Collaborators

Peer Mediators - A Complete School Curriculum has been developed from the combined expertise of conflict engagement and peer mediation experts from throughout the field and around the world. We invite you to learn more about the project's leadership, contributors, and supporters. As an ongoing project, we also invite you to contribute your own wisdom and share materials with Peer Mediators' growing directory of supplementary resources by contacting us directly.

PROJECT LEADERSHIP

Charles Chang is the Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center (APADRC). He’s managed the mission and direction of the organization as it aligns its programs with the changes taking place in alternative dispute resolution and ensuring that clients who need the services the most are always able to access mediation services to resolve their conflicts. He’s worked in the community at various nonprofits for almost twenty years. As a college student, he organized Asian/Pacific Islander students in the Midwest and is the founder of the Midwest Asian American Students Union. He’s also served on various nonprofit boards including Asian Pacific Community Fund and the National Association for Community Mediation.
Wendy E. H. Corbett has been involved in the field of mediation sincebeing trained as a peer mediator at the age of nine. She currentlyserves 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 FacultyAssociate in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona StateUniversity, where she is also pursuing a Ph.D. in Justice & Social Inquiry.Since 2003, Wendy has trained over 2,800 Arizona residents inmediation skills through workshops, seminars, peer mediation modulesand 40-hour courses. She is active in several professional associations,including the National Association for Community Mediation, whereshe formerly served as Co-Chair of the Board of Directors and currentlyserves as a contributing researcher.
Justin is the Executive Director of NAFCM: the National Association for Community Mediation, where he works to connect the broad network of local dispute resolution programs, their staffs, and volunteer mediators. He previously founded and led a community mediation program serving the Indianapolis metropolitan area. While in Indiana, he further served the state ADR community by serving as the Project Manager for the Indiana Supreme Court's Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program, as well as an Associate Professor of Negotiations and ADR with Indiana University. He received graduate degrees from Pepperdine University’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Indiana University in nonprofit management, and the University of Cambridge in cross-sector partnerships. He previous leadership roles with the ACR Community Section and ABA Section of Dispute Resolution. Justin is committed to moving the field further, faster through his work with Advancing Dispute Resolution.


CURRICULUM CONTRIBUTORS & REVIEWERS

Curriculum & Materials Contributors

Asian-Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center  |  Los Angeles, CA
The Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center (APADRC) is a nonprofit organization that provides mediation and conflict resolution services to the diverse communities in the Los Angeles area, with a focus on the Asian Pacific Islander Population. It strives to improve human relations and race relations by addressing complex, cross cultural community conflicts and their root causes with community partners through education, training, and development of new models and techniques. APADRC looks toward the future by training youth in the techniques of mediation and conflict resolution, and has been the visionary leader of the Peer Mediators project.

Community Mediation, Inc.  |  Hamden, CT
Community Mediation, Inc. (CM), established in 1980, is the oldest community-based mediation program in Connecticut. It provides mediation and other conflict resolution services in the greater New Haven area and training throughout Connecticut. Staff and trained volunteers empower individuals, families, organizations and communities to resolve their own disputes. It also collaborates with a wide range of organizations. Community Mediation, Inc. provides peer mediation training and youth-based conflict management workshops for all grade levels.

Eagles Mediation & Counseling Centre  |  Singapore
EMCC is a professional setup committed towards enabling people to lead better lives through its range of services. EMCC is also active in the development of upstream initiatives towards the prevention and early detection of psycho-emotional and relational problems. This includes training, public seminars, school talks, in-company training, community outreach programmes, resource development, etc which are aimed at empowering individuals through imparting and equipping of knowledge and self-help skills to effectively manage their interpersonal relationship challenges. EMCC is a full member of the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) and an approved Institution of Public Character (IPC).

Inafa’Maolek Conciliation  |  Guam
Inafa'Maolek is Guam's only organization dedicated exclusively to peacemaking, especially dispute settlement services (such as mediation and restorative justice) and conflict resolution training for all ages. Inafa'Maolek's trainings have helped establish peer mediation programs in more than 30 public schools from elementary to high school. Specialized school programs include workshops on bullying, date rape, and hate crimes. 

