Louise Phipps Senft

Louise Phipps Senft, voted “Baltimore’s Best” Mediator by Baltimore Magazine 2002 and named one of “Maryland’s Top 100 Women” for the year 2004 and 2007 and 2009 by The Daily Record, and inducted into Maryland’s “Circle of Excellence” for outstanding leadership, founded the Baltimore Mediation Center in 1993, the first mediation firm in Maryland with a focus on relational approaches to conflict resolution. In 2006, BMC was expanded and renamed Louise Phipps Senft and Associates/Baltimore Mediation. In 2007, Ms. Senft, also an attorney, was honored with one of the Baltimore Business Journal’s “Most Enterprising Woman” awards, and in 2009, her firm was recognized as a “Top 100 MBE” minority owned enterprise in the Mid-Atlantic region.  In May 2010, Ms. Senft was inducted into the Greater Baltimore Area’s Young Women’s Christian Association’s Academy of Leaders with a “Special Leader of the Year” award for her work in the field of conflict resolution with effects that empowered women and eradicated racism. The firm offers divorce and commercial/workplace mediation, facilitation for collaborative decision-making for families, businesses and those in litigation, and negotiation and conflict resolution training, all from the transformative relational framework.  Ms. Senft is known nationally for her elicitive design and delivery of a relational worldview and how to approach difficult negotiation and conflicted situations to increase understanding and to change the negative interaction such that more informed decisions are made. She combines this approach into negotiation and mediation trainings for professionals, court systems, government agencies, companies, contractors, real estate management firms, physicians and medical staff, assisted living facilities, higher education, clergy and family practitioners.  Ms. Senft has provided mediation and facilitation services to thousands of individuals in divorce, employment, business, closely held family businesses, trusts and estates, commercial and civil litigation.  She writes a monthly column for The Daily Record, The Negotiating Table: Turning Problems into Opportunities.  Ms. Senft’s work with divorcing families has been featured in numerous media interviews. Ms. Senft’s work with family businesses is featured in the documentary, Resolutionary People (2002), produced by Emmy award winner Richard Chisolm. Ms. Senft’s work with corporate and public policy multiparty facilitation is featured in the book the Promise of Mediation (Jossey-Bass, 2004). Ms. Senft’s work in elder care mediation was the featured story on ABC Worldnews with Charles Gibson in July 27, 2007. In 2009, Ms. Senft was invited by the Hopi Indian Nation and began work with Hopi clan elders to design a transformative mediation program “Hopi-ized” for and by the tribe grappling with issues of family preservation, Hopi culture, land and property disputes. She continues her work with the Hopi to the present. Ms. Senft is a negotiation and mediation trainer for the California-based American Mediation Institute, and in the international arena, she is one of the founding members of Mediators Beyond Borders™, a non-profit offering conflict resolution aid and training for initiatives such as the Child Soldier Project in Ghana and the Katrina Mediation Project in New Orleans and Biloxi, Mississippi.  She currently serves as Executive Chair of Training for MBB domestically and internationally.

               Ms. Senft has been a national leader for transformative mediation for separation and divorce and for business conflicts.  She is an early member of the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation; she and her firm were chosen to pilot training for teaching transformative conflict theory with practical application in the early 1990’s.  Sheis one of the originators of “marital mediation” for couples in conflict wishing to preserve their marriages while making difficult decisions, and for “team mediation” for business executives and managers wishing to maintain productivity while working through difficult personality and other differences.  She has been interviewed by NPR and a guest on NPR radio affiliates and other radio programs. She has provided keynote speeches throughout the US and Canada. Ms. Senft was asked to speak at the United Nations in 2008 to inspire young leaders worldwide to champion an elicitive and relational approach to cultural and economic differences and conflict and to use mediators to assist as “Communication Brokers”, so that they can have a “Beyond Win-win” experience, phrases she coined.  Ms. Senft has pioneered the value of self-awareness training and practices for conflict interveners teaching as adjunct faculty for Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation Insight Initiative for attorneys, CEO’s, professionals and executives worldwide, for Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, MBA Bio-technology Program and the Business of Medicine Program and as an adjunct law professor for over a decade at the University of Maryland School of Law. 

