Workplace Section ACR Workplace Section

Topic: Discussion with Lou Gieszl, Deputy Executive Director, Maryland Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office (MACRO), Using the MACRO Report to Identify Opportunities and Promote Conflict Resolution Processes in the Workplace

Join Rita Callahan, Workplace Section Advisory Board Member and ACR Advanced Practitioner in Workplace Mediation, who will facilitate the discussion with Lou Gieszl. We hope you will join the call to talk with Lou Gieszl about the implications of the 2004 MACRO Use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Maryland Business: A Benchmarking Study for Conflict Resolution Practitioners in the Workplace. Hear Lou discuss other public awareness efforts in Maryland and how these can be used in other venues to promote conflict resolution. This study is available online at www.courts.state.md.us/macro/macro-busstudy.pdf for your review before the call.

Lou Gieszl is the Deputy Executive Director of the Maryland Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office (MACRO). Since 1998, among other duties, Lou has helped orchestrate a collaborative process engaging hundreds of Marylanders in developing and implementing a consensus-based action plan to advance dispute resolution statewide. Lou graduated from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and worked for the Maryland Department of Juvenile Justice from 1994-1998.

Suzanne Ghais will overview the topic of “Extreme Facilitation,” including the concept of the facilitator as architect of a custom process and the five capacities of groups. She will also highlight some of the differences between facilitation and mediation and touch on some of the internal qualities of the extreme facilitator. This presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer period. Suzanne Ghais, M.S., is a senior facilitator, mediator and trainer at CDR Associates, Boulder, CO, where she works primarily in the organizational and environmental arenas. She is the author of Extreme Facilitation: Guiding Groups through Controversy and Complexity (Jossey-Bass/Wiley, 2005). Click here to order the book from Jossey-Bass; please note that ACR members are eligible for a 20% discount on Jossey-Bass publications. Go to the ACR website at http://www.ACRnet.org and log in to the Online Member Center for details.

Please note that the Workplace Section welcomes non-members to attend up to two conference calls before joining the Section. As always, participants are requested to submit questions before the teleconference.

Topic: The ACR Workplace Section and Crisis Intervention Section will be co-hosting the Teleseminar "Violence in the Workplace: A New Way to Recognize Potential Explosions and Effectively Intervene" on Thursday, October 13 at 1:00 p.m. EST. To participate in the discussion, email Anne-Marie Burton at sections@ACRnet.org by Monday, October 10th. You will receive the dial-in number by email to confirm your participation in the call on Wednesday, October 12. If you do not receive a confirmation, please contact Anne-Marie. Non-Section members may attend two teleseminars at no charge. If you have any questions about the content, or want to submit a question for the call, please contact Lynne Kinnucan at kinnucan@patriot.net.