Intercultural dynamics are part of every mediation whether or not the participants are members of visible minority groups. In this session, participants will enhance cultural fluency through experiential exercises and exploration of the cultural values embedded in dispute resolution processes. We will also explore how creativity can expand cultural fluency.

Ethics credit: .5

See bio under keynote section

We have all been there. An irresistible force meets an immovable object and the mediation is over. Learn how to set up and conduct a mediation in order to avoid an impasse and settle the case ethically. Share insights with other mediators during audience participation exploring various fact patterns.

Ethics credit: .25

Stephen J. Schechter focuses his practice in Boerne on mediation (family and civil). He received a B.A. in business administration and political science from Trinity University in 1985 and his J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1989. He has been an officer with the Bay Area Bar Association, a director with the Clear Lake Business Alliance and a director and President of his homeowners association. He is licensed to practice in all Courts for the State of Texas, Western and Southern District of Texas, 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. Steve was elected to the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors from District 15 in 2010. He is an advanced credentialed mediator through the TMCA, and he is a member of the State Bar Family Law Section and Alternative Dispute Resolution Section. Steve is a member of the San Antonio Bar Association and Kendall County Bar Association. He has also received his TDFPS/CPS Certification. Steve served as a volunteer mediator at the Harris County Dispute Resolution Center (2007–09) and currently serves as a volunteer mediator for the San Antonio and Hill Country Dispute Resolution Centers. In 2007, Steve began to believe that there had to be a better way than the courts to deal with the breakup of a marriage. He was concerned about how children seemed to be left out a process that directly impacted their futures while the parents were forced to litigate their dispute—all at great expense and stress. Based on his observations and concerns, he started designing a process in which mediators and counselors worked together to assist parents in unwinding their marriage while keeping their children in mind. In 2011, he joined with Melynda Gulley and Marilyn Miller and together they launched Mediators and Counselors, Inc.

Since 2004, he has participated in the MS-150 bike ride from Houston to Austin to benefit multiple sclerosis research. Steve's interests include car restoration, woodworking, music and reading. He enjoys outdoor seasonal activities such as bicycling, camping and skiing. Steve has been married for 22 years, and he and his wife, Alyssa, have two sons, Nathan and Benjamin.

How do we really navigate through the ethical complexities encountered in real-life mediations? This workshop will propose that a clear, meaningful and personal “Why I Mediate” statement is an essential element to the typical case study analysis of mediator ethics. This workshop will address why just knowing the codes of conduct for mediation is not always enough to practice ethically in this challenging field. The workshop will cover the roots of all morals and show why emotion is fundamental to our assessment of right and wrong. The reasons for unethical behavior will be examined and common ethical traps discussed. The participants will be asked to identify those ethical issues they find most difficult; especially when under pressure and without recourse to reflection and reasoned analysis. The workshop will conclude with an opportunity for each participant to develop their personal “Why I Mediate” statement which will guide and support them to uphold the highest of mediator ethics.

Ethics credit: 1.25

John Kenyon has been a mediator in Houston since 2001. He is a member of TAM, a TMCA Advance Credential Mediator and current President the ACR Houston chapter. He has presented papers at TAM and ACR National conferences. He has a B.Sc. from Bristol University, UK and worked in the Oil & Gas business for over 25 years.

The Hays County Dispute Resolution Center (HCDRC) was conceived in the heart and mind of Anna Bartkowski in 2007 while doing her graduate studies at Texas State University. Upon graduating she engaged the Hays County Judge to sponsor an exploratory committee to evaluate the need for a DRC in Hays County. With successful completion of the work of the exploratory committee, Anna joined forces with Walter Wright and Walt Krudop to design and implement a DRC. In August of 2009, the Hays County Commissioner’s Court approved the formation of the HCDRC and in October of that year the HCDRC began mediating cases. This presentation will track this series of events and explore the challenges and pitfalls as well as the key elements of success. The presentation will go on to discuss the progress of the HCDRC, covering the kinds of cases and the statistics of the mediations as well as the unexpected twists and turns as the HCDRC completed its first two years of operation and won funding from the Hays County Commissioners to continue into its third year.

Anna Bartkowski, M.A. is the Executive Director of the Hays County DRC and a TMCA Credentialed Advanced Mediator. She holds a Master’s degree in Alternative Dispute Resolution from Texas State University. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Association of Mediators, current member of the Board of Directors of the Austin Association of Mediators, a member of the Texas DRC Directors’ Council, and an associate member of the State Bar of Texas, Alternative Dispute Resolution Section.

