We are thrilled to announce the 2011 slate of NAFCM Board Candidates!
Earlier this year, we solicited professionals and volunteers from throughout our field to nominate themselves or a colleague to the NAFCM Board of Directors. After receiving an exceptional batch of nominations, current Board members interviewed each nominee and finalized this year's class of candidates.
Corresponding with this announcement, NAFCM is also releasing this year's election ballot. We invite everyone to read more about each of our exceptional candidate's below, including their current involvement in our field and their key goals for NAFCM should they be elected. Current Individual and Program Members of NAFCM are also encouraged to vote for your chosen candidates. But don't wait, voting closes at 11:59 pm PT on Monday, March 21st.
Read more about the candidates in their own words below. And don't forget to VOTE!
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Candidate: Samuel "Joe" Brummer
Location: New Haven, CT
Current Involvement:
A developmental process best describes my involvement in community mediation that began in 2001. After the second time of being the survivor of a violent crime, I wanted to get involved with activities that were meaningful to me and would help reduce the violence on our world. First, I completed a workshop at the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence in Providence, Rhode Island and then practiced by teaching students in Rhode Island Schools about the Six Principles and Six Steps of Nonviolence by Martin Luther King, Jr. Around that time, I learned about a process of Nonviolent Communication developed by Marshall Rosenberg, which strengthened my interest in helping people solve interpersonal conflict. Then a news report about two neighbors involved in a violent dispute that promoted my interest in mediation, so I enrolled in basic mediation training in 2006 at the Community Mediation Center of Rhode Island. I followed this with a VOMA/Restorative Justice Training in 2007, an international intensive training in nonviolent communication in 2008, and a Basic 40-hour divorce mediation training in 2010. Currently, I am the Associate Executive Director at Community Mediation, Inc. in New Haven, CT.
Personal Statement:
Becoming a mediator is part of a larger journey for me. I started as a volunteer nonviolence trainer in public schools. Then, I learned about and now practice Nonviolent Communication as well as sharing it with others. I became a volunteer mediator in Rhode Island and Connecticut, and now serve as the Associate Executive Director of a community mediation center. Joining the NAFCM Board of directors seems like the next logical step in my journey. I bring hundreds of hours of experience conducting mediations at the community level. I have experience in landlord/tenant conflicts, workplace disputes, neighborhood disputes, civil law suits, and victim offender mediations. I have also volunteered at mediation centers in two states, learned how to connect resources and people, and gained the respect of my peers. In addition, I have conducted over 75 trainings and workshops in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. I have presented to a wide range of age audiences. With this experience, I will bring a unique understanding of the demand for training in this field, such as what subjects are of interest to different audiences, fee structures acceptable to participants, and training tools that appeal to diverse audiences.
Board Goals:
- To increase community mediations by 20% by working with community mediation centers to effectively market and provide a greater understanding among the general population of the benefits of mediation and other ADR processes.
- To support existing and new community mediation centers by improving their knowledge of data collection systems, evaluation models, outcome measures, providing information about funding opportunities in their areas, and continuing to support the NAFCM listserve.
- To increase the number of training opportunities for community mediators by providing best practices in the field, sharing knowledge of community demand, and advertising training opportunities through the NAFCM.
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Location: Cincinnati, OH
Current Involvement:
I am a mediator and trainer, located in Cincinnati, OH. As I do mediations in this community and in the surrounding area, I see again and again the need for strong community-based mediation programs. A few months ago, I started contacting local mediators to begin looking at how we might develop a community mediation program to meet the needs of our tri-state area. Although we are in a formative stage at this time, the response from both mediators and from community leaders has been strong, and many creative ideas have been expressed. Before becoming a mediator, I was involved for over 20 years with non-profit organizations, particularly in the areas of marketing, fund-raising and volunteer program development. So I have seen the need for a service of this kind, first-hand, and look forward to helping provide that in the coming months.
Personal Statement:
I am interested in serving on the board because I believe in the importance of community mediation and would like to become more involved in this area. I also feel that because of my strong background in the non-profit sector, that I can bring skills in marketing, fund-raising and community program development to the table. My involvement in the mediation field includes the areas of health care, elder decisions, small business, and landlord-tenant. All of these areas are important in community mediation services, too. I started my own company, The Conflict Management Group----specializing in mediation and arbitration services, and training. We currently have 14 contract mediators and offer services to businesses (health care, small businesses, real estate) and to families (elder decisions, family law). Additionally, I am working with others in our area to develop a truancy mediation program. I believe that my experiences would fit well with the NAFCM Board, and that I could contribute a strong history of community involvement and knowledge.
Board Goals:
- Identify creative ways for communities to implement community mediation programs---particularly in economic times such as the present, new collaborative ventures need to be explored and encouraged; new models that utilize existing resources need to be developed.
- Develop marketing plan guidelines that can be used by communities as they form new community mediation programs---to achieve local buy-in and to maximize impact.
