Mississippi Mediation Project -

MMP's Mediator-in-Residence Program had it's official kick-off during our Day of Dialogue on March 5, 2008. For that conference, we were joined by a group of eleven highly skilled mediators and conflict resolution professionals from Mediators Beyond Borders , the U.S. Department of Justice and elsewhere. Bearing their own expense to volunteer their services to our participants, they provided keynote presentations and each took an active role in facilitating the table discussions. For more information on these skilled volunteers, see their bios in our conference materials.

In July, MMP Founder, Laurel Kaufer, was joined by colleagues Doug Noll and Ginny Barr at the 2008 Mississippi Juvenile Justice Symposium. In her introduction of the Keynote Address, Laurel took the opportunity to discuss the MMP and our programs to the audience of over 400 participants. Keynote speaker, Doug Noll, an internationally acclaimed mediation trainer, author and board member of Mediators Beyond Borders, addressed the topic of Restorative Justice. Following on the Keynote presentation, Ginny Barr, Restorative Justice Coordinator for the Office of Community Justice, South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, presented a program on the nuts and bolts of implementing highly successful programs based upon restorative principles, through the example of those currently in place in South Carolina.

It remains the intent of MMP visionaries that in late 2009, following the establishment of a locally sustainable EPSS program, MMP staff, along with community members who have successfully completed that EPSS workshop, will begin the process of identifying communities which are in need of the guidance of skilled and experienced Conflict Resolution providers who volunteer with the MMP to act as Mediators-in-Residence.

MMP Mediators-in-Residence will be working hand-in-hand with those members of the community who have been trained by the MMP, as well as local Community Service Organizations and Governmental Entities, guiding them in the application of the newly learned Essential Problem Solving Skills and/or Community Mediation and Conflict Resolution Skills.

As volunteers, Mediators-in-Residence will donating their time and expertise and will be responsible for their own expenses, but will be guests of the communities in which they are volunteering and may have the option of being housed with the volunteers of one of the many volunteer organizations currently serving these communities.