Maggie Langlas Ward brings a unique combination of elite athletic experience, legal expertise, and dispute resolution mastery to the Sports Conflict Institute as Senior Consultant and Team Assessment Specialist. A standout collegiate basketball player who scored 1,188 career points at Princeton University and earned multiple All-Ivy honors, she understands firsthand the dynamics, pressures, and conflicts that arise in competitive athletics. With over nine years of mediation experience and a Presidential Management Fellowship in federal government dispute resolution, Ward specializes in helping individuals and teams in youth and collegiate sports navigate conflicts constructively to achieve optimal performance.

Ward’s professional journey seamlessly bridges athletics and law, having earned her J.D. from the University of Oregon where she founded and chaired the Alternative Dispute Resolution Law Student Group while serving on the Law Review. Her extensive mediation practice encompasses workplace disputes, Equal Employment Opportunity conflicts, and multi-party negotiations across federal, state, and local government agencies. Through the Oregon Federal Executive Board’s Shared Neutral Program, she has spent six years mediating complex workplace disputes, earning recognition for her neutrality, professionalism, and ability to create safe spaces for resolution. This government sector experience provides valuable insights into institutional dynamics that directly translate to athletic department and sports organization conflicts.

With the SCI team, Ward has conducted numerous assessments and interventions with collegiate women’s teams aimed at improving individual and team performance. Her work involves interpreting character assessment results to help athletes gain deeper understanding of their pre-competition activities, performance during competition, responses to conflict, and educational choices. Drawing from her own experience as a two-time team captain and Herbert W. Hobler Award winner for positive attitude and sportsmanship, Ward brings authentic understanding to team dynamics, leadership challenges, and the delicate balance between individual achievement and collective success. Her passion for helping athletes and teams better manage conflict stems from her belief that constructive conflict resolution is essential for both athletic excellence and personal development.