- Find financial resources that can be used by mediation centers---whether in the form of grants, sponsorships, etc. Assist centers in locating funding sources and sharing information with others.
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Candidate: Diane Featherstone
Location: Conroe, TX
Current Involvement:
I am the Executive Director for the Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County. This community center has been supporting the community for both mediations and training of mediators since 1988. Our mission is to educate and empower our community to create solutions rather than conflict. I have been active in various community programs as staff, volunteers and/or board member since 1988, and have established an excellent working relationship with many community leaders, local courts/judges, attorneys and social service agencies. We all work together to educate the community on the value of participating in mediation.
Personal Statement:
It excites me to think about adding local success strategies to such an extensive group; creating an opportunity to develop and/or strengthen the success of many other community centers. Working with a team to support like goals, visions and success is a passion I would love to share with other members of the NAFCM board. I believe every person in every community deserves to have an opportunity to participate in mediation and create unique solutions for their own personal situation; a community mediation center is the heartbeat of this opportunity.
Board Goals:
- Collect data from current community centers. This data is two-fold; first is to monitor what works to establish basic guidelines and second to share with NAFCM members.
- Play an active role in regular meetings with other centers, listen to suggestions and encourage collaboration.
- Work with the "clearinghouse" team to support community centers.
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Candidate: S. Gabrielle Frey
Location: Denver, CO
Current Involvement:
I opened Resolution Works, A Community Mediation and Restorative Justice center in July 2008, born of the ashes of two Community Mediation Centers that both closed their doors in June of 2008. By inheriting the programs, relationships with community, administrative elements, including board members, of these programs, our new agency has demonstrated the true concept of the phoenix rising. I had worked as staff for 4 years, a volunteer mediator for 6 years prior to that, at one of the agencies, and felt very invested in the concepts of community involvement with ADR and problem resolution on the individual as well as systemic levels (schools, businesses and government). I have been mediating professionally since 1990, prior to that, although unaware of the terminology around conflict resolution, I had inherently integrated ADR techniques into both my personal and professional experiences. While focusing on training and mentoring new mediators within Resolution Works, I also teach Restorative Justice; Mediation; Negotiation; Facilitation; and Law and Society to graduate and undergrad students at the University of Denver.
Personal Statement:
I want to enhance my contributions on a national level, with shared information, and gaining recognition for the work that we all do, and expanding the conversation about how the individual impacts the community and thus shifts the ability to be able to work out conflicts with positive outcomes. I’d like to see training and financing for conflict resolution become integrated at the communal, district, state and national levels. In 2006, I had the opportunity to go to Iceland to provide Restorative Justice and Mediation training to their police department (including social workers, psychologists and attorneys who work with community) and this emphasized my desire to continue working at the community level – with training and mentoring the skills become part of the culture. My commitment is to conflict resolution techniques becoming part of the general conversation that we have within our communities, businesses, families and schools. With NAFCM as a national clearinghouse of information, we continue to strengthen our resources, knowledge base and platform to integrate our message of mediation as a model for the 21st century of conflict resolution. With collaboration comes funding, research opportunities and outreach to the public to provide training and integration of conflict resolution techniques.
Board Goals:
- Expand partnerships with Comm Mediation Centers and schools (K-12; Comm College, Universities) to provide trainings, seek resources and funding for mediation programs both for community and within the institutions. Increase volunteers with mentoring of higher education students.
- Promote Conflict Resolution Day within each state – Colorado has expanded, by proclamation of the governor, to Conflict Resolution month. Focus on activities; trainings; and funds and volunteer recruitment.
- Partner w/international programs such as Mediator’s Beyond Boarders to develop and promote multi-national education/conflict resolution techniques. Build program development skills and sustainability while working with specific needs based communities.
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Candidate: John R. Gehm
Location: Sioux Falls, SD
Current Involvement:
I have been involved in various aspects of community mediation and restorative justice since the early 1980s when I was director of a victim-offender mediation program in Indiana. I also trained mediators and was involved in the restorative justice movement. I received my Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame in the early 1990s and was did academic research in the areas of outcome measurement, social change, and victim impact. After 15 years in teaching, I have gone back into the field to help develop a local program, called Restore, develop alternatives to incarceration for the criminal and juvenile justice systems using circle conferencing, victim-offender mediation, and community dispute resolution. I am also owner and principal of Restorative Practices Group LLC. Through my private practice as a consultant, I use healing and peacemaking circles for resolving conflicts within churches, as well as between families and schools in disputes regarding individual education plans for students with special needs. I also use restorative ‘re-entry’ circles for ex-offenders returning to the community.
