Patty Bates-Ballard

Patty Bates-Ballard is a speaker, writer, educator, and mediator who helps teams communicate effectively across differences. Author of the books Judgment or Joy, ACE-ing Conflict, and Navigating Diversity, she is CEO of WordSmooth and developer of the Harvest Respect program.

Patty’s Harvest Respect program supports school districts, police departments, corporations, governmental agencies, and nonprofit organizations to communicate effectively across differences so they can better fulfill their missions. A volunteer for the African American Museum of Dallas and Dallas CORE and a member of National Association for Community Mediation, Patty received BA degrees in Psychology and Philosophy/Religion from Austin College. She is the mother of two sons, Kory and Kaden, who inspire her daily.