2008 40 Under 40 Honoree: Heather Blades

Heather Blades’ motto might as well be, “Bring it on.”

As associate director of the Center for Dispute Resolution in the communication department at Missouri State University, Blades helps individuals and organizations address conflict in constructive ways.

“To do this, we must be able to help our community see that conflict is not necessarily negative, and we must inspire others to explore new ways of addressing the conflicts in their lives,” she says.

First, though, Blades had to learn to embrace conflict herself.

Blades participated in the CDR’s mediation training while working as a communication graduate assistant at MSU. Blades says the training changed her outlook, and she saw the value in learning to handle conflict in a different way.“Our center works to promote alternative dispute resolution processes, such as mediation,” Blades notes.

Part of Blades’ responsibilities with the center include managing the Juvenile Victim-Offender Mediation Program, which is conducted with the Greene County Juvenile Division and brings together selected victims of juvenile crime with the offenders who committed those crimes. Blades explains that victims can tell how they were affected by the actions of the young offenders, and the offenders are held directly accountable to the people they harmed.

“This program, the first of its kind in our area, is already changing the way our community looks at crime and punishment by focusing on a more restorative model that emphasizes repairing the harm done to victims rather than simply punishing offenders,” adds Blades, who is pursuing a graduate certificate in conflict and dispute resolution.

Blades also has a master’s degree in professional writing from MSU and worked as a senior editor for more than three years at Management Executives Inc. in Springfield. With that experience in hand, Blades teaches two writing classes for MSU’s English department.

Blades looks forward to the coming year as she helps implement an adult victim-offender mediation program in Greene County. She knows it will be a challenge to cultivate more volunteers, provide advanced training mediators, manage more cases and educate the public, but Blades feels privileged to be part of the program.

Double Play

Birth date: Oct. 23, 1978

Family: I’m married to a wonderful man, Jeremy Blades, and I’m incredibly lucky to have most of my close family living here in Springfield, including my parents Bill and Sandy Barbre, my sister, April Barbre, and my in-laws Karen and Craig Meads.

Philosophy to live/work by: I love the Gandhi quote: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” We each have the opportunity and power to change our own behaviors and attitudes, and thereby change the world. Knowing this is an inspiration.

In a fantasy world, which professional sport would you play? I would be a professional bowler. I bowl on a team with my husband, father and best friend. While we aren’t the best team in the league by a long shot, we always have a lot fun. I would love to know what it feels like to bowl a perfect game.

Information accurate at the time of the honor.