Welcome to the home of NAFCM's Community Mediation Webinar Series! NAFCM's webinars are professionally designed, delivered by leaders in the community mediation field, and provide actionable recommendations and tangible resources to enhance key areas of center administration. In designing this Series, NAFCM has innovated its traditional in-person trainings to meet the demands of today's community mediation programs. This Series responds to both the continued financial hardships faced by many programs, as well as their local mandates to do even more good with fewer resources. Stripped of the requirement to incur often substantial travel expenses and related out-of-office hassles, the Community Mediation Webinar Series and NAFCM On Demand will allow program administrators, volunteers, and board members to keep atop latest developments and enrich their skills from the comfort of their own office. Read about each of the upcoming individual courses below, review our past trainings in our NAFCM On Demand, and register today!
 
Participation in most Community Mediation Webinar Series events is FREE for current NAFCM Members. (Contact NAFCM for the appropriate discount code to use during registration.) Non-members are invited to participate at a very affordable rate per event. 

Contents

  1. 1 Upcoming Webinars & NAFCM On Demand
  2. 2 NAFCM On Demand
(For greatest savings, consider joining or renewing your NAFCM membership.)
ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE SERIES: REVIEW & REPLY TO OUR ONGOING RFP.
 

Upcoming Webinars & NAFCM On Demand

Beyond the Elevator Speech: Telling Your Mediation Center's Story

 

Register: Register Now! [NAFCM members register for FREE; non-member registration fee is $25.]
Date & Time: Thursday, June 13, 2013, from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm EDT.
Presenter: Daniel Kos
Short Description: Everyday you have countless opportunities to tell your mediation center's story. This highly interactive workshop is designed to help staff, board members, and volunteers introduce the organization, in a natural and compelling way, to potential board members, fund raising prospects, friends, and other community stakeholders.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Explore your current approach to talking to people about the organization;
  2. Understand the common mistakes keep the community mediation story from resonating with your audience; and
  3. Learn the three rules you should never forget when introducing your mediation center.
Presenter's Bio: Daniel Kos works for NYS Unified Court System, where he helps oversee a network of community mediation centers serving all 62 counties of New York. Each year this network, the largest in the country, provides services in more than 30,000 cases. As part of overseeing the network, Dan partners with nonprofit agencies in program development, organizational development capacity building, and mediation quality assurance. He also is the statewide ADR training coordinator and oversees the NYS Agricultural Mediation Program. Dan regularly delivers mediation, facilitation, and negotiation training in New York and presents at local and national conferences. He currently advances the use of community mediation nationally by serving on the board of the National Association for Community Mediation.

Taking Your Mediation Center to the Next Level of Growth

Register: Register Now! [NAFCM members register for FREE; non-member registration fee is $25.]
Date & Time: Thursday, July 11, 2013, from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm EDT.
Presenter:Karmit J. Bulman
Short Description: Gather up your board members, key staff and other volunteers and explore whether you are ready to move your mediation center to a place of sustained growth and greater community impact. This 90 minute webinar will help you create a work plan geared to mobilizing Staff and Board to do the following: (1) Pick an individual donor fundraising plan and plan steps necessary to be successful; (2) Create a team to work on individual donor fundraising; (3) Stepping up your outreach and visibility efforts. This Webinar will also cover other growth strategies including: (1) Garnering increased fee for service revenue; (2) Marketing your program to hospitals, corporations and other non-profits; (3) Grant writing and Government contracts.
Presenter's Bio: Karmit is currently the Executive Director of the Conflict Resolution Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is an attorney, qualified neutral under Rule 114, and has been the director of non-profit organizations for 26 years. She was a managing attorney for legal services and served as executive director for the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women, Avenues for Homeless Youth and Temple Israel. Ms Bulman is currently the executive director of the Conflict Resolution Center (CRC) and is responsible for financial management, program development, public and community relations, fund raising and oversight of CRC operations. CRC is a community-based, non-profit organization formed in 1981 for the purpose of strengthening communities by teaching and providing mediation and conflict resolution service.

Re-Centering Oppression: An Introduction to Diagnosing and Treating its Manifestations in the Practice of Conflict Resolution

Register: Register Now! [NAFCM members register for FREE; non-member registration fee is $25.]
Date & Time: Thursday, July 18, 2013, from 3:30 pm to 4:15 pm EDT.
Presenters: SY Bowland, Onaje Mu'id, & Hasshan Batts
Short Description: This webinar provides participants with an opportunity to engage in the self-reflective and self-discovery process. It engages the practitioner to take a step back and view the experience of conflict resolution from the experiences of oppressed practitioners and participants in the conflict resolution process. This webinar presents participants with the opportunity to see the world from a place they often do not go.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Participants will be introduced to Oppression Theory and resources for building diverse networks.
  2. Participants will be introduced to trauma theory and ideas exploring the relationship between oppression and trauma in conflict resolution.
  3. Participants will explore “neutrality” and the challenge its presents from other worldviews.
  4. Participants will leave with at least 3 skills that will enable a practitioner to do a self-reflective survey to understand the presence of trauma and oppression in the conflict resolution process.
Presenters' Bios: SY Bowland is one of the co-founders of Practitioners Research and Scholarship Institute (PRASI), a think tank and coalition of diverse practitioners and researchers working towards inclusiveness, pluralism and the engagement of divergent opinions in writing, practice, research, theory and education in the field of conflict resolution. 

Onaje Muid is the Clinical Associate Director of Reality House Inc. in Queens, New York. He is the former United Nations Representative for International Association for American Minorities. He currently investigates how conflict resolution can be used to acquire reparations and solve historical trauma for African and Indigenous peoples.

