Worcester Business Journal

18 Worcester Business Journal | October 29, 2018 | wbjournal.com F O C U S O U T S T A N D I N G W O M E N I N B U S I N E S S WCAC WBJ OUTSTANDING WOMEN IN BUSINESS ISSUE – QUARTER PAGE – 10.18.18 Worcester Community Action Council Inc. Your donation will make a diff erence empowering women, and help to strengthen our community and create a better future for all. Thank you Worcester Business Journal for ten years of celebrating & supporting women in our community! Denholm Building 484 Main Street, Suite 200 | Worcester, MA 01608 www.wcac.net | 508.754.1176 Be bold enough to use your voice, brave enough to listen to your heart and strong enough to live the life you've always imagined. Helping women, and the greater community, move to economic self-suffi ciency through programs, partnerships and advocacy since 1965. '' '' Thank you, Worcester Business Journal for spotlighting our community's Women in Business for 10 years! 2012 ALUMNAE P olly Tatum, an attorney specializing in divorce mediation and family services, got into her chosen field with personal experience; she and her ex-husband had successfully learned to co-parent their three daughters aer their divorce. Knowing the value of co-parenting, she's built a career helping other couples do the same, learning how to co-parent (or implement parallel parenting in situations where the two parties have more pronounced differenc- es). But since earning the Outstanding Women in Business Award in 2012, she has found herself doing it all over again. is time, Tatum and her daughter Jasmine, 33, have assumed temporary custody and are together co-parenting three brothers – ages 2, 3 and 5 – who can no longer live with their parent. "Service starts at home," said Tatum, who notes she is living all the strategies she teaches divorcing parents about child-rearing – in a different way, this time. "We are really putting that into practice," she says, of herself and her daughter parenting together. "Our styles are very different." Since telling WBJ readers six years ago mentoring and support of girls is important to her, Tatum has stepped up to serve the community as vice chair of the YMCA of Central Massachusetts Board of Directors. She said its mission of social responsibility, healthy living and youth development resonates with her. Last year, Tatum opened up a satellite office in Northborough for her grow- ing practice and is offering classes for divorced or separated couples who are co-parenting their children. Since winning the WBJ award, she's seen the need for what she does even more. "Many children suffer as a result of their parent's divorce – not because of the breakup itself – but based on the level of conflict over custody and parenting times," she said. "Parents have the power to improve the relationship with their ex for the sake of their children." - Written by Susan Shalhoub Polly Tatum 2012 & now: Attorney and owner at the Law Offices of Polly Tatum and Mediation Advantage Services in Worcester W

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