Conversations on
Divorce, Separation,
and Modern Family Dynamics
Gabrielle Hartley brings more than 25 years of experience in family law, mediation, and conflict resolution to thoughtful conversations on navigating high stakes relationships, difficult transitions, and complex communication dynamics.
Available for panels, fireside conversations, conferences, leadership discussions, podcasts, and select speaking engagements.
A grounded and practical voice on difficult conversations
Gabrielle Hartley speaks on conflict not as theory, but through decades of experience working with individuals, families, attorneys, and high conflict situations.
Her conversations combine legal insight, mediation expertise, communication strategy, and practical frameworks for navigating emotionally charged decisions with greater clarity and intention.
The tone of her speaking work is thoughtful, direct, emotionally intelligent, and highly applicable across both personal and professional environments.
Speaking and conversation formats
Panel Discussions
Thoughtful discussion on conflict, communication, family systems, and modern relationship dynamics
Fireside Conversations
Moderated conversations exploring high stakes decision making, mediation, co-parenting, and human behavior under stress
Leadership and Professional Events
Sessions for legal, business, healthcare, education, and organizational audiences navigating difficult conversations and complex interpersonal dynamics
Podcast and Media Interviews
Practical insights on conflict resolution, communication, divorce, co-parenting, and family transition
Topics frequently explored
Conflict and communication under pressure
Reducing escalation in high stakes situations
Co-parenting and modern family restructuring
Navigating difficult conversations more constructively
The emotional dynamics of divorce and separation
How mediation changes the trajectory of conflict
Building healthier long term communication systems
Conflict resolution frameworks for teams and organizations
Selected conversation themes
Moving Beyond Intractable Conflict
Through storytelling and break out exercises Gabrielle will show you how you can get past and move beyond conflict, no matter how impossibly intractable it appears.
All too often, we are vested in our positions, and stuck in having to be right. By moving away from the WHAT we are asking for and leaning into WHY we need it, you can vastly improve relationships and productivity at work and at home.
By taking a step back and starting to understand the emotional story or the WHY of the argument is the most transformative tool to move beyond positional conflict.
Gabrielle is straight talking and animated in her delivery senseless argument loops and to work better together, even when you disagree.
The Five Keys to Conflict Resolution
We are fighting more than ever, at home, at work and in life. Through her 25 years of experience bringing people with polarized perspectives to agreement she will help your team and organization understand how to come together by using her 5 step system:
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Clarify: What are we arguing about?
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Listen: What’s really going on?
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Optimize: How do we turn it around?
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Strategize: How do we establish a hierarchy of what issues to handle?
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Evolve: Making Concessions and Compromises
Gabrielle will help your organization and team implement a culture of improved communication.
The Secret to Getting Along
The secret to changing cultures for the better is defining the conflict.
There are many kinds of conflict from intrapersonal(inner conflict, when a person has to choose between diverging paths) and interpersonal(conflict with other people due to different goals, ideas, or styles)
Conflict isn’t ideal, but it’s not bad either. Conflict ends up getting us to better results. It helps to push us towards the conversations that our teams and organizations need to have.
It’s an opportunity to get better and improve ourelves and our teams.
The best part is learning to handle conflict is a skill that can be learned.
Gabrielle will teach you her YES Method for creating better conflict resolution:
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Your Part In The Conflict – Understanding Your Contribution To The Conflict
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Emotional Story – Understanding That it Might Not Be About You At All
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Shelving Conversations – Understanding Which Battles To Fight & Which To Ignore
A grounded and practical voice on difficult conversations
She is the creator of the Better Apart framework and has contributed to national conversations around divorce, communication, co parenting, and conflict resolution through media appearances, speaking engagements, and professional leadership roles.
Her work has been featured across major national media outlets including CNN, NBC, Today, and People.
✦ Former court attorney to Hon. Jeffrey Sunshine
✦ TEDx speaker
✦ Published author
✦ American Bar Association dispute resolution leadership roles
Books and published work
Gabrielle is the author of Better Apart® and The Secret to Getting Along, both focused on practical frameworks for navigating conflict, communication, and modern relationship dynamics with greater clarity and intention.
Where Gabrielle’s Work Has Been Featured
Gabrielle has contributed to national conversations on conflict, divorce, communication, and family transition through media appearances, professional organizations, conferences, podcasts, and moderated discussions.
Interested in bringing Gabrielle into the conversation?
Request availability for conferences, panels, fireside discussions, podcasts, and professional events.
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DISCLAIMER: The commentary, advice, and opinions from Gabrielle Hartley are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice or mental health services. You should contact an attorney and/or mental health professional in your state to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem.
NYC
900 South Avenue Suite 204 Staten Island, New York 10314
266 Smith Street, Brooklyn, New York 11231
Northampton MA
PHONE
New York: (212) 320-8197
Boston: (413) 450-0420