Hasshan Batts is an experienced Life Coach, Mediator and Trainer and recognized nationally for his contributions to the fields of peacemaking, conflict resolution, behavioral healthcare and social justice. He is the former Co-Director of the Conflict Resolution Center in Western North Carolina, former Board member of the Mediation Network of North Carolina and former NAFCM Board Member.

Barking Up the Right Tree

Register:

 Register Now! [NAFCM members register for FREE; non-member registration fee is $25.]
Date & Time:

 Forthcoming
Presenters:

 Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton
Short Description: The presenter will discuss 5 types of conflicts that arise between people over animals, divorce, neighbor, med-mal, criminal and commercial. After describing several scenarios, the presenter will give tips on how to bring mediation, as a form of resolution, to the community as a viable resolution for these kinds of conflicts.

The presenter will expand the concept of using mediation to reintroduce parties, criminally charged with animal abuse, into the neighborhood using mediation to lessen the grief, anger or animosity.

Finally, the presenter will encourage the listener to volunteer to be a spokes person for mediation of conflict among people about animals at bar association and professional meetings, animal groups and service providers so they are aware of the process to alleviate these conflicts.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Identifying a conflict between people about animals appropriate for mediation.
  2. Educating the public on the potential for mediation to provide a lasting resolution for their conflicts.
  3. Examples of conflicts that benefit from the application of mediation.
  4. How community mediation can expand their practice by outreach to the animal law and animal owning community as an adjunct to civil or criminal process.
Presenters' Bios: Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton is a solo practitioner in Westchester County New York. Her practice focus is on mediation of conflicts among people about animals. It is all she does. She handles conflicts involving animals in divorce neighbor, commercial, criminal and med-mal actions. Debra was a former litigator who decided to help people resolve their conflicts involving pets in less time for less and money while retaining their relationships with neighbors, vets and pet caregivers.

NAFCM On Demand

Put Community First in Your Mediation Center

Date & Time: February 9, 2012; 3:30 - 5:00 pm EST
Presenters: Elaine Dickhoner
Short Description: Whether you are starting a new community mediation center, or growing an existing one--it's important to put the COMMUNITY in your program! We will explore the various stakeholder relationships, and their involvement in your community relations and program efforts. We will also look at collaborative efforts with other community organizations, and how you can effectively work together--a financial as well as marketing plus in these days of funding cuts and challenges. And we will discuss practical ideas for center promotion and marketing.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Understand the importance of including all constituent groups in the development and marketing of the mediation center; and will leave with several ideas that they can immediately implement.
  2. Receive a clear and concise list for providing effective board member recruitment, retention and training, as well as ideas for selecting and working with advisory groups.
  3. Will gain new ideas for promotional efforts that can be implemented in their community, at little or no cost, to ""spread the word"" about mediation in general, and about their center specifically.
  4. Will see and hear, through video excerpts, from center board and staff members about stakeholder problems and successes.
  5. Will explore strategies for retaining enthusiastic board and advisory members---and working together to grow the center with the involvement of all stakeholder groups.
  6. Will look at ideas for collaborating with other community organizations, and how to take a leadership role in the process--joining together for marketing, programming, training and fund-raising efforts.
Presenters' Bios: Elaine has over twenty years experience in the non-profit sector, working with boards, marketing, volunteers and fund-raising. She has led several collaborative community efforts in San Jose, CA and in Cincinnati, OH---bringing organizations together to address a problem or an opportunity, as a unified group. She is currently a board member of NAFCM, and a full-time mediator in Cincinnati, OH. Her company, The Conflict Management Group, provides mediation, arbitration and training services in the Midwest. 

Jan Holt is the marketing director for a publishing company in Cincinnati, OH. She is also a dedicated and experienced volunteer and board member.

Recording & Materials:
Webinar Slides & Webinar Handout. (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)

Celebrating Avoidance? Studying the Lasting Effects of Community Mediation

Date & Time: February 16, 2012; 3:30 - 4:30 pm EST
Presenters: Heather Pincock, Ph.D. & Peter Bruer
Short Description: Is community mediation "transformative" for participants? What goals do community mediation staff and volunteers have concerning the lasting effects of the process on parties? Do mediation participants experience these lasting effects?

In this Webinar, I will summarize research conducted at two community mediation organizations in Toronto that focused on these questions. Data collected includes focus group and individual interviews with staff and volunteers as well as in depth interviews with mediation participants conducted 3-12 months following their mediation.

I find that "peaceful avoidance" between parties is far more likely than other kinds of relationship outcomes. I will suggest that rather than see "peaceful avoidance" as a second best result, community mediation advocates consider reformulating their goals to incorporate the benefits of avoidance.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Describe the existing research about community mediation's effects and the gaps that exist
  2. Describe the approach and structure of community mediation organizations in Toronto
  3. Describe examples of the lasting effect of community mediation on participants, as presented in their own words
  4. Engage the argument that avoidance should be viewed as a successful outcome of community mediation.
Presenters' Bios: Heather Pincock is Assistant Professor of Conflict Management at Kennesaw State University. She completed her PhD in political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. While at Maxwell, Heather was an associate of the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration and Coordinator of PARCC's Conflict Management Center. In 2008-2009, Heather was a graduate research fellow at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. Heather is a mediator, facilitator, and trainer.

Peter Bruer is the Manager of Conflict Resolution Service at St. Stephen’s Community House. Peter spent the early part of his career in community advocacy work, in international development and the tenants’ movement. He was first trained as a mediator in 1992, and in 1996 he was hired by the largest community mediation service in Canada, the Conflict Resolution Service at St. Stephen’s Community House in Toronto, where he is now Manager. He has conducted dozens of community and professional mediations, designed and taught workshops, and consulted on mediation systems design for a wide range of non-profit, private sector and government clients. He has spoken at conferences in Canada, the United States, Indonesia and in Latin America, and published in a variety of journals and the media.

