Guide & Board Member
Kirsten Tinglum Friedman
Guide and Board Member, Ethos Advocacy Institute
Kirsten Tinglum Friedman brings a rare combination of experience to Ethos Advocacy Institute: 25 years as a plaintiff lawyer and a second career as a therapist, psychodramatist, and teacher of psychodrama.
Twenty-Five Years in the Law
A Career as a Plaintiff Lawyer
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, Kirsten began practicing law in Alaska in 1983. Over the next 25 years, she represented plaintiffs in civil litigation, including personal injury, medical malpractice, and product liability matters. She also served as President of the Alaska Academy of Trial Lawyers and President of the Alaska Bar Association.
A Second Career
Discovering Psychodrama
After stepping away from law for what she initially expected to be a sabbatical, Kirsten discovered psychodrama in 2012. The experience changed the direction of her professional life. She pursued graduate education in counseling and extensive training in psychodrama, becoming a Certified Practitioner in Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy and later earning certification as a Trainer, Educator and Practitioner (TEP).
Two Careers, One Understanding
Bridging Law and the Experiential
Today, Kirsten practices as a therapist using psychodrama and teaches psychodrama to others. Her two professional careers give her a distinctive understanding of both the demands lawyers face and the experiential methods that can help them explore how they respond to pressure, conflict, relationships, uncertainty, and the responsibilities of advocacy.
Guide & Board Member
Part of Ethos Since Its Formative Years
Kirsten has been part of Ethos since its formative years and serves as both a Guide and Board Member. She brings to the Institute a central principle of experiential learning: insight is valuable, but some things cannot be fully understood by talking about them.
They must be experienced in action.
At Ethos, Kirsten helps lawyers move beyond simply knowing what effective advocacy requires to discovering what happens when they must actually embody it. Her work reflects the Institute’s larger commitment to developing not only the skills of the advocate, but the human being who must use them.