MARILYN S. McKNIGHT, M.A. (President)

Minneapolis, MN

e-mail: marilynmcknight [at] ericksonmediation [dot] com

Marilyn McKnight has practiced exclusively in the field of mediation since founding Erickson Mediation Institute in 1977. A former member of the Board and former President of the Academy of Family Mediators (AFM), Ms. McKnight served on the Test Design Project for the study of mediator certification. In 1996, she and Stephen Erickson were awarded AFM’s Distinguished Mediator Award for their outstanding contributions to the field of mediation.  Ms. McKnight served as the president of the Minnesota Chapter of ACR when it merged with the state mediation association, and continues to serve on the board of the merged organization, Conflict Resolution Minnesota.  She has co-authored five highly successful books on mediation and is an adjunct professor at the William Mitchell College of Law.

Board Service: 2006 - 2009

HORATIO (RAY) LANIER, J.D., M.A. (Immediate Past President)

Washington, D.C.

e-mail: hlanier [at] wmata [dot] com

Mr. Lanier is Senior EEO/Dispute Resolution Officer for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority in D.C. and has more than 20 years of experience in the resolution of workplace disputes. His career has included positions in large corporate and public sector organizations as well as consulting roles with dozens of federal agencies. He holds an A.B.J. (Journalism) from the University of Georgia, an M.A. in Conflict Resolution from Columbia College and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.  During his membership in ACR, Mr. Lanier has served as ACR Annual Fund Chair, Co-Chair of the Membership and Development Committees, Workplace Section Leadership Council, Diversity and Equity Committee, and Governance Committee.

Board Service: 2004 - 2008

ANGELIA J. TOLBERT, Esq. (Vice President)

Little Rock, AR

e-mail: angeliatolbert [at] yahoo [dot] com

A former Co-Chair of SPIDR’s Commercial Section, Ms. Tolbert provides alternative dispute resolution services to court systems, corporations, businesses, federal and state government agencies, industries and individuals. Ms. Tolbert has served as a neutral in insurance, employment, commercial, securities, contracts, family and divorce and other legal issues. She is actively involved in diversity, community and youth ADR initiatives. Ms. Tolbert served on ACR’s Annual Conference Program Committee in 2004 and as a Tri-Chair of the Program Committee in 2005. She is the Co-Chair of the Diversity & Equity and Legal Committees and serves on the Governance and Membership Committees.

Board Service: 2005 - 2008

PAULA J. TROUT, J.D., MPA, MBA (Treasurer)

Las Vegas, NV

e-mail: pjtroutmlm [at] aol [dot] com

Ms. Trout is President/CEO of Alternative Dispute Resolution Forums in Las Vegas, Nevada and Inglewood, California. She has worked in the field of conflict resolution for over twenty-five years, and has served in the capacity of attorney, arbitrator, mediator and trainer in dispute resolution. Ms. Trout presently serves on ACR's Executive Committee and is board secretary. She is co-chair of ACR's Finance Committee, and also serves on ACR's Audit, Standards, Ethics and Human Resources committees. Ms. Trout is an adjunct professor at DeVry University where she teaches negotiation, ethics, critical thinking, business management and the legal, political and ethical dimensions of business. Formerly a board member, treasurer, and president-elect of the Academy of Family Mediators, Ms. Trout is also former chair of ACR’s Family Section (2002-2003), immediate past-president of the Los Angeles Chapter of ACR, and former co-chair of ACR's 2003 Annual Conference, and board liaison to ACR's 2005 Annual Conference.

Board Service: 2003 - 2009

CAROL BERZ, LCSW, JD, PhD (Secretary)

Chattanooga, TN

e-mail: CBB4PDRS [at] aol [dot] com

Carol Berz, LCSW, JD, PhD, is CEO of Private Dispute Resolution Services, LLC. A Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 31 Listed Civil and Family mediator, Dr. Berz teaches extensively in both the private and public sectors regarding mediation, mediation advocacy and mediation law and ethics.  Her specialty is strategic planning relative to costs of corporate conflict. In addition to serving on the ACR Board of Directors’ Executive Committee, Dr. Berz chairs the Ethics Committee for the National Association of Social Workers: Tennessee Chapter and is a member of the ADR Ethics Education Sub-Committee for the American Bar Association. She is the current Chair of the Tennessee Economic Council on Women and was recently elected as a Councilwoman for the City of Chattanooga. Dr. Berz’ education includes Emory University, the University of Tennessee, Nashville School of Law and Bryn Mawr College. Additional information may be found at www.4pdrs.com.

