Volunteer Profiles

Jensie Askay
Jensie Askay received her advance degrees in both counseling and philosophy.  She has worked as an individual and group therapist in a variety of settings, including a juvenile girl's home, crisis center, mental health institution, and university.  It has been her passion to understand human beings within a greater context, and as a result of her experience and research she has co-authored several articles and books in the field of philosophy and psychoanalysis.  She believes that the greatest mysteries are within us—how we think, feel, communicate, and act in our shared world.  Conflict is a natural expression of human relationships.  It is also an ideal opportunity for increased growth and awareness.

Mediation appeals to her because it is an opportunity to work with people who are in crisis, frustrated with past encounters, and often more open to experiencing an alternative approach.  When a client turns to the other disputant and says, “Wow!  Finally someone really ‘gets me,’” she cannot help but stand in awe of the mediation process. 

Mediation provides an invaluable tool for facilitating understanding among differing perspectives and working toward conflict resolution.  Not only does it model productive communication, it encourages compassion and understanding.  We don’t have to all agree in order to get along, but if we can step outside of our own perspectives long enough to catch a glimpse of another, not only are we ourselves enriched, we help contribute that much more to a harmonious and peaceful environment.

Gary Casady BS Wildlife Biology, MDiv. Christian Education
Gary and Linda (his bride of 42 years) met in anatomy lab at Colorado State University in 1969.  They have three adult sons and 6+ grandchildren.  After ten years in youth and camp work, they moved to Kenya in 1982.

They worked in eastern and southern Africa for 18 years.  Gary’s main responsibility as Training Coordinator was to survey extremely remote areas where teams of workers could be placed.  This involved negotiating with tribal leaders for permissions to live among them, learn their language and culture and dialogue regarding appropriate, sustainable development.  Their approach was always holistic including spiritual, physical, educational, agricultural, and medical assistance as dictated by the tribe. 

Teams were multi-ethnic living very simply cross-culturally.  Conflicts were normal under such conditions, resulting in a significant amount of time and energy devoted to conflict resolution.  To better equip himself to serve these teams, Gary received training in interpersonal communication through Interpersonal Communication Programs Inc. and was introduced to Peacemaker Ministries.

When several family crises prevented him returning to Africa, he entered conflict coaching and mediation training through Peacemakers and Six Rivers.  He has volunteered with Six Rivers since 2008 and leads the Peacemaking Team at his church, Gateway Presbyterian of The Dalles.

His most rewarding efforts have been:

•Mediating conflict between African nationals
• Coaching estranged couples back into meaningful relationships
•Teaching conflict resolutions in home groups and public schools

Gary loves Africa, enjoys everything outdoors and reading history and classic literature on spiritual formation.

Patricia Dillingham M.A.
Pat is founder of Dillingham Consulting, an organizational development group based in Hood River, Oregon. Pat’s consulting career focuses on three main areas: leadership development, team building and change management. She has over fifteen years experience in an external consulting capacity.

Pat has worked internationally with Intel and General Electric and domestically with Apple, the American Leadership Forum, Agilent, Hewlett Packard, Levi Strauss, Sun Microsystems, Adaptec, 3Com and others. She has been instrumental in guiding strategic planning efforts, designing and implementing leadership programs for international and domestic middle/senior level executives in team building leadership skills, change management, team building and interpersonal communication.

From time to time, Pat trains some of the world’s leading MBA’s in the Interpersonal Dynamics Program at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.  She currently facilitates a Women in Management program at Stanford School of Business.  Her career began with the Colorado Outward Bound School, where she was instrumental in creating the Corporate Development program.  She went on to co-found Executive Ventures, a consulting firm that supported the American Leadership Forum specializing in team and leadership programs.  Pat spent five years with Catalyst Consulting Team, a California based development group.

On the personal side, Pat is an adventurer as well as educator.  She has lived in Mexico and South America and has led mountaineering expeditions all over the world. In 1986, Pat was a member of the first American Women’s Expedition invited to climb Mt. Kongur, the highest peak in western China.

