DCACR's Past Events

11/1/07 Is Mediator Neutrality Fact or Fiction? - Patrick Chapman

10/18/07 Jerry Barrett - Perspectives on the Field: Evolution of ADR

6/6/07: DC ACR Member Seminar and Networking Event: Structuring Mediation Practices: Three Models

• Program
• Participant Bios

On October 18, 2005, DC ACR held its First Annual Professional Development Forum, at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in Arlington, Virginia.  Our topic this year was “The Role of Technology in Conflict Resolution and Collaboration.” In a dynamic presentation, our Keynote Speaker, Daniel Rainey, illustrated the role he plays as Deputy Chief of Staff, ADR Development & Technology of the National Mediation Board, to bring cutting edge technology solutions to federal sector dispute resolution.  Specifically, he anticipates that online facilitation software, among other tools, will more efficiently bring parties together in real-time discussions, whether they are engaged in strategic planning, collective bargaining, mediation, arbitration, or administrative trials.  Mr. Rainey expects that the technology the National Mediation Board is developing, in conjunction with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, will have similar substantial uses in the private sector. 

Other topics at the Forum included: success stories using online dispute resolution (ODR) technology, ethics in the use of email and telephone conversations, practicing dispute resolution in the technology industry, and new technologies.   We were honored that the following individuals shared their experience and knowledge with us:  Elisabeth Bissell, attorney in private practice and ODR specialist; Patricia Esslinger, independent groupware facilitator with technology provided by JRH Associates, Inc.; Doug Hensch, Sr. Manager of Organization Development with Nextel Communications; Lisa Kimball, Executive Producer of Group Jazz, Inc.; John Lesko, Certified Professional Facilitator; Sandra A. Sellers, President of Technology Mediation Services, LLC; Derek Sweetman, Dispute Resolution Director of the Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Washington, DC and Eastern Pennsylvania; Jeannette P. Twomey, mediator in private practice and on-line/telephone mediation specialist; and Michael J. Wolf, Counsel for Dispute Resolution Technology to the National Mediation Board. Prepared by David Clark, DCACR Treasurer.