The Association for Conflict Resolution, Inc. (“ACR”), was formed in 2001 from the merger of the Academy of Family Mediators (“AFM”); the Conflict Resolution Education Network (“CREnet”), the successor organization to the National Institute for Dispute Resolution (“NIDR”); and the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution, Inc. (“SPIDR”).
The three organizations merged as a result of affirmative votes or advisory polls by their respective memberships and votes of their boards of directors in order to form an organization that would be a more effective voice for the field of conflict resolution and collaborative decision-making. They began to act as one organization as of January 1, 2001; however, the merger was not officially and finally approved by New York State until August 21, 2001.