Recording & Materials:
Webinar Recording & Webinar Handout. (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)

Justifying Your Existing in a Government Agency: A How To Guide

Date & Time: March 8, 2012; 3:30 - 4:00 pm EDT
Presenter: Rochelle Brassard
Short Description: Many full or partially funded government-based mediation programs are feeling the threat of budget and program cuts due to the reduction of funds available at local and state levels. This webinar will give you tips and proactive steps you can take to show that mediation is not just resolving conflict, but provides a tangible savings to government and taxpayers.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Financial calculations as to program savings for government entities.
  2. Building community support and awareness so that concerned citizens are aware of your program and can mobilize to save it should that day come.
  3. The power that advocacy and involvement in community objectives other than mediation can provide.
  4. Power of the press and how to use this to your advantage.
Presenter's Bios: Rochelle Brassard has been involved in mediation since 1982. As the Director of the Citizen Dispute Settlement Program of the 12th Judicial Circuit of Florida, she was responsible for over 70 volunteers and staff members who logged approximately 1,500 mediation sessions per year. She was instrumental in initiating and developing new types of mediation that have been duplicated across the United States (Juvenile Restitution Mediation, Community Substation Mediation, and the first Peer Mediation Program in Florida.)

Making the Most of Your Data - Part I

Date & Time: April 12, 2012; 3:30 - 4:30 pm EDT
Presenter: Jennifer Shack
Short Description: This webinar will help you see your data in a new way and make your data work for you. Community mediation centers tend to collect a lot of data: intake information, mediator information, mediation outcomes, party surveys, etc. Some of this data is used for day-to-day operations, but for many centers, more can be done with the data. Proper use of data can lead to informed decisions about the structures of programs and program improvements. Just as importantly, it can provide evidence that your program is having positive impacts, which can lead funders to continue to support your program.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Know what’s important in the data their collecting
  2. Know what other data may be useful to their program
  3. Know how to act on what the data tells them to improve their programs and inform decisions
  4. Know how to communicate the data and its message to other staff, board members, funders and the public so they better understand the programs and their impacts
Presenter's Bios: Jennifer Shack is Director of Research for Resolution Systems Institute. In this role, she manages the Monitoring and Evaluation program at RSI. She is the creator of the Court Mediation Effectiveness Tracking System, in use in circuits around Illinois. She Ms. Shack also conducts evaluations of mediation programs in state and federal courts in Illinois. Currently, she leads a nationwide effort to develop model forms for monitoring and evaluating the use of mediation for civil cases in the courts.

Recording & Materials:
Webinar Recording & Webinar Handout. (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)

Case Manager: Cloud-Based Case Administration from Mediate.com


Date & Time: May 9, 2012; 12:00 - 1:00 pm EDT
Presenter: Clare Fowler
Short Description: Thank you for your interest in Case Manager. Our introductory webinar is 45 minutes in length. During the Case Manager Webinar, we will review Case Manager features and benefits, engage in a live demonstration of Case Manager and answer your questions. We are pleased to schedule a follow-up personal tour with you as desired.
Learning Objectives:
  1. Learn about Mediate.com's new Case Manager system.
  2. Review core and customizable functions and reporting options available through Case Manager.
  3. Learn about NAFCM's rationale for endorsing Case Manager, as well as special pricing available to current NAFCM Program members.
Presenter's Bios: Clare Fowler is the Managing Editor at Mediate.com. She received her Master's of Dispute Resolution from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine University School of Law. Clare also coordinated the career development program for the Straus Institute dispute resolution students. She is currently researching her doctoral dissertation on designing dispute resolution systems that will sustain small businesses. In addition to her editorial duties at Mediate.com, Clare coordinates online case management for programs, agencies, and courts.

Recording & Materials:
Register for future presentations of this webinar or request a personal demonstration.

Neutrality: Perceptions & Possibilities


Date & Time: May 10, 2012; 3:30 - 4:30 pm EDT
Presenter: Keri Szejda Fehrenbach
Short Description: As mediators, we talk about and stress the importance of neutrality (or impartiality), but how best to enact neutrality in practice is not often clear. This seminar will begin with a brief introduction on various conceptualizations of neutrality found in the mediation literature, and then we’ll discuss the findings from a recent study on mediation that obtained the perspectives of both mediators and clients. Specifically, we’ll discuss the potential utility of two methods for improving our clients’ perceptions that we are acting neutrally: symmetry (acting in behaviorally similar ways with each client) and transparency (providing an explanation for mediator behaviors).
Learning Objectives:
  1. Learn the various conceptualizations of neutrality and impartiality
  2. Learn about potential triggers that can indicate neutrality to clients
  3. Learn about potential triggers that can make it difficult for mediators to remain neutral
  4. Learn about the influence of symmetry on clients’ perceptions of neutrality
  5. Learn about the influence of transparency on clients’ perceptions of neutrality
Presenter's Bios: Keri Sezejda Fehrenbach is a PhD student at Arizona State University’s Hugh Downs School of Human Communication. She is the 2011-2012 Jeanne Lind Herberger Fellow in Communication and teaches and conducts research on conflict and health. She holds a Master’s in Speech Communication from the University of Hawaii and a Graduate Certificate in Conflict Resolution from the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace.