Walt Krudop is a mediator and consultant in the conflict resolution field. Walt mediates with the Hays County Dispute Resolution Center, The Better Business Bureau of Central and South Central Texas and in private practice and holds a Credentialed Mediator designation with the Texas Mediator Credentialing Association. He has mediated over 200 disputes. He has taught mediation and conflict resolution in a variety of venues and consults in the area of program design and implementation and is currently an adjunct professor at St. Edwards University. He retired from Shell Oil Company in April of 2001, while at Shell he served as an ombudsman in Shell RESOLVE, the Shell employee conflict resolution program. Walt played a key leadership role in design and implementation of the program. Walt was awarded the Association for Conflict Resolution national Presidential award in both 2000 and 2002. He is a former president of the Fort Bend County Dispute Resolution Center and the current president of the Hays County Dispute Resolution Center. In 2005, Walt was awarded the Legacy in Leadership Award in the field of mediation from Innovative Alternatives in Clear Lake City. He has an undergraduate degree from Villanova University, a graduate degree from Seton Hall University and holds a graduate certificate in Conflict Resolution from the University of Houston.

Walter A. Wright is an associate professor in the Legal Studies Program of the Department of Political Science at Texas State University, where he teaches courses in law and ADR. An attorney, mediator, and arbitrator, he received B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Houston and an LL.M. in International Legal Studies from New York University. He is former president of the Texas Association of Mediators and the Association of Attorney-Mediators. His current activities include service as editor-in-chief of El Acuerdo, an ADR newsletter published in Buenos Aires, Argentina; as Chair of the International Section of the Association for Conflict Resolution; and as a member of the board of directors of the Hays County (Texas) Dispute Resolution Center. During the past fifteen years, he has enjoyed teaching ADR courses and conducting facilitated dialogues in foreign countries such as Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, Ecuador, Panama, and Nicaragua.

Parenting Coordination (PC) or Parenting Facilitation (PF) are ADR processes designed to help families in suits affecting parent-child relationships (divorce, custody, support or visitation rights). The session will cover relevant portions of the Texas Family Code regarding the qualifications, appointment, duties, reports, and the differences between PC/PF including practical considerations in selecting the appropriate process. The session will also discuss how PC/PF differs from other ADR processes in guiding parents in conflict resolution; communication skill building and child focused cooperative parenting.

Shawn Edwards, Esq. is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider specializing in mediation and facilitation in domestic/family relations, civil litigation, technology and electronic discovery.
Shawn began her career in the U.S. Navy as a Data Processing Technician. Upon her honorable discharge, she held various technical positions while attending college and law school. As an attorney, Shawn's experience is in family law, civil litigation, electronic discovery and managing complex litigation.

Confidentiality is a cornerstone of mediations, but what does confidentiality really mean? In this presentation, we will examine the law and professional guidelines that relate to confidentiality, and we will examine how courts have interpreted confidentiality in the mediation context. Do courts take a narrow or a broad view? You may be surprised. We will have an interactive component of this presentation where we provide real life examples of situations where mediation confidentiality has been tested, and the audience guesses whether the court enforces confidentiality or allows mediation-related information to be publicized.

Ethics credit: 1.25

Gene Roberts draws from his experience as lead counsel in litigated cases as he now dedicates his professional life to helping people productively resolve conflicts. His company, North Texas Negotiations, promotes fair and expedient conflict resolution services, including mediation, training, coaching, and Christian conflict conciliation. Clientele ranges from families in conflict to complex, multi-party disputes. A sought-after speaker and leader in the conflict resolution profession, Gene’s been praised by the Dallas Morning News and the Association of Attorney Mediators identifies Gene as a “New Master of Mediation.” Gene served the Dallas Chapter of the Association for Conflict Resolution as a member of its Board of Directors, President-elect and President. He is also the secretary for the Dallas Bar Association’s Alternative Dispute Resolution section (2009 – 2011) and will be its Chairman in 2012. He is a member of the board of directors for the Texas Association of Mediators (co-chair of the 2013 conference in Dallas). Gene serves his church as an Elder, Sunday School teacher, and chair of the Strategic Planning Committee.

The session will provide information about the Ismaili Muslim community’s model for community-based alternative dispute resolution developed under the guidance of His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims worldwide. We will provide information regarding the board’s mandate, structure and community-based approach to ADR. We will highlight specific unique aspects, including our volunteer mediators and our data capturing methodology, including capturing root causes of disputes, sharing personally unidentifiable information with affiliated social service boards to develop programs to address such root causes in order to prevent future disputes, and keeping in touch with parties post-mediation to follow-up regarding continued support required, if any.

