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I was born and raised in a suburban neighborhood of Seattle. At 18, in the mood for something entirely different, I chose a college about as far as I could get from home – Radcliffe, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was a remarkable experience, one that exposed me to a great education, a foreign culture (New England), and the turmoil of the 1960s. I majored in Modern English and French History and Literature, and graduated in 1966, with no career plans. I grew up at the tail end of the Ozzie and Harriet 1950s, with a whiff of the revolution to come. The vast majority of my college class went on to graduate school, leading the feminist way. I was without passion for any field, and couldn't muster the drive necessary to continue with school.
I went to work for Dr. Robert Coles, a brilliant and compassionate child psychiatrist and author, who was working on a series of books, "Children of Crisis." He was interested in why some children could survive unscathed the violent integration of southern schools, and why others crumbled under the stress. His approach, his sensitivity and his desire to help affected me deeply. I also was captivated by his ability to give voice to the voiceless, by including in his writing long passages in the voice of the real people of these conflicts -- a confused child, a desperate mother, an overwhelmed teacher, an angry grandfather, etc.
Unable to stay in a quiet office, given my new awareness, I became a welfare worker in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. With other equally naïve new graduates, I had a ridiculously large caseload, gave away all the money and goods allowed by law, and probably made some very bad choices. Fortunately for the taxpayers of Boston, I left New England and headed to the southwest in 1968.
Martin Luther King, Jr., and Bobby Kennedy had been assassinated, and my generation's idealism was under attack. As newlyweds, my husband and I wanted to make a difference and have an adventure. We chose Chinle, Arizona, heart of the Navajo Nation. He was a legal services attorney, with a clear job title. As I wondered what on earth I had to offer in this foreign culture, I watched, listened and learned. Those seven and a half years were life-changing, and the subject of my cross-cultural memoir "Into the Canyon: Seven Years in Navajo Country."
We moved to Santa Fe in 1975, and again I underwent culture shock in reverse. Where were all the Navajos? I was desperately homesick, and have kept up friendships from Chinle over the years. With two small children, I worked as I could, first making wooden toys, and then as a paralegal. My mediation career began at the non-profit Western Network, where I became a partner until its dissolution in 1998.
Since then I have been president of Lucy Moore Associates, Inc., a firm offering mediation, facilitation, consultation and training. I specialize in natural resource and public policy issues, often working with multiple parties and multiple issues. Clients include federal, state, local and tribal governments and agencies, organizations, and private interests. Issues include water rights and quality, endangered species, forest management and planning, mining reclamation, hazardous waste disposal, land use planning, and much more.
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Lucy with first baby on Navajo cradleboard, 1970, Chinle, Arizona |
I find my work endlessly fascinating. Each situation is unique, and the lesson of listening and learning before plunging in has served me well. Although not all conflicts come to complete resolution, in the end we are all – mediator and participants alike – better educated and more aware of the needs of others. I am committed to contributing to better decision-making processes, and that, I am convinced, means the inclusion of the full range of voices at the table.
I have taken, and given, trainings in mediation and facilitation, and I am always left with the belief that mediators and facilitators are born, not made. You either are drawn to the middle of conflicts and differences, or not. I am one of those people. This doesn't mean that I love to fight, or even that I can fight. In fact, in my experience, some of the best mediators and facilitators don't fight well and don't like to be part of a conflict. What we do like is being in the middle, seeing all sides, understanding, empathizing, and explaining one side to the other.
I am an only child, and it feels as if I was born mediating between my parents. It is kind of funny and kind of sad to look back on, but it gave me the ability to stand in that in-between space and believe that I could make it better. Whether I did make it better, who knows? But I came to believe that it is worth trying, even if the conflict seems irresolvable. Some insight, some thoughtfulness, some new understanding of the other may happen, and that is surely a good thing.
My parents gave me an early sense of justice and fairness. I understood from them that everyone is equal and deserves a good life, and that everyone has the right to determine his or her own future… or at least that was the ideal. I was shocked by the deep prejudice against African-American children that I saw on TV as the southern schools were being integrated. I remember also developing a strong bias against those with a southern accent, as a result of those TV images, and realizing, with embarrassment, that I had fallen into prejudice myself. Still a child, I began to see the complexities of conflict.
And now, after more than 20 years of mediating and facilitating, I treasure the complexities in conflict. I approach each situation eager to learn, knowing that every one is unique. I know I must listen first to those who know the conflict best, those who are engaged in it. I also realize that I must think carefully about my role. Can this situation benefit from some kind of neutral intervention? What kind of process is needed? Am I the right one to help out? I want to give the conflict and the parties the same kind of thoughtful attention that I will expect them to give to each other and the resolution.
Lucy at Grand Canyon, site of a current mediation case, 2006 |
My practice since the mid-1980's has focused on natural resource and public policy issues. Much of my work has involved water in some way – water rights, water quality, water management and use. I have also specialized in cases that include tribal groups or governments, or other traditional, land-based communities. My years on the Navajo Reservation gave me sensitivity to cross-cultural issues as they play themselves out in conflicts. Most of my cases deal with government decision-making – federal, state, local or tribal – and I remain committed to helping make that process as inclusive, open and fair as possible. The best decisions are made with the right people involved, at the right time, in the right format, and I am pleased to be part of that process.
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