Recording & Materials:
Webinar Recording & Webinar Handout. (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)

Making the Most of Your Data - Part II

Date & Time: May 17, 2012; 3:30 - 4:30 pm EDT
Presenter: Jennifer Shack
Short Description: This webinar is the second in a two part series on "Making the Most of Your Data." It will help you see your data in a new way and make your data work for you. Community mediation centers tend to collect a lot of data: intake information, mediator information, mediation outcomes, party surveys, etc. Some of this data is used for day-to-day operations, but for many centers, more can be done with the data. Proper use of data can lead to informed decisions about the structures of programs and program improvements. Just as importantly, it can provide evidence that your program is having positive impacts, which can lead funders to continue to support your program.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Learn how to develop effective post-mediation surveys.
  2. Improve how outcomes are reported.
Presenter's Bios: Jennifer Shack is Director of Research for Resolution Systems Institute. In this role, she manages the Monitoring and Evaluation program at RSI. She is the creator of the Court Mediation Effectiveness Tracking System, in use in circuits around Illinois. She Ms. Shack also conducts evaluations of mediation programs in state and federal courts in Illinois. Currently, she leads a nationwide effort to develop model forms for monitoring and evaluating the use of mediation for civil cases in the courts.

Recording & Materials:
Webinar Recording & Webinar Handout. (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)

The State of Community Mediation

Date & Time: June 14, 2012; 3:30 - 5:00 pm EST
Presenters: Justin R. Corbett & Wendy E.H. Corbett
Short Description: Community mediation is a diverse network of programs helping address all manner of conflicts within their local communities. Comprised of 400 local programs, 1,300 professional staff members, 25,000 volunteer mediators, and serving nearly one million citizens each year, the community mediation network is a vast, active component of the ADR landscape. This session will examine some of the key findings from NAFCM’s recent comprehensive survey of community mediation. Participants will learn about the breadth of services (30+) and mediation contexts (100+) offered through local programs; the major and emerging trends; and the challenges confronting its continued growth and embedded sustainability.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Participants will learn the latest updates from around the community mediation practice area.
  2. Participants will better appreciate the diverse services, conflict contexts, and varied impact made possible through community mediation programs.
  3. Participants will further enrich our understanding of the field by sharing their own experiences from and expectations for the community mediation field.
Presenters' Bios: Justin R. Corbett is the former Executive Director of the National Association For Community Mediation (NAFCM), and former Chair of the ACR Community Section. He has enjoyed an eclectic personal practice as a first-profession mediator, community center founder and director, volunteer mediator, contractor, trainer, associate professor, and author. His current focus is as a full-time advocate for community-level conflict-assistive services and practitioners. Through his constant connection with community mediators, program staff members, and key contributors working around the globe, he enjoys an exciting, dynamic view of the latest developments and emerging trends which serve our clients, inform our practice, and shape our field.

Wendy E. H. Corbett began her love of conflict resolution at the age of 9, when she was selected to serve as a Conflict Manager in her elementary school. Since, she has volunteered with five community mediation programs and four university conflict resolution initiatives from coast-to-coast, and has completed numerous mediation certification programs, including Virginia State Supreme Court training in both community and family mediation and small claims mediation training through Arizona State University College of Law.

Wendy is currently Arizona based, serving as a conflict resolution consultant with Advancing Dispute Resolution and as the Program Director of Solve-It! Community Mediation Service, both located in Mesa. She additionally serves as a Faculty Associate in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University, where she is also pursuing a Ph.D. in Justice & Social Inquiry. Since 2003, Wendy has trained over 2,800 Arizona residents in mediation skills through workshops, seminars, peer mediation modules and 40-hour courses. She is active in several professional associations, including the National Association for Community Mediation, where she formerly served as Co-Chair of the Board of Directors and currently serves as a contributing researcher.

Recording & Materials:
Webinar Recording. (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)

Taking Your Mediation Center to the Next Level of Growth

Date & Time: June 28, 2012; 3:30 - 5:00 pm EDT
Presenter: Karmit Bulman
Short Description: Gather up your board members, key staff and other volunteers and explore whether you are ready to move your mediation center to a place of sustained growth and greater community impact. This 90 minute webinar will help you create a work plan geared to mobilizing Staff and Board to do the following: (1) Pick an individual donor fundraising plan and plan steps necessary to be successful; (2) Create a team to work on individual donor fundraising; (3) Stepping up your outreach and visibility efforts. This Webinar will also cover other growth strategies including: (1) Garnering increased fee for service revenue; (2) Marketing your program to hospitals, corporations and other non-profits; (3) Grant writing and Government contracts.
Presenter's Bio: Karmit is currently the Executive Director of the Conflict Resolution Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is an attorney, qualified neutral under Rule 114, and has been the director of non-profit organizations for 26 years. She was a managing attorney for legal services and served as executive director for the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women, Avenues for Homeless Youth and Temple Israel. Ms Bulman is currently the executive director of the Conflict Resolution Center (CRC) and is responsible for financial management, program development, public and community relations, fund raising and oversight of CRC operations. CRC is a community-based, non-profit organization formed in 1981 for the purpose of strengthening communities by teaching and providing mediation and conflict resolution service

Recording & Materials:
Webinar Recording & Webinar Handout. (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)

Accommodating Mental Illness in Mediation

Date & Time: October 11, 2012; 3:30 - 4:30 pm EST
Presenter: Dan Berstein
Short Description: Did you know that about half of us will experience a mental health problem, and 1 in 4 have a diagnosable mental illness each year? Whether you realize it or not, some of your clients have mental illnesses. As someone with bipolar disorder, I became a mediator in the hopes of helping people with mental health issues have more productive conversations. This webinar aims to provide a basic education and de-stigmatization of mental illness. Its main focus is on helping you think about ways to communicate and adjust the mediation process to accommodate a fuller spectrum of mental health.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Learn about the prevalence and culture of mental illness.
  2. Learn communication skills applicable to individuals with mental health needs as well as the general population.
  3. Learn ways the mediation process can accommodate cases related to mental health issues.
  4. Decrease stigma toward clients and mediators who may have mental health problems.
Presenter's Bio: As a speaker for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Dan reaches audiences including attorneys, safety professionals, counselors, students, family members, and mental health consumers. He is the speaker for NAMI Queens/Nassau’s “Let’s Talk Mental Illness” program, hosting school assemblies about mental illness and mental health. Dan is also a support group facilitator and operations committee member for the Mood Disorder Support Group of New York City (MDSG), where he facilitates groups of mental health consumers as well as family and friend groups.

