Dr. Cheryl Picard has had a long and distinguished career as an educator, mediator, conflict specialist, and coach in interpersonal, workplace, restorative justice and community-based conflicts. 

Dr. Picard is an adjunct professor with the ACLC program, and is involved in course development, teaching classes, and providing workshops. Her front-line work over the last four decades as a conflict practitioner and mediator, along with her teaching and research in conflict theory and practice fits well with a program where students are studying applied communication, leadership and culture.

She served as Founding Director of the Centre for Conflict Education and Research (2004-2013), and as a member of the faculty in the Department of Law and Legal Studies at Carleton University (1991-2013; Full Professor since 2010, awarded Professor Emeritus in 2013). After retiring from Carleton in 2013, she returned to Prince Edward Island and established a small consulting firm, Cheryl Picard & Associates, to bring change through learning in conflict and mediation contexts.

Dr. Picard is active locally, nationally, and internationally in the fields of mediation and conflict resolution. She has taught all over the world, and has been involved or has founded many community initiatives focusing around mediation and conflict resolution. She brings this wealth of experience to the ACLC program, and students will benefit from her experience and ability to facilitate experiential, reflexive and adult learning. She holds that since conflict is an inevitable occurrence in our fast-paced world, being able to respond to conflict in ways that stimulate productive workplaces and communities are critical employment and life skills.