Sarah Thompson has been on the frontlines of dispute resolution for more than 20 years across the West Coast. She has successfully reached agreement in the health care and human services, public, and private sectors.

Sarah's career spans the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, the Oregon Nurses Association, Kaiser Permanente Labor Management Partnerships, and public and private sector unions. She has also assisted in the resolution of staff union conflicts, from both labor and management positions.

Sarah is a competent and creative natural mediator who thrives on helping people find new perspectives to move ahead together amidst complex choices. She holds an Executive Masters in Public Administration from PSU's Hatfield School of Government, Professional Mediator Certification from Cornell University Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution, and is a Certified Professional with the Society for Human Resource Management.

"I negotiated several collective bargaining agreements with Sarah. I greatly appreciated Sarah’s approach to contentious and potentially inflammatory issues – she has a great way of acknowledging that an issue might raise passions on both sides while keeping the parties focused on seeing each other’s viewpoints. The result were fair agreements that both sides were happy with, and making the parties’ ongoing relationships stronger and more collaborative. "

Dennis Westlind, Principal and Co-Founder, Alifanz and Westlind Law

"Sarah does an incredible job of working with bargaining teams to feel heard and address their needs without setting unrealistic expectations. She is creative in her solutions and tireless in her ability to keep working a problem from new angles until agreement is reached. "

Michelle Blau, Former Staff Director, SEIU Local 49

State Representative Rob Nosse, Former Colleague at SEIU and ONA