Celina Charania Shariff is a member of the His Highness Prince Aga Khan Shia Imami Ismaili Conciliation and Arbitration Board for USA. She is an owner and manager of three elder care nursing homes in Austin County, Texas, and also remains involved with oversight of her family’s fuel distribution business. She formerly practiced law at Baker Botts L.L.P. Celina earned her BBA in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin and her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

In many divorce cases, the division of assets or determination of support is the whole ballgame. This presentation will illustrate how to use Excel tables to calculate the division of assets, and the partitioning of separate property, including pensions, 401(k)s, stock options (3.007 calculations), and real estate. It will also address using the tables in adjusting for imputed tax liability on IRAs, 401(k)s, pensions, stock options, restricted stock, capital gains, etc. Adjusting asset division for the present value tax adjusted value of alimony payments and the use of tax analysis tables to estimate taxes with and without alimony in order to show benefit to payor and cost to recipient will also be included.
The fear of the unknown is preventing the parties from moving through the process in an orderly and methodical, business-like manner. This method of mediation, especially when co-mediating with an attorney, can produce a superior outcome.

Patricia Barrett is a self-employed Certified Financial Planner, Mediator and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst. She works with individuals going through divorce to help them divide assets equitably and analyze their future financial security. She does not manage assets or sell any product, thus she can be objective in her advice. She has over twenty years experience in the financial services industry having held series 7 (general securities) and a series 63 licenses and was the manager of the financial planning department for a Houston Trust company. She is a Certified Financial Planner, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, and has completed basic and Advanced Mediator training at the University of Houston Law School. She was formerly the treasurer for the Association of Family Conciliatory Courts, as well as for the Financial Planning Association. She attends frequent educational symposiums given by the Texas Bar Association and University of Texas Law School, such as “Advanced Family Law’, 3.5 days every August, as well as Collaborative Law educational programs and retreats. She also works within the realm of Collaborative Law as a neutral financial professional. In these cases, still able to provide the financial mediation, while attorneys are present at every meeting to advise clients on legal issues. Patricia presents seminars to the public, CPA organizations, financial organizations, therapist groups, attorney organizations and divorce support groups to educate them in financial and tax issues. She is a member of the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas, the Texas Association of Mediators, the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, the Financial Planning Association, and Houston Estate and Financial Forum. Her goal is to bring about peaceful divorce settlements. When emotions run high, she encourages them to consider this to be a business decision and to look toward the future, not the past. The financial tables created enable parties to see logical and equitable ways to divide their assets either before or after employing an attorney.

Emanuel "Manny" Caiati is an Attorney and Mediator practicing in Houston since 1996. After graduating from South Texas College of Law, Manny dedicated himself to representing people in matters of child custody litigation and divorce. He is also a Collaborative Law Attorney. Manny is often appointed, in the Family Courts, to represent the children of divorce as a child advocate. He has been an instructor in child advocacy training and an Associate Law Professor at San Jacinto College. Manny is a continuing Member of College of the State Bar of Texas and also of the Pro Bono College of the State Bar of Texas. His professional affiliations include the Family Law Sections of the State Bar of Texas, Houston Bar Association, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the State Bar, the American Inns of Court and the Northwest Houston Collaborative Family Law Professionals. Manny is an advisor to many Christian ministries and he is a Trustee of Northwest Assistance Ministries, Inc., (NAM), in Houston, Texas. Manny’s law office is in the Champions area of Northwest Houston. When not working, Manny enjoys spending time with Cassie, his wife of ten years, and their two boys. He also enjoys motorcycling, fishing, reading American History and watching baseball. Though he grew up in New York City, as a Yankee fan, Manny is now a loyal Astros fan!