Trained as a mediator by the New York Peace Institute (NYPI), Dan volunteers for their community mediation and conflict coaching programs. Dan presented an "Opportunities for Mediation in Mental Illness" workshop at the ACR-GNY Conference in June, and a "Mediation When Mental Illness is a Factor" Roundtable Breakfast in August. He has recently founded MH Mediate, a community of stakeholders interested in making mediation accessible to a fuller spectrum of mental health.
 
Recording & Materials:
Webinar Slides, Webinar Handout #1, & Webinar Handout #2 (NY). (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)

Enhancing Mediation Skills through Online Simulations

Date & Time: October 18, 2012; 3:30 - 4:15 pm EST
Presenter: Giuseppe Leone
Short Description: This webinar is about Virtual Mediation Lab, a pilot project sponsored by the ACR Hawaii Chapter. Launched in November 2011, its goal was to show how mediators around the world can practice and improve their mediation skills by participating – with other mediators – in online mediation simulations with Skype. The pilot phase of VML ended successfully on June 2, 2012, after 50 simulations run with 62 mediators from 22 countries.

During this webinar, VML founder and project manager Giuseppe Leone will present the results of the pilot project, as well as what it takes to set-up, run, and manage a training project like VML.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Share the results of Virtual Mediation Lab, a pilot project sponsored by the Association for Conflict Resolution Hawaii Chapter. The goal of that project was to show how mediators around the world can practice and improve their mediation skills by participating - with other mediators - in online mediation simulations with Skype. The pilot phase of VML ended on June 2, 2012 after 50 online mediation simulations run with 62 mediators from 22 countries.
  2. Review the feedback and comments received by the mediators who participated in VML – e.g. what they liked the most; their experience with other mediators from different states or countries; their experience with Skype; which additional features they suggested - for example, co-mediation, and video sharing.
  3. Discuss what it takes to set-up, run and manage a mediation training project like Virtual Mediation Lab.
Presenter's Bio: Giuseppe is the founder and project manager of Virtual Mediation Lab.

Mediator in Hawaii since 1997. Past president of the Association for Conflict Resolution – Hawaii Chapter. Founder of Virtual Mediation Lab, Giuseppe practices and teaches mediation. Certified Mediator for the United States Postal Service to resolve workplace conflicts. Mediator for Hawaii District Courts, to resolve small claims, regular claims (landlord-tenant, consumer/merchant) and TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) cases.

Volunteer mediator for the Mediation Center of the Pacific.
In 2011, Giuseppe received the Mediation Center of the Pacific “Special Mediator” Award for his commitment and dedication to community mediation and willingness to go “above and beyond” to support the MCP mission of providing high quality mediation and dispute resolution services.
 
Recording & Materials:
Webinar Recording & Webinar Handout. (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)

Understanding Mediation Program Influences using TIMS

Date & Time: November 8, 2012; 3:30 - 4:15 pm EST
Presenter: Dr. Rebecca Storrow
Short Description: The Theoretical Integrative Model of Systems (TIMS) is the result of a doctoral study of family mediators in the State of Florida. Research examined the language and mental models of practicing mediators, identifying some interesting internal and external influences that can exist in an organized system of delivery. Results identified concepts such as “otherness”, mediator as “expert”, and the prevalence of “common sense practice.” As expanded technology and socioeconomic challenges increasingly cause community mediation, government and court ADR programs, and commercial mediation to collaborate, it is timely to examine the opportunities and dangers in the layers of influence on mediation as a systematic solution to disputes.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Learn about a new model of how multiple levels of internal and external influence determine mediation delivery, mediator style, and practice.
  2. Explore some of the risks, benefits, and challenges of mediation's lack of national formalized structure.
  3. Identify how language, fields of professional relationships, market resources, and power centers may have contributed to mediation practice as we know it in the United States.
Presenter's Bio: Dr. Rebecca Storrow is a vice president with the American Arbitration Association (AAA), directing their foreclosure mediation program in Florida and providing mediation training through AAA University. Previously, she managed ADR programs in the Florida Court, and founded a community mediation program in South Florida. Dr. Storrow holds certification in family, dependency, county, and circuit civil mediation through the Supreme Court of Florida. She is a certified Restorative Justice Trainer through the University of Minnesota, and practices a variety of indigenous forms of conflict resolution including Ho’oponopono. Dr. Storrow’s research used metaphorical analysis to explore the practice styles of Florida family mediators.
 
Recording & Materials:
Webinar Recording & Webinar Handout. (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)

Offering Elder Mediation Services to Your Community

Date & Time: November 15, 2012; 3:30 - 4:30 pm EST
Presenters: Crystal Thorpe
Short Description: As Baby Boomers and their parents age, more families are facing difficult decisions about elder care, living situations, family homes, and personal property. These decisions can be emotional and challenging even when everyone is “on the same page,” and they become rapidly more complex when there is disagreement in the ranks. By offering Elder and Adult Family Mediation in your community, you can serve a growing need.  

