Sharon Sutherland

December's event will feature notable BC lawyer, mediator, and conflict resolution expert Sharon Sutherland who will share her story of how creativity has shown up in work and life through the lens of the global theme 'pain'.

Sharon was one of the first Project Managers of the BC Court Mediation Program (1998-2003). From 2000-2014, Sharon was a faculty member at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law where, in addition to a range of substantive legal courses, she taught an intensive clinical mediation program and supervised the Faculty’s Judicial Externship program. From 2006-2010, Sharon worked with Mediate BC to develop a province-wide Child Protection Mediation Practicum aimed at increasing the number of child protection mediators in under-serviced parts of BC. From 2014-2016, Sharon worked as a Knowledge Engineer in the development of the Civil Resolution Tribunal, focusing on both Strata and Small Claims streams.

With her background in practicum design and management, Sharon has a special interest in mediation mentorship. She has been a mediation mentor in a variety of programs (Small Claims, Child Protection, community mediations) since 1997. She is a founding Board member of CoRe Conflict Resolution Society where she manages the Speaker Series.

In June 2021, Sharon received an honorary doctorate from the Justice Institute of BC for contributions to conflict resolution through practice, advocacy, and the training and mentoring of mediators. Sharon also was honoured with the 2011 Susanna Jani Prize for Excellence in Mediation.

In addition to an LL.M. in ADR from Osgoode Hall Law School, Sharon received a M.A. in Drama and Theatre Studies from the University of London, and completed all work but her thesis towards a Ph.D. in Drama from the University of Toronto. This theatrical background continues to inform her teaching and practice. Sharon has participated in a variety of academic and practice-oriented projects in applied improvisation, Theatre of the Oppressed, and other theatre tools for conflict resolution.

Sharon is keenly interested in games as a tool for supporting team building, conflict prevention and conflict management. She has hosted several Collaborative Game Jams, and is a member of PignPotato Games. She is one of the designers of Zombie Fight or Flight, a collaborative card game, and designs and hosts Scavenger Hunts for team building.

Every month we ask our speaker a handful of probing questions to give us a deeper glimpse into their life and relationship with creativity:

How do you define creativity and apply it in your life and career?

Margaret Boden’s definition of creativity as the ability to come up with ideas that are ”new, surprising, and valuable” resonates with me because it’s wide-ranging and captures possibilities in all areas of life. I try to appreciate creativity in all of its forms - artistic endeavours, cooking, strategic planning, games, team sports, etc.

Where do you find your best creative inspiration or energy?

I’m energized by new experiences, change, and (unfortunately, perhaps) deadlines.

What’s one piece of creative advice or a tip you wish you’d known as a young person?

Creativity applies to everything, including creating the work you want to be doing.

Who (living or dead) would you most enjoy hearing speak at CreativeMornings?

Tahmoh Penikett, Rachel Bloom, Baba Brinkman.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

Captained a GISH team to victory! Essentially 8 days of making 223 of 227 impossible tasks and goofy acts of kindness happen. Personal craziest tasks would include acting as judge on the diving board of a literal jury pool, setting up a giant game of red rover with 53 wedding guests, re-enacting the pottery scene from "Ghost" using cement, public maple syrup and glittering a teammate, and zombie slow-speed tag at the mall.

What are you reading these days?

Fanfiction - endless creativity and, occasional guilty pleasure, combined.

Where was the last place you travelled?

Last non-work travel was to Greenland, and now I want to go straight back!