About Us

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Our History

Relate Mediation London North East & Essex opened its door in 1999 as a not for profit service.

As a long established mediation service with 22 years experience – we have grown and developed into a well-respected mediation provider offering a high level of client services.

But as part of Relate we have never moved from our core ethics of being a client centred service who work for and invest in families.

We have a strong team who have grown together with the same aim – to provide the best possible services they can to the local community. All our Mediators are fully qualified in both child and finance mediation – supported by experienced, knowledgeable Administration.

We are members of the College of Mediators and are accredited to the Family Mediation Council. We have held a Legal Aid contract for 22 years –  consistently achieving outstanding  audits

Over time we have increased the delivery of our services to more than 9 London Boroughs and cover the whole county of Essex

We are passionate in the support of healthy relationships in families and the best possible outcomes for children.

Meet the Team

We have a team of 10 mediators, with over 50 years of experience between them, who come from backgrounds in counselling, business, legal  and advice work.  All our mediators are fully accredited with the Family Mediation Council  and undertake work for the Legal Aid Agency.  We offer a professional yet approachable service.  We also work in the Family Courts offering a range of  services to parents attending court

Sue Cook

Head of Services

Sue Cook is the Head of services at Relate London North East & Essex. Sue helped establish the service in 2000 and is responsible for the wide range of services we offer today. Sue has worked with Professor Jan Walker Head of Family Policy at Newcastle University on research into the outcomes of children in family mediation. Previously Sue worked for a large service company as PA to the Regional Director.

Tina Kirsch

Professional Practice Consultant

Tina qualified as a family mediator in 2004. She is qualified in property, finance and child issues which includes working with children in mediation. She also delivers the Separated Parenting Information Programme and works for the Citizen Advice Bureau as a Supervisor to the Advisors. Tina’s expertise is Welfare Benefits and Employment issues.

Sue Price

Mediation Co-Ordinator

Sue Price has been the Mediation Co-Ordinator for Relate Mediation London North East since 2010. Sue is responsible for managing the day to day running of the Romford office and the project work offer by the service. As a highly skilled Administrator in mediation - sue supports both the admin and mediation team. Prior to joining Relate Mediation Sue worked as a project manager for a large corporate relocation company.

Diane Clark

FMCA Mediator

Diane Clark qualified as a Family Mediator in 2012; she is qualified to undertake Legal Aid work in property finance and child issues including working with children in mediation. Diane is a member of The College of Mediators and is registered with the Family Mediation Council. She has also worked as a Relate Counsellor for 23 years, gaining a Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Supervision (relationship) in 2010. She counsels couples, families, and children. She supervises and delivers Separated Parenting Information Programmes.

Jill Spencer

FMCA Mediator

Jill qualified as a Family Mediator in 2011. Jill is qualified to undertake Legal Aid work in property finance and child issues including working with children in mediation. Jill is a member of the College of Mediators and is registered with the Family Mediation Council. Prior to joining our service Jill worked in the not for profit sector and has extensive knowledge on the effects of domestic abuse on the whole family. Jill is also a qualified relationship Counsellor

Alexandra Smillie

FMCA Mediator

Alex qualified as a family mediator in 2021. She is fully qualified to undertake Legal Aid work in property, finance and child issues. Alex has also taken steps to achieve qualification in working with children in mediation. Alex is a member of the College of Mediators and is registered with the Family Mediation Council. Alexandra has a degree in Psychology and previously worked in a variety of charities supporting children.

Christopher Papaloizou

FMCA Mediator

Christopher joined Relate Mediation in 2017 gaining his accreditation for Family Mediation in 2019. Fully qualified in property, finance and child issues - Christopher is a member of the College of Mediators, the Civil Mediation Council and the Family Mediation Council Christopher trained as a Barrister and was called to the Bar in 2004; with his legal and business background he qualified in 2011 as a civil and commercial mediator

Tracey Williams

Mediation Manager

Tracey joined Relate LNEE in 2003 as an Administrator and became the Mediation Manager in 2014. Tracey oversees the daily running of the service and the mediation team; working with other agencies to improve services and build local partnerships. Prior to joining the service Tracey worked for the Economist as a Secretary.

Sue Tilley

Legal Consultant

Sue is the Legal Consultant for the service. She is a practicing solicitor who trained as a family mediator in 1993. She is accredited to undertake legal aid work and has extensive experience in family mediation particularly in property and finance disputes. She is also a mediation trainer; writing and delivering legal update and other courses as well as delivering the Family Mediation Training. Sue has an MSc in Conflict Resolution and Mediation Studies and was a part-time visiting lecturer in family law at the University of Westminster for 8 years.

Denise Wilson

FMCA Mediator

Denise qualified as a Family Mediator in 2013. Denise is qualified to undertake Legal Aid work in property finance and child issues including working with children in mediation. She is a member of the College of Mediators and is registered with the Family Mediation Council. Denise has worked for Relate as a Family, relationship and young children’s Counsellor for 15 years. Denise is also a qualified trainer for both mediation and counselling services

Jane McKenna

FMCA Mediator

Jane qualified as a Family Mediator in 2003. Jane is qualified to undertake Legal Aid work in property finance and child issues including working with children in mediation. Jane is a member of the College of Mediators and is registered with the Family Mediation Council. She also delivers the Separated Parenting Information Programme. Prior to qualifying Jane worked in Local Government.

Dave Warren

FMCA Mediator

Dave qualified as a family mediator in 2020 whilst serving a a fire service officer with over ten years experience in industrial and employment disputes. Dave is also a qualified Probate Mediator. Fully qualified to undertake Legal Aid work in property finance and child issues. Dave is a member of the College of Mediators and is registered with the Family Mediation Council. Prior to joining our service Dave worked as a Senior Fire Service Officer and has over 40 years experience in the public, private and not for profit sectors

Sharon Burnett

Mediation Administrator

Sharon joined Relate LNEE IN 2014. Sharon is an experienced Administrator dealing with all aspects of mediation administration from managing the mediation diary to preparing court forms. Previously Sharon worked for Lloyds Bank in the City of London

Karen Davies

Mediation Administrator

Karen joined Relate LNEE in 2017. Karen is an experienced Administrator dealing with client enquiries, file management as well as supporting the mediation team. Prior to joining the service Karen worked as a fraud investigator for the Royal Bank of Scotland