Sheryle Woodruff
Sheryle Woodruff is a seasoned workplace mediator, conflict coach, and trainer with over 27 years of professional experience helping organizations prevent and resolve workplace conflicts. As a Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediator, she has specialized in EEO, employment disputes, workplace mediation, labor and union issues, and conflict coaching. Throughout her career, Sheryle has mediated thousands of cases, bringing clarity, resolution, and understanding to complex and high-stakes situations, while also providing training to empower teams and leaders to navigate conflict effectively.
Sheryle earned her Master of Science in Conflict Studies and Analysis/ADR from Nova Southeastern University and her Bachelor of Business Administration in Management and Operations from University of South Florida. She has also completed professional certifications in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace, further enhancing her ability to address modern organizational challenges with sensitivity and expertise. Her approach blends practical business insight with a deep understanding of human behavior, making her a trusted advisor for organizations and individuals navigating conflict.
In addition to her mediation practice, Sheryle has served on the Executive Committee of the Greater Orlando Society for Human Resource Management (GOSHRM) and has been actively involved with the Florida Association of Mediator Professionals. She credits her professional growth to mentors like Professor Sean Byrnes, Marcia Sweedler, and Nora Femenia, who guided her early career. Driven by a passion for conflict studies, Sheryle finds the most reward in helping clients turn seemingly irresolvable situations into collaborative, positive outcomes—an impact she describes as “nothing like it” when parties leave with understanding and resolution.
• Florida Supreme Court Mediator
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate
• Nova Southeastern University - MS
• Florida Association of Professional Mediators (FAPM)
• SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management)
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to education and years of experience. I earned my master's degree in alternative dispute resolution and my bachelor's in business management, and I've been working in this field for 27 years now. That combination of formal education and extensive hands-on experience mediating thousands of cases has been the foundation of everything I've been able to accomplish.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received was to narrow your focus. I used to do training in everything, but when I narrowed my focus just to anything having to do with conflicts, that's when my business exploded. That shift from being a generalist to specializing made all the difference in my career trajectory.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering this field would be to have perseverance and patience. It's not an easy field to break into, but if you love it and you're persistent, it's a great field. You have to be willing to stick with it even when it's challenging, because the rewards of this work are worth it.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge in my field is getting people to reach out before the conflict blows up. I'm constantly trying to educate people to work on prevention instead of putting fires out, which is when they normally call me. But that's also the biggest opportunity, because things are so bad when they come to me that when I help and assist them, it makes a huge difference. The fact that situations are often at crisis point when I get involved means the impact I can make is that much more significant.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me in my work and personal life are integrity and making a difference. Integrity guides how I approach every mediation and client relationship, and making a difference is what drives me - knowing that I'm helping people resolve conflicts and improve their workplaces in meaningful ways.