Board Service: 2007 - 2010

Directors at Large:

MICHAEL ALOI, Esq. (At-Large Member)

Fairmont, WV

e-mail: maloi [at] manchin-aloi [dot] com

Michael John Aloi, a lawyer/mediator is a member of the Association for Conflict Resolution, ACR, Board of Directors (2007-2010). He is past co-chair of the Spirituality Section of ACR (2005-2007), and he served as a conference tri-chair for the 2007 ACR Conference held in Phoenix, Arizona. He graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1980 with honors. He is a 1983 graduate of the West Virginia University College of Law, where he was the only member of his class to receive both Order of the Coif and Order of the Barristers.

Mr. Aloi also serves as Chairperson of the West Virginia State Bar ADR Committee. He is past chair of the ADR Education sub-committee, which is responsible for training programs every year for Basic Mediation Training, Advanced Mediation Training and Magistrate Court Mediation Training. He also serves as an Arbitrator/Mediator for the American Arbitration Association (AAA). He is one of the original mediators selected and trained for the Northern District of West Virginia Federal Court Settlement Week Program in 1987. He has served as a mediator for over twenty years and has mediated over 2000 cases.

Mr. Aloi is Past President of the West Virginia State Bar (2002-2003) and was recognized as Pro Bono Attorney of the Year by the Appalachian Center for Law and Public Service in 1997, and was recognized as the West Virginia Trial Lawyers Member of the Year in 2001. In April 2006, Mr. Aloi was honored as a Foundation Fellow of the West Virginia State Bar Foundation. He has been selected for inclusion in “The Best Lawyers in America” for ADR and is listed as one of only five lawyers in the state of West Virginia as a Super Lawyer in the field of ADR. He is the only lawyers in West Virginia to be in Fellow of the American College of Civil Trial Mediators.

Mr. Aloi is an Adjunct Professor at the West Virginia University College of Law, where he is a Clinical Law Program Supervisor. He also teaches Negotiation in the West Virginia Wesleyan College MBA Program. He has trained mediators in West Virginia for over twenty years. Mr. Aloi has also lectured nationally on the topic of Spirituality in Mediation.

He has attended Mediation Workshops at Harvard Law School in 1994 with Frank Sander and again in 2004 with Erica Fox and Len Riskin (Harvard Negotiation Insight Initiative). Mr. Aloi has also received training in transformative mediation with the United States Postal Service. During his year as State Bar President he encouraged finding “Balance” in personal life and emphasized a more holistic and humane approach to the practice of law.

Board Service: 2007 - 2010

RITA CALLAHAN, MDS (At-Large Member)

Atlanta, GA and NYC, NY

e-mail: rcallahan [at] mindspring [dot] com

Ms. Callahan is a Consultant and President of Working It Out, a national collaboration and conflict management consulting company that works with individuals, companies and organizations to improve interpersonal and organizational communication, and to develop the ability of people, groups and companies to manage conflict and to collaborate effectively. Ms. Callahan provides services including mediation, training, facilitation, conflict coaching, consulting, conflict assessment, and public speaking. Ms. Callahan is a former Co-Chair of the Workplace Section, Founder and President of the Georgia Chapter of ACR, and has served on ACR’s Conference Planning and Membership Committees, Certification Task Force, Chapter Advisory Council, and Public Education Task Force. She has a Master’s in Decision Science.

Board Service: 2006 - 2009

CLARENCE CRAMER, M.A., LPC.  (ACR Sections Director)

Coolidge, AZ

e-mail: mediator2 [at] cox [dot] net

Clarence Cramer has been the director of an Arizona Conciliation Court since 1977, a divorce and family mediator since 1980, and a mediator trainer since 1983. He also engages in volunteer work with his two certified therapy dogs. Mr. Cramer serves on the ACR Family Section Advisory Council and is the Chair of the Family Section Ethics Committee.

Board Service: 2005 - 2008

Cindy Cook (At-Large Member)

Adamant, VT

e-mail: ccook [at] adamantaccord [dot] com

Cindy Cook is a mediator and facilitator and principal of Adamant Accord, Inc., a firm that specializes in environmental dispute resolution and the design and implementation of public involvement processes for complex public policy issues.  Ms. Cook is an adjunct professor at Vermont Law School.  She co-chairs ACR’s Environment and Public Policy Section.

