NASHVILLE, TN — The Nashville Conflict Resolution Center has announced a transition plan as longtime Executive Director Sara Figal plans to retire in mid-2024.
“Through Sara’s leadership, the NCRC has become the no-cost, conflict resolution leader in Middle Tennessee. Though she will be stepping out of her day-to-day role, we all know she’ll always be ready to don her cape again in an advisory role to both the Board and her successor. We cannot thank Sara enough for her past, present and future service to the NCRC,” said Bill Norton, Board Chair and Partner at Bradley.
Figal has led NCRC for eight years and grown the organization from its local roots to become a vital resource for the region. Under her leadership, NCRC created a remote mediation program that now serves the courts and communities in 15 counties. Every year, these mediation services help more than 1,000 residents resolve disputes effectively and equitably, so they can stabilize their co-parenting, housing and employment situations without the cost and stress of litigation.
Figal serves on the Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission for the TN Courts, is a past member of the Board of the Tennessee Association of Professional Mediators and is an Adjunct Professor for the Nashville School of Law. She is also a member of the Rotary Club of Nashville and has been recognized as a “Woman of Influence” by the Nashville Business Journal.
Founded in 2000, Nashville Conflict Resolution Center provides free and low-cost mediation to individuals and groups throughout greater Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Through referrals from the courts and other community partners, NCRC resolves landlord-tenant and debt disputes, custody agreements, workplace conflicts and neighborhood conflicts. NCRC believes in mediation as a uniquely inclusive and equitable process in our legal system because participants collaboratively shape an optimal outcome and resolve their issues safely without the stress and expense of court.
In the past 23 years, NCRC has mediated over 9,000 disputes free or on sliding-scale for some 20,000 participants. More than 250 volunteer mediators have donated their time and skills on behalf of NCRC’s clients.
