In this edition of the EPP Section Newsletter … 

• Trends: Changing of the Guard
  The founders of many of the larger public policy dispute resolution organizations are looking to pass the baton to the next generation.   While these organizations ponder the “how” of semi-retiring their founders (can anyone in this field truly retire?), they face the challenge of redefining conflict resolution in a new era.
  
  Dr. Lawrence Susskind, the founder of the Consensus Building Institute, is a man who has lot of time on his hands – time he has not had for twelve years.  This is because he and the CBI Board of Directors have successfully transitioned the management functions of the organization from Larry to the second generation of leadership at the Institute. 
  
  

• Resources Review: “blink” by Malcolm Gladwell

• Carie Fox finds Malcolm Gladwell’s bestseller, “blink,” packed with useful information for mediators.  In an artful blend of research results, anecdotes, and personal stories, Gladwell presents ideas that could inform our theoretical approach to mediation, provoke self-assessment, and inspire new design ideas.  At first blush, the book appears to be about instantaneous thinking.  Underneath that, it is really about the ‘adaptive unconscious’—what we once may have called intuition.
  
  
• In Memory: Greg Sobel
  Greg Sobel was a much loved and highly respected leader in the field of environmental mediation.  His intelligence, warmth, and humor sustained many of us, both professionally and personally.  He gave of himself as a mentor to many people throughout his career.  Greg had boundless energy for our professional community, and was a leader in the Environmental and Public Policy (EPP) Section of ACR.  He worked tirelessly to develop the EPP Leadership Council and to build a long-term plan for Section conferences.

• Professional Development: ACR-EPP Committee Studies Advanced Practitioner Designation
  An Environmental and Public Policy Section committee has been exploring the question of establishing an Advanced Practitioner (AP) designation for the Section’s members, and is now ready to begin the next phase of the exploration.
  The ACR Board had asked each Section to decide if they want to adopt an AP designation for its members, and EPP members have indicated a wish to further explore the feasibility and desirability of an AP designation.
  
  
•  EPP News: Section Takes On Big Topics in Tucson
  EPP members attending the U.S. Institute for Conflict Resolution’s 4^th National Conference in May had a chance to kick around a lot of important issues that will be high on the Section’s agenda for the coming year: Strategic Directions, Diversity Mentoring, and the ACR/EPP relationship.
  
  Much of the official action and reports occurred during a packed lunchtime meeting on May 25, whereas most of the discussion about EPP’s relationship with its parent, the Association for Conflict Resolution, took place in the hallways and conference rooms of the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador. 
  
  
• Poetry Corner: Thoughts, by Heraclitus
  Awake we share a common world. . .  
  
  
• + / Δ
  What do you like about this issue of the newsletter, or the EPP Newsletter in general?
  
  What would you change about this issue of the newsletter, or the EPP Newsletter in general? Send your comments to the EPP Newsletter Editor, Ed Moreno, edmoreno@newmexico.com

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April 2005 Newsletter