               Ms. Senft is a certified Enneagram teacher in the Narrative Tradition and associated with the Trifold School for Enneagram Studies and the International Association of Enneagram Teachers in the Narrative Tradition. She offers Enneagram workshops on mindfulness in conflict, greater productivity and personal satisfaction with less personal reactivity, emotional intelligence and self-awareness for judges, lawyers, businesses executives, managers, parents and families. An area of focus that has brought Ms. Senft great joy over the years is using the Enneagram and the relational transformative approach to conflict to assist families and co-workers in having healthier and more satisfying conflict experiences. She has pioneered the reliance on self-awareness for mediators and the use of the Enneagram for the conflict resolution and mediation communities as a means of quality practice, conflict transformation and personal and professional excellence.

               Ms. Senft, an attorney, has over twenty-five years of mediation training and experience. In the family environment, she has a national reputation for her divorce mediation work. Specifically, her background includes domestic mediation, separation and divorce, marital property and tax liability, domestic violence, high conflict, gay and lesbian issues, bankruptcy, religious annulment, parental rights, grandparents’ rights, adoption, cognitive, psychological and social child development, parenting plans, religious faith and doctrine on marriage, adultery, adult grief and traumatic incident, guardianship, estates and trusts, real estate and personal property asset division, estate planning, end of life issues, elder care decision-making, and closely held family business and partnership disputes.  She has been the chosen mediator for over 2500 marital, separation or divorce mediations and has been interviewed on the subject of divorce and family conflict by various media.   In 2009, the Administrative Office of the Courts of Maryland asked Ms. Senft to design an assessment program for court-rostered domestic mediators modeled on her Practitioner’s Institute, a formative and summative assessment based on actual real-time observed performance of the mediator.

               Ms. Senft also has extensive experience in the business, organizational and litigation environment, specific background includes relational and interest-based negotiation and bargaining, insurance, insurance coverage disputes, workplace discrimination and ADA issues, Medicare and medical disclosure concerns, medical malpractice, bankruptcy, business partnerships, alliance formations, succession planning, organizational visioning, condominium and real estate development, construction and real property contracting, public dialogue, regulatory disputes, public policy process, environmental policy and regulation, city planning, Board of Directors management, systems approaches, congregational conflicts, union/labor and management disputes and business/workplace mediation including interdepartmental issues and EEO complaints.   She also has a background in insurance and complex commercial litigation and professional malpractice matters.  She was selected as one of six mediators by the American Arbitration Association to mediate complex personal injury cases and was selected by the EEOC to mediate litigated employment discrimination cases for the Mid-Atlantic Region. In addition to mediating many hundreds of business, workplace, EEO and litigated disputes, she is called upon regularly to facilitate quality conversations over difficult issues and meaningful dialogue when there is complexity for various executives, managers, and boards of directors.

               Ms. Senft has been an adjunct Law Professor at the University of Maryland School of Law since 1998 teaching various courses in Alternative Methods of Dispute Resolution (ADR) for Lawyers, Negotiation and Mediation Theory and Practice. She designed and continues to teach what was the first certificated mediation training course offered by a Maryland law school.  For all of her adjunct teaching invitations for Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation Insight Initiative, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, MBA Bio-technology Program and the Business of Medicine Program, and University of Baltimore Law School, she has taught conflict transformation theory and incorporated personal reactivity and self-awareness practices and methods into real-life application.