Board Service: 2006 - 2008

FERNAUNDRA FERGUSON, J.D. (At-Large Member)

Pensacola, FL

e-mail: fferguson [at] uwf [dot] edu  

Fernaundra Ferguson is an assistant professor at the University of West Florida, Criminal Justice and Legal Studies Department.  She teaches alternative dispute resolution, conflict resolution and graduate diversity and conflict resolution courses.  As a part of the conflict resolution course, Ms. Ferguson trains her students as peer mediation trainers and they in turn train high school students as peer mediators. She was Co-Chair of ACR’s Training Section from 2002–2004 and has been a member of the ACR Diversity and Equity Committee since 2001.  She holds a B.A. in political science from Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina and a J.D. from Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C.

Board Service: 2006 - 2009

NANCY L. GARDNER, LCSW

Katonah, NY

e-mail: amcr1 [at] optonline [dot] net

Nancy Gardner is President of the Alliance for Mediation & Conflict Resolution, Inc.,  a partner in Building Consensus for Sustainability, LLC. and a partner in Helix Consulting, LLC. She is a full-time mediator, trainer and conflict management consultant. She serves on the CPR Panel of Distinguished Neutrals, the USPS REDRESS Blue Ribbon Panel, Key Bridge Foundation, and has been a contract mediator for the US EEOC. She is teaching Negotiation and Conflict Management at Baruch College. She is an Advanced Practitioner member of ACR’s Workplace and Family Sections and serves on the Board of Directors for the New York State Council on Divorce Mediation, with a special interest in mediator licensing and professional development.

Board Service: 2006 - 2009

Lou Gieszl (ACR Chapters Director)

Baltimore, MD

e-mail: lou.gieszl [at] mdcourts [dot] gov

Lou Gieszl is Deputy Executive Director of the Maryland Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office, an office in the judiciary that works to advance appropriate dispute resolution (ADR) throughout Maryland's courts, communities, schools, universities, government agencies, criminal and juvenile justice programs, and businesses. A skillful mediator, facilitator, and trainer, Mr. Gieszl has been involved in conflict resolution since the early 1990s and has presented many workshops and written several articles on a wide variety of ADR topics. He volunteers with the Community Mediation Program in Baltimore, where he mediates intense interpersonal conflict at the neighborhood level. Mr. Gieszl was a founding member of the Maryland ACR Chapter and is a member of ACR’s Environment/Public Policy and Community Sections. Mr. Gieszl holds undergraduate degrees in English, philosophy and political science, plus a Master’s of Public Policy, from University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Board Service: 2006 - 2008

CREVON J. TARRANCE, MSW, JD (At-Large Member)

Columbus, OH

e-mail: TarrancC [at] sconet [dot] state [dot] oh [dot] us

Crevon Tarrance has been a program manager at the Supreme Court of Ohio Dispute Resolution Section since 1997, when she was hired to oversee the creation of 12 court based mediation programs. Since that time, she has assisted numerous court programs reach self-sufficiency. Ms. Tarrance spearheaded the development of a training curriculum on domestic abuse issues for mediators that uniquely includes allied professionals as attendees. She is a founding member of the Planning Committee on Initiatives for Minority Professionals in ADR, sponsored by Capital University Law School, which has provided ADR training for the last six years. Prior to coming to Ohio, Ms. Tarrance was a consultant with a district court in Iowa, and before that, the Supreme Court of Vermont, assisting both in creating mediation programs.  She began her career in ADR in 1978, serving as a custody evaluator and later, mediator at the Friend of the Court in Ann Arbor, Michigan. While there, she was elected to four consecutive terms to serve on the contract negotiations team. Ms. Tarrance is a former board member of the Academy of Family Mediators.

Board Service: 2007 - 2010

LEAH WING, Ed.D. (At-Large Member)

Amherst, MA

e-mail: lwing [at] legal [dot] umass [dot] edu

Since 1984, Dr. Wing has been a mediation trainer and consultant to educational institutions and nonprofit organizations both in the United States and abroad on conflict resolution, multicultural organizational development, and strategic planning.  She is dispute resolution faculty in the Legal Studies Department at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst, directs the Social Justice Mediation Institute, and is the Director of Dispute Resolution for the Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution.  Dr. Wing has served on the ACR Board since 2002; chairing the Public and Intense Conflicts Committee and serving on the Strategic Planning and Communications Committees.  She is a member of the Education, Environmental and Public Policy, and On-line Sections and the New England Chapter of ACR.  Dr. Wing serves on the Conflict Resolution Quarterly editorial board.

Board Service: 2002 - 2008