Media Kit

Carol Barkes is a globally recognized conflict resolution expert, best-selling author, and neuroscience-driven speaker who helps people master the art of tough conversations without courtrooms, coercion, or chaos.

With over 14,000 mediations facilitated or overseen and a 95 percent resolution rate, Carol is ranked among the top 1 percent of mediators worldwide. Her approach is radically different. She combines brain science, behavioral strategy, and human connection to resolve conflict at the root, whether between divorcing parents, business partners, or public institutions.

Carol has been retained by elite organizations like Amazon, FEMA, and the U.S. Air Force, and she has served as a court-appointed mediator for multiple state and supreme courts. Her courtroom-tested models have become the backbone of statewide mediation programs across the United States.

A TEDx speaker, United Nations presenter, and two-time Idaho Woman of the Year, Carol teaches not just how to settle disputes but how to prevent them altogether through communication that works under pressure.

She is also the founder of the Institute of Applied Conflict Resolution and Mediation, a Boise-based firm serving clients around the globe through neuroscience-based mediation, speaking engagements, and professional training. Her insights have been featured by CNN, Fox News, Forbes, PBS, USA Today, and more.

Whether she is guiding families through separation or training leaders to defuse conflict in high-stakes environments, Carol’s mission remains the same:

Rewire how the world resolves conflict with science, compassion, and clarity that lasts.