
Jean Greatbatch
The focus of my career has been improving people’s lives at work. For over 35 years I have worked toward building more effective organizations as a coach, mediator, investigator, arbitrator, college instructor and union representative. I have helped executives, boards, managers, teams, departments, staff members and unions increase collaboration, deal with root causes of conflict and improve relationships. I’m driven by a passion to develop processes that create the climate for full participation and honest discussion so necessary for constructive engagement.
Over the past 15 years working as a mediator, I have conducted over 300 workplace interventions for resolving conflict, including conflict coaching; conventional investigations; mediations; facilitated departmental discussions; and restorative circles. I have advised executives on how to manage conflict and have designed conflict management systems for several public sector organizations.
Because I love teaching, I was a department head at Capilano University where I designed and taught courses in leadership, communications and conflict resolution. I now design and teach customized workshops to increase conflict capacity to staff and leaders. Before I trained as a mediator, I was a union representative and department head for over 20 years. As a result, I understand unions’ and employers’ needs.
Appointments and Professional Activities
- Director, Mediate BC
- Vice – President and Director, BC Mediator Roster Society
- Mediator and investigator, Human Rights Commission
- Adjudicator, Employment Standards Tribunal
- Arbitrator, Collective Agreement Arbitration Bureau
- Rostered investigator, mediator and trouble-shooter, various public sector workplaces
- Investigator, BC Care Aide and Community Health Worker Registry
- Mediator, Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner
- Mediator, Office of the Director of Police Services (Victoria and Esquimalt Policing Report)
- Faculty Member, Labour Studies Program, Capilano University
- Presenter, Lancaster House Arbitration Conferences
Education and Qualifications
- B.A. Social Anthropology, University of Toronto
- Master of Laws (LLM) in Alternative Dispute Resolution, Osgoode Hall Law School
- Provincial Instructor’s Diploma
- CAAB Arbitrator Development Program
- MBTI certified
- Member, BC Civil Mediation Roster