed all work but her thesis towards a doctorate degree in drama at the University of Toronto.
Ms. Sutherland’s varied educational background has informed her professional and community work which has included practising law, teaching in the UBC Faculty of Law, utilizing applied improvisation and other theatre tools to teach conflict resolution, and serving on the Board of Directors for the Vancouver Fringe Festival, including as its president. Her interests have also extended into exploring the use of games in supporting team building and conflict prevention and management. This has included co-designing Zombie Fight or Flight, a collaborative card game for PignPotato Games.