This presentation is designed for the mediators who have no or very limited arbitration experience and desire to know about the basic arbitration process. It will cover such topics as arbitrator conduct (before, during and after the hearing), conducting the hearing, arbitrator ethics and specific dos and don’ts for a successful arbitration. Knowledge of these areas should explain the dynamics of the process for those who wish to explore this method of ADR.
• Arbitration in general
• Why use
• Binding vs. non-binding
• Knowledge of the contract documents/ powers of the arbitrator

• Conducting the hearing
• Before the arbitration -disclosure and withdrawal
• Conduct before the hearing
• The hearing and your control of the process
• The room set up—court reporter present?
• The opening statement
• Presiding over the hearing
• Rules of evidence and weight to be given
• Closing the hearing
• If left open for additional evidence-specific time for submissions and response.
• Conduct after the hearing
• Writing the award
• Arbitrator makes findings and awards
• What must be in an award and not in the award
• Examples of sample wording

• The Ten Commandments For Arbitrators
• Taken from The keys to Conflict Resolution, by Theodore W. Kheel, 1999
• Questions and general discussion

Ben DeVries received his J.D. from the University of Houston in 1967 and has been involved in insurance claims for over 50 years. He holds both the CPCU and AMIM insurance designations. Upon his retirement he received his professional mediation training at Sam Houston State University in 1997, family mediation training at the Montgomery County DRC, and advanced transformative mediation training for the U.S. Postal Service. He has held over 1200 mediations, 500 arbitrations, and has been an insurance consultant and expert witness on insurance related matters. He has been an arbitrator for NCDS, CAS, and NAF for 12 years. From 2004-2010 he was an adjunct professor of business law at Lone Star College. He is a member of TAMS, the Association of Attorney-Mediators and a former member of the board of directors for the Montgomery County DRC.

The program will explore challenges to (1) a mediator’s neutrality that arise from “privileging” (favoring one party’s story over another’s); (2) a mediator’s obligation to ensure the integrity of the mediation process in the face of a party’s aggressive/manipulative use of narrative positioning (position claims and position calls); and (3) a mediator’s obligation to ensure party self-determination as a result of language choices the mediator makes during the opening session. The program will include an oral presentation and exercises enabling participants to recognize and deal with instances of these three challenges.

Ethics credit: 1.25

Charles Cannon practiced corporate and business transactions law for over 35 years before developing a mediation and facilitation practice in 2006. Charles practices in Austin, Texas under the name Bold Journeys Conflict Resolution Services. He focuses on mediating business and commercial disputes in which the resolution of relationship issues is important to a lasting settlement. He also consults with stakeholders of small businesses and non-profit organization to facilitate the clarification of missions, action plans, and exit strategies. Charles is recognized as a Credentialed Advanced Mediator by the Texas Mediator Credentialing Association. He serves on the boards of the Austin Dispute Resolution Center (President, 2010 – 2011), and the Austin Association of Mediators. He also serves as Texas Ombudsman Director for ESGR, a Department of Defense affiliate, and is Vice Chair of the ADR Section of the Austin Bar Association. Charles is an honors graduate of Texas Christian University and earned his law degree at Yale Law School, where he served on the Editorial Board of the Yale Law Journal.


Walt Krudop is a mediator and consultant in the conflict resolution field. Walt mediates with the Hays County Dispute Resolution Center, The Better Business Bureau of Central and South Central Texas and in private practice and holds a Credentialed Mediator designation with the Texas Mediator Credentialing Association. He has mediated over 200 disputes. He has taught mediation and conflict resolution in a variety of venues and consults in the area of program design and implementation and is currently an adjunct professor at St. Edwards University. He retired from Shell Oil Company in April of 2001, while at Shell he served as an ombudsman in Shell RESOLVE, the Shell employee conflict resolution program. Walt played a key leadership role in design and implementation of the program. Walt was awarded the Association for Conflict Resolution national Presidential award in both 2000 and 2002. He is a former president of the Fort Bend County Dispute Resolution Center and the current president of the Hays County Dispute Resolution Center. In 2005, Walt was awarded the Legacy in Leadership Award in the field of mediation from Innovative Alternatives in Clear Lake City. He has an undergraduate degree from Villanova University, a graduate degree from Seton Hall University and holds a graduate certificate in Conflict Resolution from the University of Houston.

Let your clients experience an “iDivorce”—an innovative process to change the way people divorce. Develop your GPS by using the latest technology and client-oriented practices. Create an understandable financial “road map” of assets and liabilities to quickly generate options for a property settlement. As a “tour guide,” professionals must know various ways to value assets, analyze debts, arrange terms for continued joint ownership of property, divide retirement plans, and handle separate property. Possible tax consequences on investments and retirement plans can greatly impact future finances. Carefully construct agreements so debts will not be a detour that causes an impasse. Use cutting edge strategies to navigate around roadblocks and assure clients of completing their journey to arrive at “Destination Divorce.”