Joyce Ebbert
Joyce spent her working life as a teacher at the elementary level and small business owner.  She lived many years in Alaska where she taught in remote village schools and eventually owned a business which her family owned for almost twenty years.  Joyce became interested in mediation and took her initial training from Community Mediation Services in Vancouver in 1997.   She was certified as a mediator by CMS in 1998 and Washington Mediation Association (WMA) in 2004.  Joyce also served on the WMA Board for three years. 

Mrs. Ebbert became interested in mediation as a concept when a divorce in her extended family went very wrong.  She thought there must be a better way than to always hire lawyers and be so adversarial.  Joyce says that she especially enjoys facilitating and working with groups that are having trouble either with interpersonal relationships or structure.

 

Susan Julian
Through her years working in surgery and emergencies rooms, Susan learned that listening to what a person is saying and having compassion goes a long way to promote healing. 

Upon retiring as a physician assistant, Mrs. Julian was seeking a volunteer opportunity  to continue helping people to resolve problems.  One day, she picked up a mediation brochure, took the training, attended workshops and began mediating.

The power of mediation came alive for Susan while mediating between two middle-school students who had gotten into a fight.   Slowly, with starts and stops, the layers of misunderstanding and hurt revealed themselves as they worked through the process.  They were able to hear what the other person was saying and understand their feelings.  Susan says at that point she “had found an endeavor worth pursing that would make a positive difference in our communities".

 

Lori Loranger
Lori has been a homeschooling Mom and community activist for 25 years.  She’s been politically active, running for and holding public office, and has served on various boards for the library, grocery cooperatives, and homeschooling organizations.  Fostering voluntary cooperation is her passion; creating cooperative structures to fulfill community needs is her goal.  By manifesting cooperation through action, individuals are empowered to satisfy a diversity of needs while building harmonious human relationships.

Lori’s experiences in the community have taught her that how we talk to one another matters.  The biggest challenge of working with groups to create social change is that many people have difficulty communicating effectively.  Lori became a student of Compassionate Communication 10 years ago, and has participated in and hosted NVC (nonviolent communication) practice groups.

Experiencing the destructive results of unresolved conflict in community groups inspired her to become a mediator.  It would be a great joy for Lori to use mediation skills to help cooperative groups accomplish their good works with respect and kindness toward all participants.

 

Rebecca Stonestreet JD
It was Rebecca’s childhood dream to become a lawyer.  She received her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Utah in 1987. During her second year of law school, Rebecca had a change in consciousness, a change in consciousness which led her on a path less traveled by her fellow graduates.

Rebecca never practiced law, but instead, started her own business first assisting solo law practitioners in Washington as a part time legal assistant, and then becoming an Oregon Licensed Private Investigator in1992, primarily working for public defenders until 2002.

Struggling through another personal growth period, Rebecca read books on more effective communication, and how to be a better listener. It was during this personal growth period that she happened upon the initial start-up stages of Six Rivers Community Meditation Service.  Her heart sang out that mediation was the next step to take with her path less traveled. So, Rebecca took the Six Rivers basic mediation course in 2003.

Mediation fit Rebecca like a glove. Instead of perpetuating and augmenting conflicts as litigation tends to do, she was now in a system which provided communication, healing and resolution for people. All aspects of mediation resonate with Rebecca.

One of Rebecca’s favorite mediations was between two 11 year old boys who were the best of friends, but had become bitter foes do to unrevealed circumstances.  Rebecca mediated the case alone and therefore had no co-mediator.        Rebecca says that she still thinks about the mediation between those two boys, because “it flowed so naturally, the boys were very mature and respectful to one another and they both had an “ah-ha” about their conflict.  During the mediation, the boys became the best of friends again. Mediating between these two boys goes along with my theme of personal growth and changing consciousness. It was a wonderful experience for all three of us.  I am grateful and honored to be part of such a wonderful public service as Six Rivers Mediation.”