Mary Bade, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist
Conflict Management & Dispute Resolution Officer (pronouns: she/her/hers)
Mary has over 23 years as a psychologist helping individuals, groups, and leaders communicate more effectively and navigate conflict in their relationships and workplaces. In 2000, she earned her doctorate in Counseling Psychology, which focuses on using culturally informed, evidence-based practices to improve the well-being of people, with a strong emphasis on prevention, education, and career.
Mary has held numerous roles throughout her career across eight universities, including director of a college student counseling and wellness center, student counseling groups coordinator, academic advisor, and adjunct faculty for undergraduate and graduate courses. Mary has been with UT Austin since 2008, facilitating mental health, wellness, and career success for staff and faculty as a senior member of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). With EAP, she provided individual counseling, group counseling, manager skills training/coaching, and communication coaching. She has specialized in preventative education on a range of topics in the UT community, including strengthening relationships, supervisor skills to manage distress and disruption in the workplace, work-life balance while parenting, stress management in the academic setting, reducing burnout and compassion fatigue in workplaces, faculty well-being, and building personal and professional resilience. She was honored to be a 2022 President’s Outstanding Staff Award recipient and is a 2023 graduate of UT’s Leadership Growth Program.
Mary is one of the collaborators creating the Longhorn Leadership Symposia and she provides the following CMDR trainings: Leadership Skills in Conflict Management, Successfully Navigating Conflict, and HR Essentials: Conflict and Communication.
Amy Wolfgang, M.A., Trained Mediator
Sr. Administrative Program Coordinator (pronouns: they/them/theirs)
Amy joined UT 2019 and worked most recently as a Sr. Administrative Associate in Human Resources. They supported multiple internal teams, gaining a breadth of Human Resource knowledge and built connections across campus through. They use a needs and interests based framework to assist employees in exploring options for conflict resolution.
Amy's previous work included serving on employee committees, onboarding new employees, creation of processes for internal team conflict, teambuilding, and facilitation in the workplace and community. Topics included staff and leadership change, addressing harm, community building, and shared values. Their work assists groups and individuals to build empathy during difficult conversations, communicate compassionately, and build community .
They served as a Staff Council Representative for the 2022-2024 term on the professional development committee and received the FAS Core Values Award for Stewardship in 2022. At central Texas nonprofit the Human Empathy Project, Amy served as Vice President and Secretary of the board. They hold a certificate in Restorative Justice Facilitation and Leadership from the University of San Diego, a 9-month professional program of coursework and skill-building intensives. With a specialized interest in practices for higher education, workplace, and community building. Amy earned an MA in American Studies from Baylor University and is a trained mediator through the Austin Dispute Resolution Center.
Amy has an interested in equipping employees with communication skills to thrive at work. Their current classes are: “What are we really saying? Empathetic Communication in the Workplace” and “Understanding and Communicating Needs in the Workplace”