Laury Adams heads the Adams’ Mediation & Financial Resource Center and is one of the nation’s most experienced family mediators. Adams served as president of TAM, developed the first interactive software program for divorcing parties to use, has presented programs for corporations, state and national conferences, and was the featured guest on PBS Houston’s “Living Smart” program. She received honors for her teaching at the University of Houston and for her extraordinary contributions to TAM and The Women’s Resource.

Mediators must initially deal with the parties’ past to move them towards a better future. So it is important that mediators know how memories are formed and how they can change. This workshop will explore how our memories are determined by what we actually perceive and what we “choose” to remember. A brief overview will be presented of the latest research on the stability of our memories and how they are physically destroyed and re-created by the very act of remembering. The potential applications of this knowledge in the mediation process will be presented. Finally a group discussion will be held on the implications and the lessons for mediators conduct.

John Kenyon has been a mediator in Houston since 2001. He is a member of TAM, a TMCA Advance Credential Mediator and current President the ACR Houston chapter. He has presented papers at TAM and ACR National conferences. He has a B.Sc. from Bristol University, UK and worked in the Oil & Gas business for over 25 years.

If you care about Conflict Resolution Education, this session is for you. JAMS Foundation funded a collaboration between Conflict Resolution Education in Teacher Education (CRETE), Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR), Creative Response to Conflict (CRC), and Western Justice Center Foundation to develop pre-service and in-service educator partnerships in three cities – Atlanta, DALLAS, and Los Angeles. Dallas led the way with a CRETE Training at SMU in Plano i(October 2011 and January 2012). Richland College and Region 10 Education Service Center collaborated for CRETE Training (January 2012). A CRETE Institute is planned for June at Abilene Christian College. This session presents an overview of the CRETE Training and up to date information about the CRETexas Partnerships and opportunities to become involved.

Margaret Leeds holds a Master of Dispute Resolution Degree from Pepperdine University. Margaret has taught Mediation at St. Mary’s University; served as lead trainer for the Air Force Mediation Compendium; is a Certified Trainer for Mediation Training Institute International; and is lead trainer for Conflict Resolution Education in Teacher Education (CRETE). She is certified as a Distinguished Mediator by Texas Mediator Credentialing Association, is a member of Texas Mediation Trainers Roundtable and is Past-President of Texas Association of Mediators.

SOS-Semantics of Self in ConflictTM is a new theory of how we deal with situations of conflict. The theoretical framework, SOS-Semantics of Self in ConflictTM, was developed to accommodate the complexity of numerous perspectives and the differences in the use of conflict behaviors. This conceptual theory contributes to knowledge about being mindful of the conflict behaviors in ourselves and others. In semantics, how one perceives signs and symbols is at its core of definition. The SOS is the alert that announces that an event is developing or happened. Semantics of Self in Conflict refers to the actors involved in the conflict action. It does not mean that the actor was in the primary interaction of the conflict, although the actor could be. It leaves open the possibility that conflict situations are often corrected, analyzed, or responded to by a secondary actor or source that holds the responsibility for the conflict, whether directly or indirectly. In semantics, how one perceives signs and symbols is at its core of definition. In this introduced model, we look at the perceptions of the conflict event (the structure) and how they use their conflict behaviors that they have tested in previous conflict situations, chosen to use, or exchanged for a particular response, is the process of the model. The conflict behavior that is chosen produces the outcome, with the ripple effect and reverberation of the conflict event. What makes this model different than some conflict theories is that it is analyzed in reverse.
Learn how this theory applies to elder mediation, health care organizations, and other for profit and non-profit organizations.



Ethics credit: .5

Dr. Barbara Sunderland Manousso, a Texas Distinguished Certified Mediator, is the past-president of the Association of Conflict Resolution Houston chapter and has served on national and international committees for the Association of Conflict Resolution, such as being the current co-chair for the Healthcare Section and formerly the co-chair of the Workplace Section. Since 1993, she has been in practice as a mediator, arbitrator, conflict resolution coach, author, and alternative dispute resolution trainer. Her baccalaureate was from Brown University, Master of Public Health from the University of Texas School of Public Health in Community Health, and Ph.D. from Nova Southeastern University in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Barbara Manousso is certified as a national and Texas guardian and is certified as a trainer and coach in Conflict Dynamic Profile. In 2008, Barbara Manousso was appointed by Texas Governor Perry to serve on the Nursing Facility Administrators Advisory Committee. In 2010, Dr. Manousso was recognized as one of fifty Most Influential Women of Houston. For more information on Dr. Manousso or her programs, please go to http://www.manousso.us