               Ms. Senft was the first mediation trainer nationally to be approved as an Accredited Continuing Education Trainer (ACET) by the Association for Conflict Resolution in 2010. Ms. Senft was one of the first elected Associates of the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation and is a nationally Certified Transformative Mediator™.  She has been certified as well by the Maryland Council on Dispute Resolution, both of which are the only two performance-based certifications of skill level in the US.   She is the architect for Maryland’s Performance Based Assessment for Transformative Mediators-The Practitioner’s Institute- which is now serving as an assessment model for a program for Maryland courts and for Maryland Family Court Appointed Family Mediators which launched in 2009, which is part of the statewide Maryland Program for Mediator Excellence, the first in the country. Ms. Senft is also the co-architect of the state’s Mediation Ombuds Program, designed to handle consumer mediation complaints throughout Maryland from a restorative approach. 

               Ms. Senft and Baltimore Mediation are perhaps best known nationally for their trainings on conflict transformation and their offerings of certificated training courses in General and Advanced Mediation and Conflict Resolution and Domestic and Workplace Mediation with a focus on the transformative approach.  Their training courses, with an emphasis on mediator self-awareness, ethical practice, fostering quality interaction, empowerment, informed decision-making by the parties, and recognition, were selected as a model and pilot for the training component of the national Transformative Mediation Project, an outgrowth of the highly acclaimed writing of R. B. Bush and J. Folger in their book The Promise of Mediation, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1995 and have been the trainings of choice for the Maryland Judiciary and numerous federal agencies.  She tailors these trainings for three audiences: (1) professionals, including attorneys, doctors, therapists, religious, businessmen and women, human resources managers and educators; (2) families, youth and parents; and (3) staff working in courts and agencies and non-profits. She also designed and offers twice annually the Practitioner’s Institute for advanced mediators who desire an intense assessment for certification as well as a series of one day workshops on the Enneagram and Conflict Transformation.  

               She is the author of numerous training manuals including editions beginning in 1998 on the collaborative training content work of the ISCT think tank on transformative practices.

1. Senft, Louise Phipps  (1993), Conflict Resolution Skills  for the Safe Haven Network Children at Risk Training Manual
2. Senft, Louise Phipps  (1994), Conflict Resolution  Skills and Approaches for Families and Children Training Manual
3. Senft, Louise Phipps and Larry Hoover (1994, 1995, 1996), Basic Conflict Resolution and Mediation Skills Training Manual
4. Senft, Louise Phipps  (1994, 2000, 2005), Conflict Resolution Skills for Peer Mediators, Teachers and Peer Mediation  Programs Training Manual
5. Senft, Louise Phipps and Nancy Good Sider (1995, 1998, 2004, 2008), Conflict Transformation and Mediation Skills Manual for Domestic Disputes with a focus on Working with Family Systems, Child Custody, Parenting Plans, Domestic Violence and Child Support Training Manual
6. Senft, Louise Phipps  (1996, 1998, 2002, 2008), Conflict Transformation and Mediation Skills with a focus on Self-Awareness Training Manual
7. Senft, Louise Phipps (1996, 2002, 2005), Conflict Transformation and Mediation Skills for Working with Multiple Parties Training Manual
8. Senft, Louise Phipps and Nancy Good Sider (1997, 1999, 2005, 2008), Conflict Transformation and Mediation Skills with a Focus on Third Party Intervention and Systems Training Manual
9. Senft, Louise Phipps and Nancy Good Sider (1996) Conflict Resolution and Intervention Skills for Organizational Conflict Training Manual
10. Senft, Louise Phipps and Larry Hoover (1997, 1999, 2005, 2008), Conflict Transformation and Mediation Skills with a focus on Legal Standards and Ethics Training Manual
11. Senft, Louise Phipps (1997, 2008), Conflict Transformation and Mediation Skills for Divorcing Couples with a focus on Quality Decision-making for Marital Property Issues Training Manual
12. Senft, Louise Phipps  (1997, 2005, 2008), Conflict Transformation and Knowing Thyself: the Enneagram as Catalyst Training Manual
13. Senft, Louise Phipps (1998, 2004, 2008), Conflict Transformation and Mediation Skills for the Workplace Training Manual
14. Senft, Louise Phipps  (2004, 2008), Conflict Transformation Skills and Approaches for Families Training Manual
15. Senft, Louise Phipps and Nancy Good (2005, 2009), Conflict Transformation and Marital Mediation
16. Senft, Louise Phipps (2009), Conflict Transformation and Self-Awareness:  the Enneagram as Catalyst
17. Senft, Louise Phipps (2010), A Relational Approach to Family Conflict for the Hopi Indian Nation.

