Wandsworth Mediation Service (WMS) would like to announce that Stephen Ruttle KC has stepped down from chairing our board. This comes after a pioneering 20 years of setting up and leading WMS, as well as inspiring everyone he meets with passion for mediation and restoring peace from conflict. Fortunately for us, it is not a goodbye, as Stephen will move to the WMS advisory board as our Founder Patron.
Hilary Brodsky and Sharon Crooks have taken over as the co-chairs of our charity. They are both well-known to our volunteers and clients as mediators, safeguarding trustees, conflict coaches and, in Sharon’s case, as a WMS trainer. Between them, they have been on the board for 15 years, and they bring dedication, understanding and strategic planning to the role:
“We are stepping humbly into Stephen’s shoes (one each as they are so big to fill!) and honoured to continue to work with the WMS family to further the vision which inspired the founding of WMS“.
WMS has reached incredible heights over the past two decades. We began as a small local charity mediating purely neighbour disputes, and have since grown into a well-known provider operating on a national scale. This year, we delivered our first international project – training clinical ethicists in Canada – and we hope to expand on training in the years to come. The innovation in our IT, the breadth of work and our varied training programmes has been recognised and this year we have been shortlisted for the NMA Innovation Award-2024.
We are excited to see what the next 20 years will bring and to share this journey with all of you.