Current studies conducted by the Workplace Bullying Institute estimate that more than 35% of American workers have experienced some form of workplace bullying, while another 15% have experienced and witnessed workplace bullying. The behaviors associated with the phenomenon are sophisticated, complex, and systematically directed at the targeted individual; bullying is a major problem in today’s organizations. Mediators are forced to deal with this unethical and violent organizational behavior. The untrained mediator with a superhero attitude can cause additional trauma to the target by attempting to mediate an inappropriate case. This session will assist the mediator in identifying cases of workplace bullying, cases that should never be mediated, the mediator will be introduced to the workplace-bullying matrix, and similarities between workplace bullying and other forms of violence will be discussed. This hot topic will be explored in-depth.

Ethics credit: .5

Dr. Walker has a Bachelors degree in health information management, a Masters in health care management and informatics, and a PhD in Public Policy and Administration with specialization in Health Services she holds certifications in mediation, family mediation, ADR, and she is a Certified Workplace Violence Specialist. In addition, she is a victim of workplace bullying and the Texas Coordinator for Texas Healthy Workplace Advocates for the past 5 years.

The combination of our experiences - our history and our past and present circumstances - shape our perceptions of people, relationships, and the world around us. In this presentation, we will examine generational and socioeconomic groups and how differing values and expectations may shape one's approach to communication, conflict, and resolutions. Through the exploration of the attitudes and perspectives of these groups, we will learn to better recognize potential goals and interests of parties in conflict and discover how we, as mediators, can use this information to help facilitate resolutions in our mediations.

Ramah Bernard is a trainer and mediator for RPB Associates providing services to U.S. Government agencies and private sector businesses. She was formerly the Program Director for the Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County, and now maintains a private mediation practice in the Houston area. She is a 2001 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where her studies included mediation, conflict resolution, and interpersonal and intercultural communications. Since then, Ramah has done extensive study and conducted trainings in all mediation styles.

Since its inception in the mid-70’s, family mediation has been an interdisciplinary endeavor. Although mental health professionals and other non-attorneys were heavily involved in family mediation since its beginning, there has been an increasing dominance of lawyers in the private mediation arena. This session will explore the interdisciplinary beginnings and current trends of family mediation in the courts and in private practice. Presenters will discuss trends generally and in Texas and the underlying reasons for these trends. Changes in public and private family mediators’ styles will also be discussed. Finally, the presenters will look to the future and discuss ways to ensure quality family mediation.

Ethics credit: 1.0

Debra Berman is the Associate Director at the Frank Evans Center for Conflict Resolution at South Texas College of Law. In her role as Associate Director, she teaches ADR and Mediation and coaches student teams for various national and international ADR competitions. Debra received her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and her J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law. Following law school, Debra practiced law at a large law firm in Washington D.C. In her spare time, she taught ADR as an adjunct professor and coached student ADR competitions at her alma mater. Debra is a certified mediator and has had countless hours of dispute resolution training, including basic mediation, transformative mediation, family mediation, negotiation, and collaborative law.

James J. Alfini is Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus at South Texas College of Law. Previously, he was Professor of Law at Northern Illinois University College of Law and served as Dean of the NIU College of Law from 1991 to 1997. Prior to NIU, Dean Alfini was a member of the faculty at Florida State University College of Law where he was Director of Education and Research at the Florida Dispute Resolution Center, a joint program of the FSU College of Law and the Supreme Court of Florida. He was on the original Mediation and Arbitration Rules Committee of the Supreme Court of Florida and chaired the Standards Subcommittee. He has served as the chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the Association of American Law Schools and the chair of the Dispute Resolution Section of the American Bar Association. He has numerous publications in the fields of dispute resolution and judicial ethics, including two co-authored books published by Lexis Publishing: Judicial Conduct And Ethics and Mediation Theory And Practice.

Power is one of the two main currencies in conflict, communication is the other. It’s not whether people use power in conflict, but how that determines a course of a dispute. When people are involved in enduring conflicts, finding a way to use power constructively, effectively, and sustainably is essential to how a dispute unfolds over time. Along with developing effective approaches to the use of power, helping disputants find their most effective voice and developing durable channels of communication is a second key challenge for mediators and disputants alike. In this workshop, we will explore how conflict specialists can help disputants who are engaged in long term conflicts develop and use power effectively and build effective systems of communication. We will consider this in terms of specific cases and will look at how mediators, who are normally involved in short term interventions, can help disputants work on long term conflicts.  

Ethics credit: .5

See bio under keynote speaker section