               Ms. Senft is also the author of numerous journal, magazine, newspaper and law review articles including:

1. “When to Mediate Business Disputes,” Maryland Business Law Watch, 25 (Feb. 1998)
2. “Ten Times to Try Mediating Personal and Family Disputes,” Maryland Family Law Monthly, 5 (April 1998)
3. “Should a Mediator Draft Settlement Agreements?,” Academy of Family Mediators, 9, Mediation News, Vol. 19, No.3 (2000)
4.  “Preliminary Motion for Mediation: New Tool for Litigators,” Maryland State Bar Ass’n, ADReport, Vol. 1, No. 2 (2002)
5. “Portrait of a Good Mediator,” Maryland Bar Journal, 8, Vol. 36, No. 4 ( 2003)
6.  ADR in the Courts: Progress, Problems and Possibilities, 101 PENN ST. L. REV.l22 (2003), with Cynthia Savage
7. “The Interrelationship of Ethics, Emotional Intelligence and Self-Awareness,” ACResolution (Spring 2004)
8. “Conflict Transformation for Separating Couples,” ACResolution (Summer 2005)
9. “Katrina: Turning Problems into Opportunities,” ACResolution (Fall 2005)
10.  “Quality Deliberation and Quality Decision Making: Mediation from a Transformative Approach,” ACResolution (Winter 2007)
11. “Mediating End of Life Decisions: Meeting Basic Nutrition Needs and the Advanced Health Care Directive,” with B. Senft MCDR Resolutions (Summer 2008)
12. “Mediation Changes People,” Community Mediation of St. Mary’s County News (Fall 2008)
13.  “Vocational Truthfulness: Having the Courage to Love and Need Our Work,” with M.J. Aloi, ACResolution (Spring 2009)
14. Mediating End of Life Decisions with Quality Interaction,” with B. Senft, ACResolution (Summer 2009)
15. “Mediation Changes People,” Translated into French (April 2010)
16.  “Mediation Basics for Biotech: How to Transform Your Negotiation,” John’s Hopkins University’s MEDICAL INNOVATIONS & BUS. J (Oct. 2010)
17. “Legal System Must Change to Help Families,” Unified Family Court Connection, Center for Families, Children and the Courts, Baltimore, Maryland (2010)
18.  “Lawyers in Mediation: Conflict or Opportunity?” Roman Bar Association, Concilia, Rome, Italy (2010).

                
               Ms. Senft is co-author of the final chapter of the ADR Handbook for Judges, ed. D. Stienstra & S. Yates,American Bar Association and Federal Judicial Center (2004), has her work of facilitating public policy conflicts featured in Chapter 3 “Gaining Sight of the Goal of Transformation,” of the revised Promise of Mediation, 2d. ed., B. Bush & J. Folger, Jossey-Bass Publishers (2004) and is co-author of the chapter “Marital Mediation: Transforming Marital Conflict through Facilitated Dialogue-Reclaiming Personal Strength and Marital Connectedness,” with N. Good in Transformative Mediation: A Sourcebook, Resources for Conflict Intervention Practitioners and Programs, B. Bush, J. Folger and D. Della Noce, ISCT and ACR Publishers (2010).  In 2011, Ms. Senft will also be publishing a series of booklettes: The Little Book for Couples: How to Transform Conflict Interaction with your Spouse or Partner; The Little Book for Parents: How to Transform Conflict Interaction with your Children and your Teenager; The Little Book for Managers: How to Transform Conflict Interaction with your Staff and Co-Workers.

               Ms. Senft has earned the status of Advanced Practitioner as a Member of the international Association of Conflict Resolution’s (ACR) Family Section, formerly the Academy of Family Mediators, and has served on their Ethics Committee and Mediation Training Approval Committee for many years. She was elected in 2009 to serve on ACR’s Family Section Advisory Council to the Board of Directors. 

