Village resident and psychologist Brady Burkett succeeds Diane Diller as the newest part-time coordinator for the Village Mediation Program. Along with 18 other mediators and facilitators, Burkett offers his conflict resolution services to intervene in local disputes. (Photo by Reilly Dixon)
Burkett new Village Mediation coordinator
- Published: September 16, 2024
Your neighbor’s roosters won’t stop crowing. Your co-worker’s bad jokes make the break room uncomfortable. An online debate went south and now the produce aisle just isn’t the friendly social scene it was last week.
Brady Burkett, the new coordinator for the Village Mediation Program, is here to help with these and other local conflicts.
A free conflict-resolution service in Yellow Springs since 1989, the Village Mediation Program, or VMP, helps feuding villagers and township residents get to the bottom of their issues. It’s staffed with local volunteers trained to turn conflict into solutions, disagreement into understanding.
“We’re here to help folks learn how to have difficult conversations without resorting to their old tactics,” Burkett told the News last week. “When things get tough, we don’t always bring our best selves forward. We get hijacked by our emotions and say things we don’t mean.”
Burkett came to the part-time position last month as a longtime villager, psychologist, educator and father of two daughters — a background steeped in conflict resolution. For nearly a decade, he taught courses in human development, psychology and mediation at Clark State College and Antioch University. His Ph.D. dissertation dealt with adult learning — “how we learn or choose not to,” Burkett explained.
“I’m sensitive to the fact that people are conflict avoidant,” he said. “We go to great lengths to avoid looking at ourselves. And anytime something isn’t dealt with, resentment builds — in ourselves and toward others.”
For Burkett, conflict is an avenue that circumvents that resentment; for him, conflict is an opportunity.
“Let’s look at conflict differently — not as something to avoid or retreat from,” he said. “How about embracing it and looking at it as a chance to grow?”
That, Burkett said, is where the VMP comes into play. Villagers who seek out mediation services — or are referred by police, Mayor’s Court or other officials — are granted a trained third-party intervenor, as well as the space and time to work through conflict.
“That’s really what a good mediator does: Slow down time for both parties and give them the space to share their thoughts, find the best words possible and articulate what they’re trying to say,” said Burkett said.
That process, Burkett acknowledged, can differ depending on the conflict as well as the social context of the problem. For instance, a local organization or nonprofit struggling to complete a project due to conflicting visions may require a facilitator over a mediator. Of the 18 trained volunteers currently on the VMP roster, several are group facilitators, Burkett said.
No matter the kind of conflict, though, the reconciliation process always begins with first having a seat across from one another.
“That’s always the first step — the first opportunity — in healing whatever the conflict may be: agreeing to have a seat at the table,” Burkett said. “That means you’re willing to lay track for a better outcome, one in which everyone’s needs get met.”
This table, Burkett added, is safe and confidential and open to anyone: employees and employers, landlords and tenants, neighbors and others. It’s the same inclusive ethos villager Bruce Heckman had in mind in 1987, when a proposal of his led to the creation of the VMP.
According to a description written by Heckman, the VMP’s purpose has always been “to help disputing parties reconcile differences through constructive dialogue leading to mutually acceptable solutions.”
While small-town conflicts have, at their core, changed very little in substance over the three decades since the VMP’s founding, Burkett said he still hopes to bring the program further along in the 21st century. According to him, social media has added another dimension in which conflict can arise.
“Social media affects our lives daily,” he said. “It’s become this behemoth in that we’re often living in two different worlds.”
Like a true mediator, Burkett has a plan: In the coming months, he hopes to lead several community workshops and training for local residents to learn how to better deal with conflict on social media, and then, back in the real world.
“You know, so we can continue living in the same small town together,” he said. “So we’re not crossing the street to avoid each other after I said something about a school levy online.”
It’s quite a charge, but one Burkett said he’s up to, and he encourages others to help. The VMP is always looking to train more local mediators and facilitators, he said.
To get involved in the Village Mediation Program as a volunteer, or to seek out mediation or facilitation services from the program, call 937-318-1542 or email mediation@yso.com. The News will announce any forthcoming events hosted by Program Coordinator Brady Burkett.
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