SECTION UPDATES
April 11, 2011
Improving Access to ACR's Annual Conference
Last year, the ACR Communty Section worked to make the annual conference more accessible for community mediation professionals and volunteers. This year, we are doing even more to help you get to the exciting gathering!
ACR's Annual Conference will be held in San Diego from October 12-15, 2011. (Conference details.) The Community Section has compiled an "accessibility package" including everything from rideshares for local attendees to homestays for those interested in living like a San Diegan for a few days. As new components are added, we will update this post to reflect new accessibility options.
- Home-Stays
- Stay in authentic San Diegan style at the home of one of the National Conflict Resolution Center's volunteers. We'll work to pair you with any available host free of charge!
- Ride-Sharing
- Group Password: SanDiegoorBu
- Record your interest and availability to hitch a local ride. This website will help you connect with folks seeking to do the same.
- Room-Sharing
- Interested in staying at a hotel, but want to split the cost? Please complete the following form to help match you
- Conference Scholarships
- Additional info coming soon!
- Conference Volunteering
- Additional info coming soon!
We look forward to seeing you in San Diego this October!
November 29, 2010
Teleseminar on Fund Development for Community Mediation Centers
We are pleased to thank all who participated in the Teleseminar on Fund Development for Community Mediation Centers last week. Karmit Bulman, Executive Director of the Conflict Resolution Center in Minneapolis and current NAFCM Board member, presented a broad array of materials and answered many questions about how centers can improve their financial diversity and sustainability. You can access a 75 minute recording of this teleseminar at the link below.
www.mediate.com/acrcommunity/docs/Teleseminar Recording - 2010-11-22 - Fund Development for CMCs.mp3
We look forward to your participation in future calls as the ACR Community Section and NAFCM continue to co-host a full schedule of teleseminars throughout 2011.
August 05, 2010
Community Mediation Section
Special Picks
There are many amazing sessions at the ACR Conference. Here are some which might be of particular interest to Community Mediation Folks.
PC-2 Tending the Flame: Passion, Purpose and Play for Practitioners
PC-3 Creative Response to Conflict, A model for teaching Conflict Resolution in the classroom Pre-K-8
PC-4 Harnessing Intense Conflict Energy: Honoring Diversity Instead of Judging Participants
1.2 How Do YOU Handle Conflict
1.12 Spheres of Capacity: Exploring the Concept of Capacity in Elder Mediation
1.14 Panel Presentation Identity and Conflict: Consciousness, Development and the Power of Why
2.1 12 Years of Community Conferencing in Inner-City Baltimore: Restorative Justice in Courts, Schools, and Neighborhoods
2.2 Sharing Stories for Fun and Profit
2.14 Pre-Mediation Conferences in Eldercare and Related Family Mediation: Providing a Fair and Effective Process
3.4 The Lincoln Village Neighborhood Mediation center: Bringing lasting resolutions to a culturally diverse community
3.10 What Happens After They Go Home: The Long Term Impacts of Mediation
4.3 Be Not Afraid: Technology that Connects Us, Our Clients & Contributes to our Creativity & Growth
4.8 Remodeling Family Decision Making to Address Elder Care Issues
5.6 The Implications of Prejudiced, Classism, and Sexism in Daily Conflict Resolution
5.11 Social Enterprising and Community Based Mediation Centers: Advance your Organization’s Mission and Financial Bottom Line at the Same Time
6.1 Strategies for Resolving Conflict on Boards
7.04 Firm Foundation, Powerful Reach: Leadership Development and Community Outreach Strategies
7.15 Transforming America’s Communities: Conflict Resolution, Partnerships and Peaceful Outcomes in America’s Diverse Communities
7.18 Alternative Dispute Resolution in Spanish-speaking communities (a bi-lingual workshop)
8.11 Co-mediating Parent-teen Conflict: A Cutting Edge Social Technology
And, don’t forget the ACR Community Section Lunch –
Friday, Sept. 3, 12:45-1:45
Ideas come from you, lunch is on us!
August 03, 2010
We’re Back!
In a revival year, the Community Mediation Section has conducted tele-seminars, worked to increase the number of high quality community mediation related sessions at the conference, and made the conference more accessible to community mediators through coordinating home-stays, ride-sharing, and advertising volunteer discounts and scholarships.
But there is so much more we can do….
We need your ideas and we need your help. If you'll be in Chicago for the ACR Annual Conference, come share your vision for the future of the ACR Community Section and find out about leadership positions that you could fill. Even if you don’t have ideas, come join us for lunch. We’re the coolest kids around and lunch is on us!
Friday, Sept. 3, 12:45 – 1:45
Location TBD
May 05, 2010
Join us for the ACR Community Section's exciting first 2010 teleseminar! We look forward to hearing from you!
