Carol Barkes
Top 1% Mediator | High-Stakes Negotiator | Former Firefighter | TEDx & Global Speaker | Neuroscience-Based Strategist
About Carol Barkes
She’s what happens when neuroscience meets the fireground. Calm under pressure. Ruthless with clarity. Built for the moments that break most people.
Carol Barkes didn’t learn conflict in a boardroom. She led through it. In burning buildings. In fractured families. In corporate war rooms where millions were at stake.
A former firefighter, top 1% global mediator, and neuroscience-based strategist, she is who leaders call when the conversation matters too much to lose.
From the United Nations to TEDx stages. From Amazon to courtrooms. Carol has resolved over 14,000 conflicts with a 95% success rate and built outcomes that actually last.
Where others push tactics, Carol brings transformation.
Where most negotiate with ego, she negotiates with science.
And while the world still celebrates models of force and fear, Carol wins with understanding, strategy, and human precision.
She does not just manage conflict. She changes how people think in the middle of it.
As Seen on:
From Conflict to Calling: Why I Do This Work
When my marriage ended, I never imagined it would turn into a seven-year legal war. What began as a divorce spiraled into courtrooms, missed holidays, broken agreements, and a relentless drain on time, money, and emotional capacity. At one point, we were sent to mediation. The mediator kept us in separate rooms and passed messages back and forth. There was no real conversation. No learning. No progress.
We reached a “settlement,” but it didn’t settle anything. The conflict just shape-shifted into co-parenting breakdowns, constant miscommunication, and a parenting plan full of loopholes that only made things worse.
The problem wasn’t just our relationship. It was a broken mediation process that never gave us the tools, structure, or clarity we needed to move forward.
So I became the mediator I wish I’d had.
Today, I bring that lived experience into every room I enter. I don’t just resolve disputes. I help people learn how to navigate high-stakes conversations, rebuild trust, and walk away with lasting change.
Because I’ve lived the consequences of conflict done wrong, I chose to build a career around helping others do it right.
My Mission: Change the Way People Do Conflict
Most people are taught to fear conflict or fight their way through it. I teach a different path. One grounded in strategy, neuroscience, and real human clarity.
My mission is to change how we do conflict. Not just manage it, but actually understand it, navigate it, and come out stronger on the other side.
That’s why I rebuilt the way mediation works. One where:
- People face each other, not hide behind lawyers
- Quick fixes aren’t good enough
- Power dynamics get named, not ignored
- Communication becomes a tool for resolution, not control
Whether you’re navigating divorce, leadership breakdowns, or high-stakes decisions, I don’t just settle disputes.
I change how people think in the middle of them.
Who I Work With
I work with families, attorneys, professionals, and organizations across the United States and internationally. I’ve led programs for Amazon, FEMA, the U.S. Air Force, and multiple state Supreme Courts. I’ve built statewide court mediation models, trained legal professionals in brain-based communication, and spoken on stages like TEDx and the United Nations.
But no matter who I’m working with, the mission is the same:
End the conflict cycle at the root. Replace it with clarity, collaboration, and peace that lasts.
Companies Carol Has Worked With
Credentials and Highlights
- Over 14,000 cases mediated with 95%+ resolution rate
- Directed Idaho’s Fourth District Court Mediation Services (team of 70 mediators)
- Designed eviction court mediation models now used in multiple states
- Court-appointed mediator for high-volume dockets in Nevada, Idaho, and beyond
- Adjunct professor in neuroscience-based conflict resolution at University of Idaho Law School, Boise State, and the College of Southern Idaho
- TEDx speaker and United Nations keynote presenter
- Best-selling author with Jack Canfield
- Named Idaho Woman of the Year twice
Affiliation Memberships
If You’re Facing Conflict That Feels Impossible
It’s not. But you can’t settle for a checkbox agreement that avoids the real issues. You need a space where resolution feels right, clear, and complete.
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