Laura Bachle

Laura Bachle provides expert training, coaching, facilitation, mediation, and technical assistance in planning, community participation, and public policy dispute resolution specifically for local governments. Ms. Bachle has been a planner and dispute resolver for over 15 years. She has a graduate degree in Regional Planning from The University of North Carolina where she specialized in alternative dispute resolution. She began her career in 1982 as “McGruff the Crime Dog” in Oklahoma City and has remained committed to enabling people to problem solve and capacity-build within their own neighborhoods. She continues to volunteer her time as a mediator at the Community Dispute Resolution Center of Washington, D.C.. She has also researched and written on many land use and planning topics. Ms Bachle has facilitated numerous agency retreats, strategic planning sessions, and processes aimed at achieving stakeholder consensus over controversial issues. As a veteran land planner, Ms. Bachle provides neutral (“no-load”) expertise on a host of planning-related issues. As a writer and researcher, Ms. Bachle has conducted research on “smart growth” public policy disputes. She has edited and written many planning and mediation related publications, including ADR Report, a Pike and Fischer monthly newsletter, for which she is the contributing editor. She is a member of the International Association for Public Participation, the Association for Conflict Resolution, and The American Planning Association. Ms. Bachle runs her own business, Confluence Consulting, and may be reached via telephone at 703.549.3953.