When I applied to be an intern with LEADR NZ, I didn’t know it would become such a lifeline. I had finished up at Corrections, but hadn’t yet started the ill-fated temp job at NZQA. I figured I would find some way to work this in with my next full-time job; it would be difficult, but worth it for the opportunity.

LEADR is an association of dispute resolution professionals – a membership organisation for mediators. I came across LEADR when a very clever lawyer friend of mine recommended I complete their five-day mediation workshop. She said it was the most powerful training she’d ever done, and I concur. It was also the hardest training I’ve ever done; I cried twice. By the end of it, though, I felt for the first time that I’d found a profession that I believed in, and one that I could be good at.

Mediation is all about finding durable solutions to disputes. It’s used in all sorts of arenas. We have members involved with employment, families, big business, Internet domain names, human rights and housing, to name a few. I’m hooked on mediation because it’s efficient and effective. In the majority of cases, both parties walk away less poor and less traumatised than if they had pursued the dispute in court.

Over the past two years, I’ve been doing what I can for the LEADR NZ team. They operate from a three-desk office on Woodward Street that sometimes smells like Ma Higgins cookies and sometimes smells like grilled salmon sushi, depending on what’s cooking below. Initially I worked from there one day a week, but it quickly became obvious that I shouldn’t be using an ordinary office desk. Now I help with anything that can be done from home, like ongoing projects, media monitoring, planning and correspondence. I also get to be a role-player for training and assessment days, acting as a party in dispute. It’s fun and interesting and sometimes hilarious.

I can’t sing enough praises for the people at LEADR. Gabrielle and Ava, my two consecutive CEO’s, are the kind of people I want to be when I grow up. They are both intelligent, warm, powerful communicators who are able to manage a myriad of issues and still see what really matters. Margaret, who manages all the training and assessment, is better at her job than anyone I’ve ever met. She always has a million things to do, is always lovely and always cracks a wry joke when you least expect it. They didn’t take me on like this, but all three of them have walked with me as I awkwardly navigate life with a disability. There have been lots of weeks that I haven’t been up to working, and it’s always ok. On the flip-side, they still trust me to do significant work when I say I can.

Having something meaningful to do over the past couple of years, even in small measures, has made a big difference to my well-being. Plus I’ve been able to learn from the best mediators in the business, and be inspired by the incredible work they do. As far as unpaid jobs go, I reckon that’s a pretty great salary.