Academic Information

• Ph.D., 2006, Adult Development and Conflict Resolution, Union Institute and University
• M.A., 1997, Conflict Resolution, Antioch University McGregor

Biographical Information

Dr. McGuigan is a conflict resolution practitioner, educator and researcher. As President of Diamond Management Consulting Inc., he leads a team that provides facilitation, mediation, intervention services and conflict education to clients in the private, public and voluntary sectors.

In his dual roles as practitioner and scholar, Richard has convened and facilitated a plethora of public and private consensus building processes and events, and designed and taught courses related to his field of interest since 1982.  He has contributed to numerous public policy initiatives at federal, provincial and municipal levels and has led complex problem solving processes involving multi-stakeholder input in the natural resource sector, especially those involving intense resource access conflicts with Canada’s indigenous people. 

Richard has a long history of contributing to the growth and development of the conflict resolution community. He is the immediate past Executive Director of the South Island Dispute Resolution Centre Society; a community based conflict resolution organization in Victoria, British Columbia. Richard is also a former Board Member of Family Mediation Canada, and a past President of the Mediation Development Association of British Columbia where he supported the development of the first set of standards of practice and knowledge for mediators in Canada. He is a member of the British Columbia Mediator Roster Society and one of the first contract mediators for the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Richard is an experienced and highly regarded instructor, having taught in university, college and private institute settings.  He is the founder, current Academic Director and faculty member of the Diamond Institute for Integral Learning (formerly the Institute of Conflict Analysis and Management) the only privately accredited post secondary institute in Canada specifically focused on teaching conflict resolution skills and theoretical knowledge.  He is associate faculty member at the University of Victoria and has taught at the University of British Columbia, Pearson College of the Pacific, the Native Education Centre, and the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology.

Additional Certificate and Training

Justice Institute of British Columbia

• Trainer Development Certificate Program, 1997
• Child Sexual Abuse Intervention Certificate Advanced Adult Option, 1994
• Child Sexual Abuse Intervention Certificate, 1994
• Child Sexual Abuse Intervention Certificate Advanced Option, 1994
• Conflict Resolution Certificate, 1992
• Teaching Practicum: Conflict Resolution Skills for Children, 1992

Specialization

• Adult development and meaning making and the implications for conflict
• Mediator/leadership development for those working in complex conflict environments
• The application of integral theory to conflict theory development 
• Reflective practice & mediator development
• Mediation and negotiation knowledge and skills development