About

Sheri Russell, JD, owner of Bellingham Mediation & Consulting

Sheri Russell, JD

Bellingham Mediation & Consulting is the mediation and workplace consulting practice of Sheri Russell, J.D., located in Bellingham, WA, and serving Whatcom, Skagit, Island, San Juan and Snohomish Counties.  Sheri has over 29 years’ experience as a certified professional mediator, workplace administrator and consultant, organizational facilitator, trainer, complaint investigator, and former attorney and civil litigator.  Sheri also has 10 years’ experience as a parenting coach and certified Parenting Coordinator.

Sheri’s legal experience brings a necessary practical, proactive and effective approach to helping individuals and organizations collaboratively resolve issues and create plans and agreements that meet all interests involved. Sheri’s style is particularly successful in helping clients efficiently resolve issues and create a foundation for future communication and problem solving.  Sheri’s workplace consulting helps organizations and HR managers proactively, effectively proactively prevent and address workplace issues and complaints.  Sheri’s organizational facilitation helps work teams, senior staff, boards of directors, faculty and academic stakeholders have strategic and productive meetings, retreats, forums, and workshops that resolve issues and move organizations forward.

In addition, Sheri teaches collaborative conflict resolution, law and negotiation courses at Western Washington University, and provides advanced mediation trainings for local and state organizations.  Sheri is on the U.S. Department of the Interior Roster of Neutrals, mediating formal workplace complaints. Sheri also volunteers her time facilitating community dialogues regarding equity, diversity, accommodations and inclusion.

Sheri is included on the Whatcom County Court’s roster a approved civil and family mediators and Parenting Coordinators.

BACKGROUND / EXPERIENCE

Prior to opening Bellingham Mediation & Consulting, Sheri Russell owned a law, mediation and facilitation practice in Idaho, focusing on family and employment law, property, land use and contract issues.  In addition, Sheri was an equal opportunity (EO), equity and diversity administrator for a large public agency and three universities, managing all aspects of EO compliance programs, including formal complaint investigations, dispute resolution, trainings, supervisor coaching, work group facilitation and proactive diversity initiatives.

Sheri also facilitated work group and boards of director strategic planning meetings and retreats; student, staff and faculty academic forums and workshops; public hearings for federal agencies, local governments and non-profit organizations on local land use and natural resource issues; and was a settlement facilitator for the Idaho State Bar Association.  Sheri helped establish and managed the first small claims mediation program in Idaho in 1995, taught dispute resolution courses at the University of Idaho, and regularly judged law school negotiation competitions and provided trainings on conflict resolution.

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Bellingham Mediation & Consulting maintains the utmost confidentiality with regard to all its cases and clients.