ACR Community Section Presents
Teleseminar on
Prisoner Re-entry Mediation
May 26, 2010
12 Noon to 1:00 pm EST
Speaker: Lorig Charkoudian, Executive Director, Community Mediation Maryland
There will be time for questions and discussion following the formal presentation.
In order to ensure that there is an opportunity for all those on the call to participate, we are limiting the number of participants. Please RSVP to: justincorbett [at] gmail [dot] com. Justin will give you the phone number to call in for the seminar.
Significant research has pointed to the importance of relationships for successful prisoner re-entry and reduced recidivism. In addition to the importance of these relationships in general, family members often reluctantly open their homes to returning inmates, with no sense of how to structure the situation to address the needs of their family as well as the needs of the returning inmate. Mediation provides an opportunity to build social relationships, heal past disputes, and focus on planning for the future. In Maryland, community mediation centers provide mediation to inmates and family members in the prison before the inmate is released. Centers have provided over 200 mediations to inmates and early statistical analysis indicates that the service is a promising intervention.
This tele-seminar will provide an opportunity to hear about Maryland’s re-entry mediation program, successes, and challenges. The panel will be followed by an opportunity for participants to discuss their experiences integrating mediation into prisons and the re-entry process.
April 27, 2010
Many Paths, One Destination...indeed! The ACR 2010 Annual Conference, held September 1-4 in Chicago, Illinois, is one destination you will certainly want to make. Thankfully, the ACR Community Section has worked hard to ensure your path to the 2010 Conference is easier than ever.
In recognition of continued economic hardships, community mediation centers will have multiple opportunities to attend the 2010 Conference at reduced rates and with greater ease. Looking for alternative housing? We have some friendly roofs! Looking to share a ride? We're going your way! Looking for reduced registration fees? We have you covered! Looking for community mediation relevant programming? We have hours and hours of the latest and greatest!
Put Chicago in your sights by reviewing the links below. We can't wait to see you!
Best,
Your Section Leadership
January 13, 2010
Following up on our previous introductions in December, your Section leadership has been working hard to make the Community Section ACR’s rising star. First, we have done this by providing the initial review of over 50 community-focused conference proposals for the 2010 ACR Annual Conference! We are very pleased with the response from our call for community-focused proposals, and are confident the 2010 conference will be of great value for all those connected with community mediation centers and related programming.
Second, we have designed a membership survey that is now ready for your participation. This survey will help us get to know you better, learn how we can focus our resources to better serve you, and discover talented folks interested in contributing to the Section’s important work. We encourage you to access this brief survey here, or by pasting the following address into your web browser: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ACRCommunitySectionSurvey1.
A portion of this survey allows you to rate your interest in topics which will be chosen for an upcoming Teleseminar series for Section members. Please take a few minutes and tell us which topics are of greatest interest to you. This will ensure we offer the most valuable programming to fit your needs.
We hope your start to the New Year has been full of promise. Thank you for all your important work in our field!
Best,
Your Section Leadership
December 09, 2009
Hello and welcome to the Community Section.
The Community Section has not been very active in recent years. We were recently appointed as Tri-Chairs of the Community Section and we hope to get you all involved in re-invigorating the Section.
We are Beth Bailey-Allen, Justin R. Corbett, and Lorig Charkoudian.
Beth Bailey-Allen is the Executive Director of Community Mediation Services, Inc. - a nonprofit, volunteer-based organization that has served the Minneapolis metropolitan area since 1983. She has been involved in the ADR field for over 20 years including the last 15 in the community section. Prior Board experience includes the National Association for Community Mediation (NAFCM) and Conflict Resolution Minnesota - the Minnesota Chapter of ACR.
Justin R. Corbett founded the Indyspute Resolution and Dialogue Center in Indianapolis and served as its Executive Director for three years. At Indyspute, he worked with partner organizations to offer the city’s first nonprofit-led community mediation and peer mediation services. Now residing in Arizona, he currently serves as a NAFCM Board member, teaches negotiations and ADR, and is involved in foreclosure mediation initiatives.
Lorig Charkoudian is the Executive Director of Community Mediation Maryland. She founded Community Mediation Program in Baltimore in 1995 and served as Executive Director for 8 years. Since then she has been with Community Mediation Maryland, supporting 17 centers throughout Maryland and building partnerships with state agencies to incorporate creative uses of community mediation into their systems.
We hope that the Community Section will work closely with the National Association of Community Mediation Centers to strengthen and enhance the community mediation movement in this country.
In the next several weeks, please look for more information on:
- The ACR Conference, at which we hope to have a Community Mediation Track, and which we hope to find creative ways to make more affordable to community mediation folks.
- A Bi-Monthly Teleconference Series on topics of interest to community mediators.
- An Electronic Newsletter.
- An Opportunity to participate in promoting federal legislation which backs conflict resolution and mediation.
- Opportunities for you to get involved in the Community Section.
We look forward to working with all of you, and thank you in advance for your patience as we learn our roles as Tri-Chairs of this Section.
Your Section Leadership