But Elder Mediation is not your typical two-party process. Challenges abound including: determining who needs to be at the table; issues of capacity; multiple issues; multiple parties; geographically dispersed families; and involvement of other professionals; to name just a few. Learn some of the challenges as well as the opportunities, and consider the skill sets you’ll need among your mediators to offer this increasingly sought-after service.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Learn about the growing need for Elder / Adult Family Mediation in our communities.
  2. Hear about the types of cases that come to Elder / Adult Family Mediation.
  3. Identify the skills sets needed for Elder Mediation panel members.
  4. Understand some of the challenges to bringing parties to the table.
  5. Consider partnerships with other community service providers.
Presenter's Bio: Crystal Thorpe is a mediator, trainer, and founding partner of Elder Decisions®, a division of Agreement Resources, LLC. She mediates disputes among adult family members about eldercare issues, communication, finances, roles and responsibilities, and trust and estate issues, and she trains mediators from around the world in the growing field of Elder (Adult Family) Mediation. 

Crystal serves on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation (MCFM), and has presented seminars and workshops for the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School (PON), the Northeast Human Resources Association (NEHRA), and the New England Chapter of the Association for Conflict Resolution (NE-ACR), among others. She is the co-author, with Rikk Larsen, of ""Elder Mediation: Optimizing Major Family Transitions"" for Marquette Elder's Advisor Law Journal. She was the guest expert for The Washington Post online discussion “Family Mediation for Elderly Care” and has been featured in other national press. She and her colleagues co-authored the book Mom Always Liked You Best: A Guide for Resolving Family Feuds, Inheritance Battles & Eldercare Crises.
 
Recording & Materials:
Webinar Recording & Webinar Handout. (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)

Adopting and Implementing the New Peer Mediators Curriculum 

Date & Time: January 17, 2013; 3:30 - 4:30 pm EST
Presenters: Charles Chang & Wendy E. H. Corbett
Short Description: Join us as we introduce you to Peer Mediators: A Complete School Curriculum (Grades 6-8)! Peer Mediators is a valuable, extensive, and free collection of peer mediation training tools and resources. It builds upon training objectives from over a dozen peer mediation curricula nationwide and draws from various standards of training and best practices guidelines, establishing a thorough, yet approachable training outline. The Curriculum includes both well-established peer mediation training activities and innovative new ones to reinforce each learning objective. The complete Curriculum package contains: (1) a program implementation guide, (2) an interactive online trainer’s course (for fee), (3) a helpful training DVD, (4) a thorough trainer’s manual, (5) a student workbook containing over 100 skill-building activities, and (6) PeerMediators.org that will host a growing list of supplemental resources. This new Curriculum represents the collected hours, expertise, and efforts of dozens of peer mediation trainers, practitioners, and researchers throughout the field. It brings together for the first time an accessible and comprehensive peer mediation training curriculum that can be adopted and customized in nearly any school environment.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Learn about the various components of the Peer Mediators Curriculum. 
  2. Discover how local programs can partner with area schools to adopt and administer Peer Mediators.   
  3. Identify ways local programs can contribute to the Curriculum's growing resource clearinghouse.
  4. Begin networking with collaborators and area administrators of Peer Mediators.
Presenters' Bios: Charles is the Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center. He serves as a key convenor of and administrator for the Peer Mediators project.

Wendy E. H. Corbett is the editor of the Peer Mediators curriculum. She has been involved in the field of mediation since being trained as a peer mediator at the age of nine. She currently serves as a conflict resolution consultant with Advancing Dispute Resolution and as the Program Director of Solve-It! Community Mediation Service, both located in Mesa, Arizona. She additionally serves as a Faculty Associate in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University, where she is also pursuing a Ph.D. in Justice & Social Inquiry. Since 2003, Wendy has trained over 2,800 Arizona residents in mediation skills through workshops, seminars, peer mediation modules and 40-hour courses. She is active in several professional associations, including the National Association for Community Mediation, where she formerly served as Co-Chair of the Board of Directors (2008-2010) and currently serves as a contributing researcher. Learn more and connect with Wendy.
Recording & Materials: Webinar Recording & Webinar Handout. (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)

Grow Your Community Mediation 'Brand' through Fresh, Relevant Online Content

Date & Time: January 23, 2013; 1:00 - 2:00 pm EST
Presenter: Ben Ziegler
Short Description: As a community mediation resource, you probably have many success stories, and valuable experience, to share. Become more valuable in your community through creation of fresh (regular), relevant online content. It is a great way to improve your image, increase morale, reward stakeholders, gain market share, and offer superior service.

This webinar will provide you a roadmap for creating, sharing, and working with, online content in ways that nurture your community mediation “brand”. Best practices, innovative examples, and success stories will be shared, from the broader community mediation field, and beyond.

You’ll leave this webinar inspired to make the most of what virtual collaboration and innovation can offer.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Create online content that is of value to your stakeholders.
  2. Share your online content in ways that enhance stakeholder relationships.
  3. Apply your online content and relationships for local community innovation and benefit.
Recording & Materials: Webinar Recording & Webinar Handout. (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)

Overcoming Barriers to Mediation

Date & Time: January 24, 2013; 1:00 - 2:30 pm EST
Presenter: Professor Elizabeth Stokoe
Short Description: As a social psychologist, Professor Stokoe has studied neighbour relationships and disputes, including research about mediation based on audio-recordings of both intake calls (between members of the public, before they are ‘clients’, and call-takers) as well as recordings of individual and joint mediation meetings themselves. Building on her research findings, Professor Stokoe has developed ‘CARM’ workshops for mediators that are based on the real time, anonymized recordings.

‘CARM’ stands for the ‘Conversation Analytic Role-play Method.’ It is an approach based on evidence about what sorts of problems and roadblocks can occur in conversation, as well as the techniques and strategies that best resolve these problems. It involves small-group discussion prompted by recordings, and contrasts directly with traditional forms of training that are based on role-play methods. In CARM workshops, participants get to see real mediators doing their work, and reflect on patterns Professor Stokoe has identified that demonstrate actual (good and bad) practice. Good and bad practice does not always look like what we might expect!

