How long have you been volunteering with UMC?
Since 2013

How did you become interested in mediation?
Soon after I moved to Greenville, I was at an event seated next to Bob Morris of the Community Foundation of Greenville.  He suggested I contact the Upstate Mediation Center to volunteer, which I did, became certified, and have been mediating about once a week since.  It keeps me in touch with the law as a retiree, but allows freedom from the demands of practice.

For which UMC program(s) do you currently volunteer?
The Family Court Mediation Program.

What do you enjoy most about volunteering with UMC?
Keeping up professionally in retirement, and the feeling of making a difference for others.  I also enjoy the relationship with others I meet at UMC.

What is your current occupation?
Retired.

What advice would you give new mediators?
I learn more each day that I mediate.  There is always something different to learn with each mediation.  I think all of the experiences have helped me be a more effective mediator, but there is always a new challenge.

Who inspires you?
I have been involved with many inspirational people through out my careers, both in health care and in law.  There are several lawyers I work with in mediation who I believe are very positive contributors to the legal profession, and help to keep me current with the demands of practice—even though I am retired.

What is one thing – either mediation-related or not – you learned in the last month?
How wonderful it is to begin to get (almost) back to normal after the virus vaccination.

What is something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know?  
I was a nurse anesthetist for cardiac surgery at the Cleveland Clinic and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston prior to attending law school.  Also, I am both a US and a Canadian citizen.

What is the last book you read?
Barack Obama’s book “A Promised Land.”

What is the first concert you ever attended?
The symphony in Houston, Texas.

If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?  
Since my family is of Italian descent, I would have to say ‘pasta’.