Meet the Mediators
The peer mediators are talented undergraduates and graduates who have undergone 25+ hours of training in conflict resolution as well as continual professional development. Your conflict may be within a personal relationship, a student organization, or something else—the mediators adjust to the needs of the group, facilitating a conversation that considers all participants’ needs and thoughts. They will not control the discussion, instead creating a space that will allow underlying tensions to be recognized, addressed, and resolved.
Theo Poling
Theo (he/they) is a first-year graduate student in the Graduate School of Education. Theo has professional experience working as a facilitator and mediator for the Office of Student Conflict Resolution at the University of Michigan. Theo's research focus is on best practices for implementing conflict resolution and mediation programs in higher education. Theo is also interested in intersectional social justice advocacy, getting out in nature, and befriending campus cats.
Emily He
Emily is a first-year medical student. She became a peer mediator to promote deep, lasting, and productive human connection through listening, clear communication, and conflict resolution. She has experience mediating conversations regarding racial bias and diversity, cultural misunderstandings, and interpersonal disagreements in the academic and extracurricular setting.
Michael Thorburn
Michael is a first-year doctoral student at Stanford Law School. He is interested in developing dispute resolution institutions, as well as using mediation as a means to solve problems amongst his peers. Michael has professional experience representing clients within mediations and various dispute resolution forums.
Ellie Luchini
Ellie is a second-year undergraduate student majoring in History and Archaeology with a minor in Human Rights. She became a peer mediator to help others solve conflict in a healthy manner, set boundaries in personal spaces and workspaces, and create long-lasting meaningful relationships. She has experience mediating conversations between friends, romantic and/or sexual partners, roommates, classmates, members of student-run organizations, and peers in LGBTQIA+, religious, low-income, and grieving spaces. She can also assist in mediating conversations where individual(s) have experienced fatphobia.
Meet the Professional Staff
Ankita Rakhe (Assistant Dean for Student Support/Director for Special Projects, Office of Inclusion, Community and Integrative Learning) manages this program. She will review incoming mediation requests and help peer mediators manage cases.