               She served as Co-Chair of the Baltimore City Bar Association’s first ADR Committee, and she was elected and served on the Maryland State Bar Association’s ADR Section Council.  In 1998, she was appointed by Chief Judge Bell to the Maryland Court of Appeals’ ADR Commission and the task force on Professional Responsibility in ADR.  In 2000, Ms. Senft was appointed by the highest court to Chair the first statewide Family ADR Initiative. She is the co-architect of the state’s mediator grievance process, the MPME Ombudsman Program, and was subsequently appointed as Chair in 2003 of the Mediator Ombudsman Program for the Maryland Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office. She is a past President of the Maryland Council for Dispute Resolution.  She has served as Treasurer on the executive board of Network 2000 whose mission is to place women on corporate boards and mentor rising female executives; she is an elected board member for the Coalition of Geriatric Services in Maryland, is Vice President of the Roland Park Civic League whose recent focus is on the preservation of historic green space in Baltimore City, monitoring of other land developments and the creation of a 100 year Master Plan for the preservation and modernization of the historic garden community designed by the Olmsted Brothers. She is also a founding member of the Tuesday Girls whose mission is to provide networking opportunities for senior women executives and business owners, and she serves as an elected board member of the Global Negotiation Insight Initiative, an auxiliary entity created as a result of the work at Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation Insight Initiative. Ms. Senft is also a graduate of the class of 2009 Leadership Maryland.

                She was selected as part of the first national certified mediation training team for the United States Postal Service REDRESS Program for EEO/discrimination complaints and other workplace disputes. From 1998 through 2001, she trained mediators across the country as part of the USPS national rollout, which trained over 2500 outside neutrals from 32 states, as well as over 18,000 labor and management representatives.  

               Ms. Senft was the initiator, co-creator with Careen Mayer, Lead Trainer and Supervisor for the Baltimore City Circuit Court Family Mediation Services program from 1998-2005, which focuses on custody and visitation lawsuits providing transformative mediation services for their resolution, which continues to serve thousands of Baltimore families in the court system annually.

               Ms. Senft is the co-founder with Pastor Marshall Prentice of The Safe Haven Network:  a church, police, school, and community safety initiative for children in Baltimore City which has provided safe shelters before and after school for children and conflict intervention training and safety skills to community residents and school officials since 1993 and which continues to provide safety to children today.

               Ms. Senft served as Chair of the Governor's Task Force on Youth Citizenship and Violence Prevention's Out-of-Schools Committee in 1995-96, and provided technical assistance in programming, violence reduction education and evaluation for the Governor's office on Crime Control and Prevention's state and federal funded initiative for community after school programs for late elementary and middle school youth throughout Maryland, 1996-1999. She was also a nine year board member of the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland with a focus on their capital campaign to expand services for inner-city girls.

               Ms. Senft has also served on numerous Bar Association committees, including presidential appointments to the Special Committee which drafted the Guidelines for the Prevention of Sexual Harassment adopted by the Maryland State Bar for law firms throughout the State, and the Chair of the 1994 publication "Baltimore's Children and Their Families." Most recently she was asked by television’s Arts and Entertainment to audition for a TV pilot, The Mediator, which is pending production.

               Prior to founding Baltimore Mediation, Ms. Senft was a litigator and trial lawyer engaged in practice at the Baltimore law firm, Whiteford, Taylor and Preston in the areas of insurance, commercial defense and family law.  She has served Board positions in her neighborhood, schools and church, including the National Catholic Review Board for Washington, DC/Arlington, The Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, and the Roland Park Civic League; she hails from Springfield, Illinois, was inducted into the Sacred Heart-Griffin High School Hall of Fame in 2010, attended the University of Virginia, where she was President of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, and Washington & Lee School of Law, where she was named Most Outstanding Woman Law Student. She is married to Bill Senft and is the mother of five children.