Learning Objectives:
  1. Understand the status of mediation as an institution, and the problems faced by callers who make contact for the first time;
  2. Understand what constitutes the best way to explain the mediation process, without putting potential clients off;
  3. Understanding the best way to make offers of mediation to clients, in ways that make them more likely to say ‘yes’;
  4. Understand the difference between alignment and affiliation in mediators’ responses to clients’ explanations of their dispute;
  5. Understand the best way to explain impartiality to clients, and understand clients’ reasons for resisting the mediation process; and
  6. Understand in technical terms what silence does in interaction.
Presenter's Bio: Elizabeth Stokoe is Professor of Social Interaction in the Department of Social Sciences at Loughborough University, UK. She has researched community mediation since 1997, and has developed a new approach to mediator training based on her research findings. 

With UK government research council funding, she has run over 70 workshops at community mediation services across the UK, Ireland and in the USA, including at the US Superior Court’s alternative dispute resolution service. She has run CARM events at mediation conferences, organized the first national mediators’ event at Loughborough University in June 2012, and started a discussion list. She was invited recently to join the Board of the College of Mediators and her workshops are accredited by this body.

 

Recording & Materials:

 

Webinar Recording & Webinar Handout. (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)

 

The NAFCM Clearinghouse: An Introduction & Overview

Presenter: Justin R. Corbett 
Short Description: Imagine being able to immediately access every substantive community mediation resource ever produced. That is the ambitious goal of the NAFCM Clearinghouse, a growing collection of the field’s physical, digital, and intellectual assets. Join us as we preview the Clearinghouse, its development, purpose, key Collections, potential uses, and expanding impact. Learn how to connect your program to this crowd-sourced compendium and how it’s evolving role will shape the whole of community mediation, including your local center! (The NAFCM Clearinghouse is exclusively accessible to current NAFCM Program Members.)

Learning Objectives:
  1. Learn about and preview the many aspects of the NAFCM Clearinghouse.
  2. Gain familiarity with the key collaborative features the Clearinghouse platform.
  3. Contribute to the future development of the Clearinghouse.
Presenter's Bio: Justin R. Corbett is the former Executive Director of the National Association For Community Mediation (NAFCM), and former Chair of the ACR Community Section. He has enjoyed an eclectic personal practice as a first-profession mediator, community center founder and director, volunteer mediator, contractor, trainer, associate professor, and author. His current focus is as a full-time advocate for community-level conflict-assistive services and practitioners. Through his constant connection with community mediators, program staff members, and key contributors working around the globe, he enjoys an exciting, dynamic view of the latest developments and emerging trends which serve our clients, inform our practice, and shape our field.

 Recording & Materials:

 Webinar Recording & Webinar Handout.

Nipped in the Bud, Not in the Butt: Introducing ADR to Animal Conflicts

Date & Time: January 31, 2013; 3:30 - 4:15 pm EST
Presenter: Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton
Short Description: In this new world, where pets are increasingly important to their people, many people and their pets are involved in conflicts due to breed specific ordinances, divorce settlements, commercial and contract disputes between service providers. This webinar will enable mediators to recognize the value in creating a space for people in conflict over an animal to resolve that conflict using mediation. They will be able to have the difficult emotional conversation they are currently not able to have when involved in litigation.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Introduce to the Community Mediation community the use of mediation when people are in conflict over an animal-Neighbor disputes, divorce, dog-bites, landlord/tenant, civil, commercial and contract disputes.
Presenter's Bio: Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton- Esq. is the Principal at Hamilton Law and Mediation. She focuses on mediating conflicts between people over animals in divorce, neighbor disputes, contract and commercial disputes. Ms. Hamilton was a litigator who helped people resolve their conflicts involving animals via the courts until she realized mediation and collaborative practice gave the parties an ability to address their emotional piece of the conflict in a way more reflective of the situation and more often led to resolution.
Recording & Materials: Webinar Recording  & Webinar Handout. (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)

 

Case Manager: Cloud-Based Case Administration from Mediate.com


Date & Time: February 6, 2013; 12:00 - 1:00 pm EDT
Presenter: Clare Fowler
Short Description: This webinar is for centers seeking information about moving their practice online. There are three segments of this webinar, including: (1) reviewing general guidelines for any program storing information online; (2) information about the Mediate.com Caseload Manger; and (3) Q&A time for programs to ask specific questions about which case management program might be right for them.
Learning Objectives:
  1. Learn about Mediate.com's new Case Manager system.
  2. Review core and customizable functions and reporting options available through Case Manager.
  3. Learn about NAFCM's rationale for endorsing Case Manager, as well as special pricing available to current NAFCM Program members.
Presenter's Bios: Clare Fowler is the Managing Editor at Mediate.com. She received her Master's of Dispute Resolution from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine University School of Law. Clare also coordinated the career development program for the Straus Institute dispute resolution students. She is currently researching her doctoral dissertation on designing dispute resolution systems that will sustain small businesses. In addition to her editorial duties at Mediate.com, Clare coordinates online case management for programs, agencies, and courts.

 

Mediating Mental Health Conflicts in the Family 

Date & Time:Thursday, May 2, 2013, from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm EDT.

