Tennessee Voices, Episode 299: Sara Figal, executive director, Nashville Conflict Resolution Center

David Plazas, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read

When I asked Sara Figal what the key to good mediation is, she told me that it means the parties leave the table having been heard.

Mediation does not guarantee a person gets everything he or she wants, but it is a process to work through differences, face someone with whom they are trying to resolve a dispute and answer questions.

A skilled mediator asks questions and follows up with more questions to try to come to resolution that the parties can agree upon, and that is the essence of the work of the Nashville Conflict Resolution Center.

Sara Figal, president of the Nashville Conflict Resolution Center, has put in many more hours practicing Celtic harp during the pandemic. Figal also has used the time to get virtual instruction from master-level harpers throughout the U.S. and Ireland.
Sara Figal, president of the Nashville Conflict Resolution Center, has put in many more hours practicing Celtic harp during the pandemic. Figal also has used the time to get virtual instruction from master-level harpers throughout the U.S. and Ireland.

On this episode of the Tennessee Voices video podcast, Figal, who is executive director of NCRC, spoke about her organization, which she calls "Nashville's best kept secret."

NCRC has worked to resolve disputes between property owners and tenants, victims and offenders, and the Nashville Community Oversight Board and the Metro Nashville Police Department, among other clients.

Figal's background is in theatre and German literature and previously worked as a college professor. She began volunteering with the center before being hired as its leader.

She is an avid reader and, as my colleague Brad Schmitt reported in 2020, she took up the Celtic harp as pandemic era hobby.

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About Tennessee Voices

The Tennessee Voices videocast is a 20-minute program, which started in March 2020 and invites leaders, thinkers and innovators who have written guest columns for a USA TODAY Network Tennessee publication to share their insights and wisdom with me and our viewers.

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David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee and an editorial board member of The Tennessean. Tweet to him at @davidplazas. 

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Voices: Resolving disputes through mediation with Sara Figal