Conflict Competency: Coaching, Communication, and Growth in ADR Practice

Conflict resolution professionals are regularly asked to navigate emotionally charged conversations, high-conflict interactions, competing priorities, and complex interpersonal dynamics. Yet many ADR practitioners receive limited training on the behavioral and emotional dimensions of conflict escalation, reflective practice, coaching, and professional growth within the field itself.

This interactive workshop explores conflict competency as a core professional skill in mediation, arbitration, coaching, leadership, and facilitation settings. Drawing from frameworks in conflict resolution, executive coaching, healthcare leadership, and organizational communication, participants will examine how stress, triggers, communication patterns, and behavioral responses shape difficult interactions and influence outcomes.

Through facilitated discussion, reflective exercises, and real-world scenarios, participants will explore practical strategies for strengthening communication, maintaining presence under pressure, managing escalation, and fostering psychologically safe and constructive dialogue. The session will also examine the role of mentorship, coaching, and reflective practice in supporting resilience, professional identity development, and long-term sustainability within the ADR field.

Participants will leave with practical tools for recognizing conflict dynamics, responding more constructively during challenging interactions, and supporting growth in themselves and others. The session is designed for mediators, arbitrators, restorative practitioners, coaches, attorneys, educators, and emerging ADR professionals seeking to strengthen both interpersonal effectiveness and professional practice.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Identify common behavioral triggers, communication patterns, and stress responses that contribute to conflict escalation in ADR and professional practice settings.

• Evaluate constructive versus destructive responses to conflict and their impact on communication, trust, reflective practice, and professional relationships.

• Apply practical coaching, communication, and conflict competency strategies to support constructive dialogue, mentorship, and professional growth in challenging interpersonal interactions.

About Angela Nelson, JD, DrPH

Angela D. Nelson, JD, DrPH, is an attorney, mediator, arbitrator, executive coach, and former senior healthcare executive with more than 20 years of leadership experience within complex academic medical centers and healthcare systems, including Columbia University, Weill Cornell Medicine, and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. She previously served as Special Advisor to the Chair of Medicine and Associate Designated Institutional Official, supporting strategic leadership, accreditation oversight, regulatory compliance, conflict resolution, and cross-functional stakeholder engagement.

In addition to her healthcare leadership background, Dr. Nelson serves as an arbitrator in New York City Small Claims and as a community mediator, where she facilitates resolution of commercial, interpersonal, and organizational disputes. Her work focuses on conflict competency, leadership development, coaching, and constructive communication within high-pressure professional environments. Drawing from her experience in law, healthcare, higher education, and alternative dispute resolution, Dr. Nelson is passionate about fostering mentorship, professional growth, and reflective practice within the ADR field.