Sharia established Walker Institute in 2013 and is an accredited partner of Performant Group based in Switzerland. She is a conflict management and leadership practitioner specialist with over 15 years of professional experience. Sharia is passionate about creating positive change and enhancing human relationships in the workplace. She is committed to providing her clients with the tools and resources they need to resolve conflict effectively and build more collaborative and productive relationships.
Sharia is a California credentialed mediator and has mediated disputes at Small Claims Court in San Diego and at the National Conflict Resolution Center, including personal injury, insurance, employment, and workplace cases. Furthermore, Sharia has worked in a variety of sectors, including the public and private sectors, as well as intergovernmental organizations and NGOs.
Sharia is a multicultural individual who is an excellent listener, communicator, and collaborator. She is also a results-driven thinker who is committed to achieving her clients' goals. Sharia holds multiple higher education degrees specializing in education management, conflict analysis and resolution, and diplomacy and international relation from King’s College London, University of San Diego, and the Fletcher School, respectively.
Barbara Filner was the founding director of training for the National Conflict Resolution Center of San Diego (NCRC) for 28 years. She worked as a mediator, facilitator and trainer developing training courses in mediation across the United States and in Europe. She served as an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego Law School where she taught negotiations.
Barbara has conducted conflict management training for several medical groups, including Kaiser Permanente, the largest Medical Group provider in the U.S.A., Balboa Naval Hospital, and King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh.
As well as numerous articles on conflict resolution (in English and German), she has co-written two books about culture and conflict resolution and three books about The Exchange Process (a conflict resolution process which she helped to design for the National Conflict Resolution Center).
Ellen Warner Scott serves as Lead Mediator/Mentor for the Small Claims Court division of San Diego Superior Court since 2002. Ms. Scott brings a varied academic and work experience to her current role as court mediator and trainer. She earned her credential as a mediator in 2001 from the National Conflict Resolution Center (San Diego).
As such, she has trained, coached, and mentored graduate students affiliated with the University of San Diego and Thomas Jefferson Schools of Law; Joan B. Kroc Center for Peace & Justice; and the San Diego. Mediation Center Division of the National Conflict Resolution Center. Typical disputes presented at court involve tenant/landlord, employer/employee, commercial contract, neighbor/neighbor, homeowners’ association, and finance-company/borrowers.