Mission of Mediation Works North

Empower separated or divorced parents to build  peaceful home environments for the sake of children.

Organizational Background

Mediation Works began in 1996 offering legal assistant and mediation services to low income parents through Legal Aid. It has been a Parents Forever education provider since 2000.

Founder of Mediation Works North.

The founder of our organization is Lois Warner.  Lois has a life passion of assisting parents in conflict over children through separation or divorce.

Lois worked for ten years as an official court reporter mainly in the family court system.  She was greatly discouraged in her work. Her career as a court reporter ended in 1994 because of a severe repetitive stress injury.  The end of this career began her life passion.

She earned an A.A.S. degree in legal assistance from the Itasca Community College in 1996, which introduced her to the mediation field.  Lois was excited with seeing a far better way to resolve family conflict! Providing education and mediation services to parents in conflict over children or divorce has been her mission ever since. That mission culminated in developing Mediation Works North in providing educational services.  She also developed MWN, LLC to provide mediation services in conjunction with education.

She fervently began training for her work and underwent courses through Bemidji State University in family dynamics and crisis management.  She also began researching conflict resolution models.

She is trained in divorce mediation and domestic violence mediation processes through the Erickson Mediation Training Institute in Minneapolis and has maintained good standing listing on the Supreme Court Neutral Roster since 1996.

She is trained in advanced mediation techniques, family group conference and circle mediation processes, workplace mediation and restorative justice mediation processes.  She certified as a Parents Forever facilitator in 2000.

She received certification in the Prepare and Enrich Christian Educational Program in Minneapolis to help couples contemplating marriage.  She underwent the Breaking Free Life online program through the Lighthouse University in the State of Virginia working with individuals with challenging life circumstances.

She is a member of the Association of Family Conflict and Conciliation (AFCC), which is a national organization offering training in mediation, parenting coordination and custody evaluations.  This organization, along with other national organizations with a mission of helping families in conflict, are instrumental in making legislative changes within the courts and discovering better ways to serve families in conflict.

She received training through the AFCC to work as a parenting coordinator (expediter).  She is trained through AFCC training to also work with parents with extended challenged and special needs.