Wendy Firven Smith

Two decades ago, Wendy Firven Smith began facilitating conversations most institutions refuse to have — workplace disputes, community conflicts, and structured dialogue between civilians and law enforcement in environments where a single misstep could deepen harm. That work, carried across higher education, nonprofits, and public safety, shaped a coaching practice built on one conviction: the moments that define leaders are almost always the ones they most want to avoid. 

Wendy is a state-certified mediator, ICF-credentialed leadership coach, and founder of Resolve Mediation Group. She currently serves as Conflict Resolution Specialist at Tulane University, where she leads workplace mediation, designs leadership training, and advances restorative practices that strengthen organizational culture. In her coaching work, she partners with leaders navigating complex interpersonal dynamics, high-stakes conflict, and pivotal moments where trust and accountability are on the line. 

She coaches professionals to communicate with clarity, approach conflict with confidence, and lead with intention when tension, uncertainty, or organizational complexity threatens forward movement. 

Wendy's coaching is grounded in restorative practices, crisis intervention frameworks, and high-impact dialogue. She is direct and disciplined. She helps clients slow down enough to separate emotion from action, name what is actually at stake, and move with practical intention. Clients describe her as both grounding and challenging. They often share that she helped them stop waiting for conflict to resolve itself and start taking ownership of their role in shaping the outcome. 

Her perspective comes from work where words carry real weight. As a Community Police Mediator, she has facilitated dialogue in settings where trust must be rebuilt from near-zero and where vague language costs people. That precision follows her into every coaching conversation. She holds leaders to the same standard: speak honestly, own your part, and act. 

Wendy holds a Master of Science in Community Counseling from Minnesota State University Mankato and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Southern University at New Orleans. She is a Certified Restorative Practices Trainer and a Tulane University Leadership Institute Certified Leadership Coach with an ICF credential. 

Outside of work, Wendy is a youth advocate and community organizer in Louisiana, building initiatives that help young people find their voice and develop meaningful connections, grounded in her belief that lasting change begins when people feel genuinely heard.