Presenter:Dan Berstein

Short Description:One in four Americans have a mental health problem each year. In this webinar, you'll experience personal stories to develop cultural sensitivity toward mental illness. After hearing about different perspectives in mental health, we will explore what kinds of family conflicts occur and how recovery action plans can serve as templates for mediation agreements. We will also discuss MH Mediate's work developing these types of cases.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Develop cultural sensitivity toward mental illness and an appreciation of different mental health perspectives.
  2. Understand different family mental health conflicts and the types of agreements that can be helpful.
  3. Discover how to build a mediation practice in family mental health conflicts.
Presenter's Bio:Dan Berstein is a mediator, support group facilitator, and speaker living with bipolar disorder. He founded MH Mediate to expand the role of mediation in mental health contexts and he has led workshops about mental illness and mediation in CA, NY, RI, MA , CT, and NJ with upcoming workshops in PA and MN. He collaborates with the CUNY Dispute Resolution Center to develop resources and processes that help mediators take family cases involving disclosed mental illness. Dan is a Mediator Advisory Board member at the New York Peace Institute where he does community, criminal, and school mediations and conflict coaching. He sits on the operations committee for the Mood Disorder Support Group of New York City, speaks for multiple National Alliance on Mental Illness chapters, and is a Mental Health First Aid Instructor with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

 

Recording & Materials:

 

Webinar Recording. (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)

 

Thirteen Ways of Looking at Neutrality: A Poetic Exploration for Community Mediation

Date & Time:Wednesday, May 8, 2013, from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm EDT.

Presenter:Daniel Kos

Short Description:Drawing on eclectic perspectives including the latest neuroscience research, insights from world religions, and mediation theory, this thought-provoking training will provide trainees an opportunity to explore many facets of neutrality. Designed for mediators of all orientations, participants attending this training can expect to delve deeply into their personal beliefs about neutrality and learn approaches for maintaining neutrality in challenging situations.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Participants will be exposed to, and learn about, a wide range of conceptualizations of neutrality.
  2. Participants will gain greater awareness of their own mediation practice by analyzing their practice through the lens of various conceptualizations of neutrality.
  3. Participants will learn several strategies for regaining and maintaining neutrality during a mediation session.
Presenter's Bio:Daniel Kos works for NYS Unified Court System, where he helps oversee a network of community mediation centers serving all 62 counties of New York. Each year this network, the largest in the country, provides services in nearly 30,000 cases. As part of overseeing the network, Dan partners with nonprofit agencies in program development, organizational development capacity building, and mediation quality assurance. He also is the statewide ADR training coordinator and oversees the NYS Agricultural Mediation Program. Dan regularly delivers mediation, facilitation, and negotiation training in New York and presents at local and national conferences. He currently advances the use of community mediation nationally by serving on the board of the National Association for Community Mediation.

 

Recording & Materials:

 

Webinar Recording. (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)

 

A Natural Partnership: Community Colleges and Community Mediation


Date & Time:Thursday, May 9, 2013, from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm EDT.

Presenters:David J. Smith & Kathy Rockefeller

Short Description:Community mediation and community colleges - both focusing on community wellness - often do not recognize their commonalities. By working together both can advance their important missions of empowering local communities. For instance, a natural venue for community mediation activities are in community colleges. Likewise community colleges are ideal places to promote community mediation values, encourage use of services, and provide training. This webinar will share examples of ways in which important collaboration can take place. Examples will be drawn from the book "Peacebuilding in Community Colleges" to be published by USIP Press in May 2013.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Come to understand the important role that community colleges play in supporting community wellness and building capacity for community peacebuilding;
  2. Examine models for community college and community mediation collaboration; and
  3. Learn strategies for community mediation professionals to engage with community colleges.
Presenters' Bios:
David J . Smith is the editor of "Peacebuilding in Community Colleges." He has worked in the field for nearly 25 years as a family mediator, community mediator, community college professor, and scholar. He helped establish the Harford County (Md) Community Mediation Program and currently chairs the Rockville (Md) Human Rights Commission which oversees Rockville's community mediation program. He has an MS for the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University (where he teaches) and a JD for the University of Baltimore.

Kathy Rockefeller is the director of Howard Community College's community mediation program and associate' s degree program.

 

Recording & Materials:

 

Webinar Recording  & Webinar Handout. (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)


Transparent Mediation: Adding Training Elements to Mediation Sessions

Date & Time:Thursday, May 16, 2013, from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm EDT.

Presenter:Alan E. Gross

Short Description:Community mediation centers often offer trainings to individuals and groups who wish to improve management of conflict and to convert disputes into opportunities for change. However community mediators rarely share the techniques and strategies that they advocate in trainings with parties during mediation sessions. In this session, we will consider how and when mediators can reveal and demystify concepts and tools in a manner that can empower participants to use them not only for work on the instant dispute that brought them to the table, but also to take away communication skills that they have learned for application in other settings.

We will describe some examples of how we have shared mediation principles and strategies with parties in conflict. Some of the tools that we have demonstrated to participants include active listening especially reflection, agenda building, brainstorming, reactive devaluation to proposals, and delaying reactions to other parties. 

Whether we disclose mediation tactics and principles via joint/individual pre-session trainings and/or via interventions during the actual joint mediation sessions, this presentation explores the potential salutary effects of “transparent mediation” on client satisfaction, effective communication, and increased inter-client understanding. Read more here.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Raising mediator awareness for possibilities to teach parties general communication skills during mediation sessions.
  2. Evaluating plusses and minuses of calling attention to, and practicing mediation strategies during mediation of a dispute.
  3. Suggesting to community mediation centers that it is possible and sometimes beneficial for clients to introduce training elements into mediation sessions.
Presenter's Bio:Alan Gross has mediated, arbitrated and trained for more than 25 years at many venues in New York City where he has served as the Interim Senior Director, Training Coordinator, and 9/11 Family Mediation Coordinator for the Safe Horizon Mediation Program now known as the New York Peace Institute. Gross was formerly Psychology Professor and Department Chair at the University of Maryland, a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, and the author and co-author of a textbook and more than 50 chapters and papers related to conflict resolution and social psychology. He is recipient of the 2006 National Volunteers for Victims award, the 2011 NYC ACR ADR achievement award, and is a founding member of Mediators Beyond Borders.
 
 
Recording & Materials:Webinar Recording  & Webinar Handout. (Login Required using Member's @CommunityMediator.org Account)