Staff and Volunteers

In addition to conducting Mediation Training for  the MMP, Board Member, Laurel Kaufer, of Los Angeles, CA, will continue directing the oversight and management of the MMP.

Director of  Essential Problem Solving Skills Training and Programs :  Melinda Harthcock, Gulfport, MS Contact

Director of Mediation Training, Lydia Quarles, Jackson, MS / Starkville, MS  Contact.

Administrative Assistant:  Stephanie Pitcovich, Albuquerque, NM  Contact

Trainers:

John A. Berndt, Biloxi, MS / Riverview, FL (Mediation) Contact

Cynthia Black, Pascagoula/Moss Point, MS (EPSS) Contact

Lee Emery, Biloxi, MS (EPSS) Contact

Melinda Harthcock, Gulfport, MS (Lead Trainer - EPSS) Contact

W. Criss Lott, Jackson, MS (EPSS) Contact

Stacey Marcel , New Orleans, LA (EPSS) Contact

Lydia Quarles, Jackson, MS / Starkville, MS  (EPSS/Lead Trainer - Mediation)  Contact

Sue Weishar, New Orleans, LA (EPSS) Contact

The MMP is fortunate to have a group of nationally recognized conflict resolution trainers who donated their time and services to develop curriculum and conducted workshops during the initial phases of the project. 

Deborah A. Thomas, Los Angeles, CA / New Orleans, LA (EPSS)

William P. D'Angelo, Los Angeles / San Francisco, CA (EPSS)

Richard Dodson, St. Paul, MN (EPSS)

Jim Forkner, San Francisco, CA (EPSS) 

Valerie Hicks Powe, Birmingham, AL (Mediation)

Melvin A. Rubin, Miami, FL  (Mediation/Advisory Board) 

Listed below are some of the many local and national  professionals in Conflict Resolution as well as other areas of expertise, to whom the MMP owes a debt of gratitude for their contribution of professional services, guidance and facilities. 

Jim Bolton, Minneapolis, MN (EPSS Curriculum Design/Training Design/Trainer Preparation)

Barbara Fosbrink, Ventura, CA.  (Founding Board Member/Organizational Design and Development/ Initial Community Assessment)

Sarah Gartner, New York, NY.  Mediator/Arbitrator. (Advisory Board/MMP Trainer)

David Hoffman, Boston, MA. (Advisory Board/Mediator-in-Residence)

Jude Martin, (Interim Executive Director, August - November, 2007)

Jim Stott, Gig Harbor, WA. Fellow and Adjunct Professor. Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law.  Former Commissioner, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Trainer in mediation and conflict resolution systems to organizations including Southwest Airlines, Los Angeles Fire Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice and Department of Labor.  Thirty years in airline industry as pilot, advocate, negotiator, mediator and arbitrator.  (MMP Program and Training Design/Student Externs/Mediator- in-Residence).

Pamela Moring Stott, M.A., M.S., Gig Harbor, WA.  Principal and Senior Consultant, Stott and Associates, State Farm Insurance, Agent Liaison, responsible for statewide programs and product rollouts (1999 – 2004).  Visalia Police Department, first female police officer in the field focused on the economically deprived community, sexual assaults, property crimes, and community relations, represented the police department in numerous community based councils (1974-1985).  (MMP Organizational Design and local Law Enforcement/Insurance Co. Liaison)

Stephen Thom, Los Angeles, CA.  Retired Federal Mediator and Deputy Director, Community Relations Service, United States Department of Justice (Advisory Board/MMP Program and Training Design, Community Assessment and Outreach)

Deborah A. Thomas, Los Angeles, CA / New Orleans, LA.   (Founding Board Member/Advisory Board/EPSS Curriculum Design and Trainer/Initial Community Assessment)

A. Marco Turk, J.D., Los Angeles, CA. Program Director and Professor of Negotiation, Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding at California State University Dominguez Hills, CA, with international experience as a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Conflict Resolution (Cyprus) and as a peacebuilding consultant/educator/trainer in the Middle East, as well as in Nigeria, Norway and the United States. (Advisory Board/MMP Program and Training Design/University Curriculum and student externs to project)

Kathryn Turk, Los Angeles, CA.  LACBA Dispute Resolution Services, Community Services Program Coordinator (MMP Program and Training Design)

Stephanie Wolfson, Calabasas, CA.  (Mentor Program Chair)

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