National Association for Community Mediation  |  Mesa, AZ
In communities around the globe, programs and volunteers share their expertise to help others constructively engage, transform, and resolve conflict. NAFCM supports these peacemakers by aggregating their wisdom, amplifying their voice, and advancing their critical work. Membership in NAFCM connects you with supportive colleagues, provides access to helpful resources, and allows you to contribute to the development of the community mediation, peer mediation, and broader ADR field.

North Shore Community Mediation Center  |  Beverly, MA
North Shore Community Mediation Center (NSCMC), an independent non-profit, incorporated in 1994, provides alternative dispute resolution and training services to the communities of the North Shore. Volunteer mediators from NSCMC work to promote better understanding and communication by offering high quality mediation services to those in conflict.

Solve-It! Community Mediation Service  |  Mesa, AZ
Solve-It! Community Mediation Service, a popular program of The Leadership Centre, promotes awareness of productive problem-solving by providing facilitation and mediation services at the community level, in addition to educational training and outreach in conflict resolution skills. Driven by volunteerism and based upon the principles of effective communication, Solve-It! works in partnership with community organizations, municipal services, schools and the local judiciary system to promote self-determination and accountability in the conflict resolution process. Solve-It! is also proud to offer peer mediation training for K-12 schools. It provides a unique program that not only teaches youth important conflict resolution skills, but also builds and strengthens their relationships -- even through the most difficult of issues!


Curriculum Reviewers

Joe Brummer  |  Community Mediation, Inc.  |  Hamden, CT
Joe Brummer is the Associate Executive Director of Community Mediation, Inc. He has presented workshops in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Pennsylvania. He has presented at Southern Connecticut State University, the University of New Haven, Quinnipiac University, Brown University and a number of national health education conferences. He has clocked hundreds of hours at the mediation table facilitating in a wide variety of areas. Joe was trained as a mediator at the Community Mediation Center of RI and served on their Juvenile Restorative Justice Advisory Board.

Anya McDavitt  |  North Shore Community Mediation Center  |  Beverly, MA
Anya McDavitt, Director of Youth Programs for NSCMC, is a mediator and violence prevention specialist. She has worked in Higher Education for five years and 11 years in the Youth Development field focusing on service learning, civic engagement, and conflict resolution. She holds a B.A. in Applied Sociology and an M.A. in Intercultural Relations. Anya's broad range of experience has given her a firsthand perspective and insight into youth conflict and youth driven solutions.

Steffanie Medina  |  Creative Mediation  |  San Luis Obispo, CA
Steffanie  is the Director of Creative Mediation at Wilshire Community Services where she practices family mediation, teaches basic and advanced mediation courses, and manages Creative Mediation’s programs, volunteer mediators, and professional staff. She received a Bachelor's of Psychology, a Masters of Educational Counseling at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and is trained in a variety of specialized mediation areas including Elder Mediation, Juvenile Dependency Mediation, and Civil Harassment Mediation. Steffanie currently sits on the Panel of Elders for the Bakari Mentoring Program for youth offenders and is a voting member of the Student Community Liaison Committee of San Luis Obispo.

Angela Mitakidis  |  Eagles Mediation & Counseling Centre  |  Singapore
Angela has held a managerial position at the Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC), is an accredited SMC associate mediator and mediation coach, mediates at the Subordinate Courts’ Small Claims Tribunal and currently mediates and trains at EMCC in family mediation, peer mediation and conflict management . She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Law and Psychology after which she completed a Bachelor of Law at the University of South Africa in 1994. She was later admitted to the South African bar as a practicing attorney where she practiced law in matters such as family, commercial litigation and criminal law. Angela has also done volunteer work for the Singapore Law Society’s Pro Bono Office from 2007 to 2010 as well as the Singapore Chapter of the Pistorio Foundation.

Darlene Mortel  |  Asian-Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center  |  Los Angeles, CA



SUPPORTERS

JAMS Foundation
The Development of Peer Mediators: A Complete School Curriculum (Grades 6-8) has been made possible by generous support from the JAMS Foundation, a premier resource and leader in the conflict resolution field. The JAMS Foundation’s mission is to encourage the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), support education at all levels about collaborative processes for resolving differences, promote innovation in conflict resolution, and advance the settlement of conflict worldwide.