|
Mind of the Mogul:
An E-Chat with
Regina
Olchowski, M. Ed., MBA
(Wellesley ’71, Psychology)
VA Dispute Resolution
Firm Founder
www.medi8works.com
by Fey Ugokwe, J.D.,
Founder/Editor-in-Chief Q: Ne’er let it be said that matriculating with a major
in Psychology primarily predestines one to being perched in a mixed-use,
well-maintained brownstone somewhere in Brookline, sipping diffused herbal tea
from a clear glass
 cup, sole-therapy-practice shingle swinging in the New England breeze (not that
there’s a thing un-tasty about all that)—patently, you have moved away, and
beyond that paradigm. Whilst you were still at Wellesley, lugging your unwieldy
Psych books hither and thither across the quad, what was your then professional
intent as regards your major, and how did that late 60’s/early 70’s era which
you educationally occupied specifically affect your career vision at the
time?
A: When I was in high school, and
then at Wellesley, I remember being frustrated by the
idea that careers for women seemed to be limited to teaching, nursing, or
secretarial work. Fortunately, my father encouraged me to look beyond those
roles. [When] at Wellesley, [after] I had decided on majoring in
Psychology, my father introduced me to a local School Psychologist--which made a
big impression on me. I then decided that I, too, would become a School
Psychologist.
Q:
Was there a pivotal professional or personal incident that precipitated your
entrance into the Dispute Resolution arena, when was it, and what was the
walking quality of your early work experiences in the
field?
A: A
close friend of mine had earned her Law Degree while she was raising her three
children--and then discovered that she didn't like the underlying philosophy of
Law work. She took a course in Mediation, and found her passion. She approached
me in 1992, to say, "You'd be a great Mediator!" So, I took the necessary
training, and she and I have been in business together for the past 15+ years.
In Virginia,
at the time that we started our practice, there were lots of opportunities to
get involved on the ground floor, although much of the work was pro
bono.
Q: When did you specifically commence the ownership of
your Dispute Resolution firm, and what catalyst propelled you to what I am now
coining ‘Paxneurship’ (Peace Entrepreneurship)?
A: We began our company in
the summer of 1993. The primary catalyst was our shared passion for the work. We
felt that we had found the answer to so many types of disputes/problems/etc.,
that people have. Our business has always been twofold: 1) directly helping
others with their disputes, through Mediation or other forms of Dispute
Resolution; and, 2) teaching/training people in Dispute Resolution
techniques.
Q: You have amassed an impressive multiplicity of
degrees that might make e’en a tenured professor feel decidedly less learned.
How have they individually assisted your ability to own and operate your Dispute
Resolution firm, and in your estimation, how are such brands of business
decidedly different from owning/CEO-ing non-ADR
enterprises?
A: My degrees are in
Psychology and Business. My Psychology background has always been a solid
foundation for dealing with people--and, certainly, the dispute resolution field
is intensely involved with interpersonal interactions. Interpersonal
interactions are also the mainstay of operating a company. My Business School courses gave me the confidence to
conduct the daily operations of an enterprise. Dispute Resolution firms are
different, perhaps, in the overall, hard-to-define climate of
organizations....[they require] cooperation, rather than
competition.
Q: What systems or processes are in place, or are you
planning to include, at your firm that could be construed as either cutting edge
or environmentally-savvy?
A: My
partner and I are VERY environmentally aware, however, there is not much in our
business that is tangible. We each have home offices, and have a commitment to
conservation, but I don't think that we could be [completely] described as
"environmentally-savvy". We sometimes have business meetings through Skype and
cameras on our laptops. When we do mediations, and conduct trainings, they are
off-site--so we bring our laptops, powerpoint projector, and the like, as
needed.
Q: What public figures in pop culture, politics,
punditry, or the like have been sustaining influences on you throughout your
conflict resolution career, and why?
A: None
that I can think of.
Q: Who are the chief artists/groups occupying wave
space in your music hotel (my deliberately deconstructed reference for an ipod.
Sometimes I also refer to it as a ‘music hostel’, because even podland can get a
tad too touristy), and why do they tempo-permanently reside
there?
A: At the
moment, the albums that I most listen to are: 1) the soundtrack to the movie "I
Am Sam", which are all Beatles songs, sung by artists other than the Beatles;
2) Lyle Lovett; and, 3) Ray Charles, "Genius Loves Company". The Beatles [have
been] an enduring musical theme in my life, [since] they first became popular
(when I was in junior high school). The Ray Charles album is composed of duets
with other singers, and I absolutely love the varied combinations of musical
"geniuses".
Q: When the Friday sun rolls ‘round and down, settling
itself and the workweek alike like molten orange glaze into the eaves of every
previous day--and you’re exhaling its events in a forward tread towards your
well-earned, week-end beginning eve, what fare and beverage are your fave
indulgences, and of what are you most recurrently proud, as regards your
conflict resolution career, and life, as a whole?
A: I
love to relax with a bottle of red wine, and a simple meal of salad and meat
from the grill--hormone-free, locally raised, [and] grass-fed--with my husband.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I am most recurrently and constantly
proud of my two fabulous children, who may have had [something] to do with my
involvement in Conflict Resolution. As far as my career goes, I'm most proud of
my work in Special Education Mediation (mediating between parents of children
with special needs and the school systems). The mediations that I do in this
area are the most difficult, the most necessary, and, by far--the most
rewarding.
|
Advertise With Us
