“I’ve always been a peace maker,” Shirley Eaton says.
Shirley Eaton grew up watching her mother tactfully diffuse arguments between neighbors and learning from her father about being “slow to anger” and looking to make the world a better place.
So, few were surprised when Eaton, now 80, followed a path that led to her current position as executive director of Mediation Services of Forsyth County.
“I’ve always been a peace maker,” she says. “I like to see people come together in understanding each other, no matter where they are in life or where they have been. I have always believed that each individual has something to add to our community and our world, and that given a chance to be heard, will in turn be willing to listen to others.”
Eaton, a widow (Jesse Eaton died in 2021) and mother of five surviving children, isn’t that interested in retirement.
“Age is but a number. As long as I am able, I will continue working. I feel that whatever small contribution the knowledge I have gained over the years can make to our community, then if God is willing, I am too.”
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Besides, Eaton adds, “I enjoy what I do. Mediation is the building of insightful communication, and when a mediation is successful, you can see better relationships build.”
She graduated from Russell Business College in 1971 and earned further mediation training and certifications from Blue Ridge Community College, Northern Virginia Mediation Services, and American Arbitration Association (certified mediator for both Superior and District Court).
From 1980 to ‘85, Eaton was an arbitrator for AT&T.
In 1986, she joined Neighborhood Justice Center, which in 1997 was renamed Mediation Services of Forsyth County. At Mediation Services, she created the Truancy Mediation Program that brings together school social workers and parents in a neutral environment to discuss barriers to a student’s educational process and ways to combat those barriers, says longtime Mediation Services volunteer Teresa Wiginton.
She also conducted conflict resolution training with the Winston-Salem Police Department, family and marriage mediation training, Medicare mediation and, in partnership with NC Juvenile Justice Department, started the Victim Offender Mediation program.
When Eaton was promoted to executive director of Mediation Services, she continued providing mediation services to the community and state agencies when invited.
During the COVID crisis, Eaton used new technology to continue mediation services such as Truancy and Medicare, Wiginton says.
When she’s not working, Eaton makes time to reach out the community. For 33 years, she has served the National Women of Achievement with programs that mentor young women, empower youth and enhance the lives of older adults. In 14 years with the Boston Roundup Committee, she’s helped provide school materials to students in need, and she is an 18-year member of Gamma Phi Delta Sorority.
Eaton, who says her sense of humor is necessary to her work, also is a member of the Community Penalties Board, the Mediation Network Board of Directors of North Carolina, Urban League Guild and National Association of Female Executives.
“Mrs. Eaton, throughout her life and career, has strived to make a positive impact in her community and surrounding counties by engaging in opportunities for youth and adults,” Wiginton says.