Personal Statement:
My desire to serve on the NAFCM Board of Directors stems from my interest in becoming more involved with what has been occurring on the national scene. I believe community mediation will be deemed to be more important as states and communities look for cost-effective, humanistic alternatives to formal bureaucratic processes for dealing with conflict. I began my work in restorative practices in the early 1980’s as a mediator in one of the nation’s first victim-offender reconciliation programs. I received my Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Notre Dame and have published extensively in the field. I have added group conferencing and peacemaking circles to my areas of practice. Throughout my thirty year career, I have attempted to weave my passion for social and restorative justice, my interest in reconciliation and forgiveness, and my belief in the critical role that story and narrative plays in transforming human expression. I believe that providing people with safe spaces to engage in authentic dialogue opens the possibilities for discovering life-changing pathways to peace, justice, and a transformative resolution of conflict.
Board Goals:
- Develop self-assessment tools that organizations of any size can use to identify and articulate measurable program outcomes and test those outcomes. One of the biggest problems for mediation programs is lack of time and attention to assessing outcomes. The era of 'take our word for it,it's a good thing' is over. I don't believe in common outcome 'standards' I do believe that programs need to be able to explain what they're doing and why, and demonstrate with scientific rigor whether or not they have met those goals.
- Increase the number of dispute resolution programs by 20% on Indian reservations.
- Provide a 'toolkit' or a 'resource trunk' for new programs, such as the one I am developing here in Sioux Falls, so that forms, policies, training tools, etc. can be shared among programs--don't have to reinvent the wheel.
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Candidate: Daniel Kos
Location: Cohoes, NY
Current Involvement:
I have been involved with community mediation for nearly ten years. I was trained as a volunteer mediator in Minneapolis, mediating small claims, family, and community cases. Wanting to help the community mediation program (then known as Minneapolis Mediation Program) expand its reach, I also joined the board of directors. In 2004 I moved to New York, and since then have worked in the New York State Unified Court System’s Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution and Court Improvement Programs. This office oversees more than $8 million dollars of state funding for community mediation, supporting the more than 20 organizations which provide services in each of New York’s 62 counties. In this capacity, I have the pleasure of working as a partner with many talented community mediation professionals. In addition to learning from their various approaches and sharing best practices among the network, I provide technical assistance in fundraising and organizational development, program design and development, and mediator training and quality assurance. Additionally, I manage the certification of mediation trainers and direct the New York State Agricultural Mediation Program.
Personal Statement:
I am excited to be considered for the NAFCM board. When I started in community mediation—first as a volunteer mediator and then as a board member—I relied on NAFCM resources to help sustain and improve our community mediation organization. NAFCM connected us to new areas of programming and helped us learn from colleagues around the country. Changes in resources over the last several years have reduced NAFCM’s impact and services. Unfortunately, this comes at a time when community mediation organizations, many of whom have endured significant funding cuts, face substantial barriers to maintaining their services. It would be my intention as a Board Member to grow NAFCM’s capacity to provide member organizations with support, guidance, and programmatic opportunities. In addition to my background as a community mediator and board member, I am able to draw on my current professional role with the NY State Unified Court System. The courts provide more than $8 million dollars of funding for community mediation, supporting services in New York’s 62 counties. In my role helping to overseeing these programs, I have learned from a wide range of model community mediation programs and provide technical assistance to them in fundraising and organizational development, program design and development, and mediator training and quality assurance.
Board Goals:
- Organize quarterly webinars, conference calls, or other educational opportunities that can help community mediation professionals around the country learn more about new programming, center operations, and trends in ADR.
- Provide consultation to staff and/or board members from two or three member programs in order to assist them in achieving their organizational development and fundraising goals.
- Assist in growing a vibrant, sustainable, and effective NAFCM that can be a resource to all community mediation programs around the country.
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Candidate: James "Jim" Lingl
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
Current Involvement:
Board Member, Ventura Center for Dispute Settlement [VCDS], since 2002, Board President 2003-2007, panel member since 1992. Member SCMA since 2000, Board Member 2008. Member CDRC since 2004, Legislative Committee 2011; Arranged first Statewide conference for California Coalition for Community Mediation in 2006. Member and Director of Operations for Mediators Beyond Borders, 2007 - 2011.
Personal Statement:
In an era of diminishing governmental and judicial resources, community mediation programs are destined to play a critical role in citizen 'access to justice' concerns, particularly for senior, minority and economically disadvantaged persons. For many, the local community center may be their first introduction to mediation so it is critical that such experience is as welcoming and successful as possible. Services available from local community centers already cover a wide range of activities; one of the things I would like to see done is to catalog those services and share ideas among all of our members.
Board Goals:
- Expand visibility of community mediation;
- Enhance financial stability of community mediation centers;
- Expand range of services available through community centers.
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As you see, this year's Board candidates are full of exceptional experiences and bold visions for our field. We are looking forward to working with many of them as our new colleagues on the NAFCM Board of Directors.
We will announce the results here and on our website by Friday, March 25th. Until then, be sure to cast your vote!
In community,
Executive Director, NAFCM
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