Kevin McDonald, has had a long and diverse career in operational environments. As an aviator in the Canadian Air Force, Kevin was the acting commanding officer of an operational flying squadron shortly after 9/11, when the world changed immeasurably for us all. The 140 people, military and civilian, who counted on Kevin’s leadership sometimes struggled to work past their interpersonal differences. Kevin brought in the newly acquired ADR resources to assist with the interpersonal issues that were keeping his people from being as productive and satisfied as they needed to be in order to accomplish the operational mandate. Upon seeing the ‘magic’ that the mediators were able to bring about, Kevin’s life was changed forever, and he knew that mediation was where he was meant to be.
In the almost 2 decades since, Kevin has served as an internal ADR resource within the Canadian Armed Forces, Atomic Energy of Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He has been on the forefront of creating culture change, one conversation at a time in environments where interpersonal conflict can mean the difference between life and death.