Sara Ahlstrom is a dispute resolution professional with over 25 years’ experience building relationships, trust and collaboration capacity across Alberta. In my various roles with the Government of Alberta (GOA), I have been able to bring diverse groups of people together to resolve conflicts and influence policy decisions that would have benefits to all Albertans. As an aspiring academic, Sara is interested in learning more skills and theory in how to work better with clients and is working on gaining a deeper understanding of the role of trust with interpersonal and inter organizational relationships. The focus of her dissertation is how trust impacts the willingness of people to collaborate in local government. In addition to her studies, she also teaches in the Master’s Degree in Conflict Analysis and Management with Royal Roads University and Ethics for Mediators.