Louise Phipps Senft

Attorney Mediator, CEO
Baltimore Mediation

Louise Phipps Senft is based in Maryland, and as founder and CEO of the Baltimore Mediation she has done some cutting-edge mediation work in the state — working with African-American churches to protect the safety of children walking to and from school in East Baltimore, for example.

But her expertise in and passion for mediation has also taken Senft to far-flung places.

She co-founded Mediators Beyond Borders, an international nonprofit, and taught at Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation.

She has done conflict transformation work in Slovenia and worked on immigration issues with divided political parties in Athens, Greece.

She worked with clan elders on the Hopi Indian Reservation on cultural preservation and modernity, and with the Katrina Mediation Project in New Orleans and Biloxi, Mississippi

“I founded the first mediation firm in Maryland and the United States dedicated to resolving disputes through face-to-face interaction,” said Senft, who earned her law degree at the Washington and Lee School of Law.

“It was built on a belief that people have the capacity to be humane, even when opposite and even when adversaries, when given the assistance of a neutral moderator dedicated to their quality dialogue, no matter how bitter, how complicated, how painful.”

She added: “Our firm and our transformative footprint has improved lives and perhaps saved lives.”

Her work has won Senft honors from organizations as diverse as the International Academy of Mediators in Scotland, the Maryland State Bar Association and the American Red Cross.

She has been honored by numerous area publications including Baltimore Magazine, the Baltimore Business Journal and The Daily Record, which named her one of the state’s Top 100 Women in three different years.

Her volunteer work has included community mediation programs in Calvert and Charles counties and a stint as vice president of the Roland Park Civic League.

Senft is a member of the International Academy of Mediators, the Catholic Business Network and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, among other organizations.

People have the capacity to be humane … when given the assistance of a neutral moderator dedicated to their quality dialogue, no matter how bitter, how complicated, how painful.”