Are you in an area served by an ACR Chapter? ACR has 16 chapters in major metropolitan areas, sub-state regions, states and multi-state regions: Arizona, California-Central, California-Northern, Georgia, Greater Delaware Valley, Hawaii, Illinois-Chicago, Maryland, Michigan-Southeast, Minnesota, New England, New Jersey, Greater New York, South Carolina, Texas-Houston and Washington DC. The geographic range is enormous, as is the scope of activity.

To try to begin to illustrate the value of chapter membership, I will touch on several functions. Chapters enable members to meet and share ideas with colleagues in their area. Members participate in activities which support their professional development and advance the field of conflict resolution. Chapters provide resources for members. They host conferences and seminars, publish newsletters and maintain websites.

Chapters help ACR members become more visible to the public and potential clients. They provide the organizational capacity to communicate with public officials, judicial leaders, major institutions and organizations of all kinds on behalf of ACR members.

Chapters are really all about people – you and your colleagues. It is people who make chapters go by serving as officers and directors, committee members and active participants. The local nature of this participation allows for attention to the needs particular to any given chapter’s members.

Chapter leaders are connected across chapters and to national leaders, further promoting information-sharing and networking. Chapter leaders have input on overall ACR direction and how the organization serves them as leaders.

If you participate in a non-ACR professional association in an area served by a chapter, keep in mind there may be good opportunities for linking activities to ACR. If your area is not served by a chapter, perhaps there is interest in creating one (national or international). Click here for more information on ACR chapters.

Collegially,

Perri Mayes
ACR President

It is an honor to serve as your new ACR President. I believe the next twelve months will continue to be a period of growth and increasing effectiveness and visibility for ACR. Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with me.

I extend my appreciation to Immediate Past President Lou Gieszl for his strong leadership during the past year. And it is a pleasure to congratulate Marya Kolman on her election as President-Elect.

Congratulations to re-elected Directors Jeffrey Cohen and Gigi Robson, who was also re-elected Treasurer. Welcome to newly elected Directors Bill Drake, Nancy Flatters, Russell Gerrard and Jonathan Rosenthal, Sections Director. Other Directors and Officers continuing their terms are recognized below under “News Headlines”. Finally, let me welcome the incoming leaders of all of ACR’s Sections.

Special thanks go to Officers and Directors who served ACR well and retired from the Board with completion of their elected terms at the Annual Conference in San Diego: Michael Aloi, who was Immediate Past President during the past year; Rachel Barbour, At-Large Director; and James Rosenstein, also a Past President.

In addition to the ACR Annual Conference, the 2011 celebration of Conflict Resolution Day took place in October. This is a high profile event in countless locales in the USA and many countries where ACR members organized events. My thanks to all who helped make that Day – always the third Thursday in October – a celebration of the values and practices we hold dear.

Collegially,
Perri Mayes, ACR President

Election result are in, so please join me in congratulating Marya Kolman, incoming president-elect for the 2011-12 board year. Also, many thanks and congratulations to incoming new ACR Board members Nancy Flatters, Russell Gerard, and Jonathan Rosenthal, as well as re-elected board members Jeff Cohen and Gigi Robson. I greatly appreciate the commitment and dedication of our current and former ACR volunteer leaders who have always been so generous with their time, their wisdom and their hearts. Working as president this year with our diverse and vibrant community of conflict resolvers has been among the most rewarding professional experiences of my life, and for that, I thank you.

Our upcoming annual conference provides a wonderful opportunity for everyone to come together and find fulfilling ways to support our association and each other. See you in San Diego!

Very truly yours,
Lou Gieszl, ACR President

I am pleased to provide you this paper prepared by ACR's Diversity of Practice Initiative. Representing the views of many notable thought leaders in the field, this document is intended to stimulate discourse about the wide variety of practices within our broadest view of the dispute resolution field. By promoting dialogue on this sometimes difficult issue, we aim to help members of the dispute resolution community to gain a deeper understanding and respect for one another's choosen path. The paper also serves as a prelude to the keynote panel and continued discussions during our upcoming annual conference, themed Many Paths, One Destination, which will be held October 12-15, 2011, in San Diego, California.

I would like to thank especially Howard Gadlin and Marvin Johnson, both national leaders in the field and long-time ACR members, for co-chairing this special Diversity of Practice Initiative and for preparing this paper for the benefit of the entire dispute resolution community. To amplify their vision about diversity of paractice and receive as much feedback as possible, ACR will be releasing this document through a number of channels including our website, blog and social media. Feel free also to send comments, ideas, and suggestions directly to me at lougieszl@gmail.com

Click here to view the paper.

Thank you for all you do to advance the conflict resolution field and to create a more peaceful and civil society.

Very truly yours,

Lou Gieszl
President
Association for Conflict Resolution

As Summer draws to a close, I'm really starting to look forward to our annual conference, which is a wonderful opportunity for dispute resolvers to come together, make connections and learn from one another. This year's conference will kickoff with a high-level plenary panel on diversity of practice, a theme that is central to ACR's prominence in the field. At the ACR conference, you have a unique opportunity to see every aspect of the dispute resolution field well represented by some of the world's most thoughtful, experienced and reflective practitioners, all helping those new to the field to find the path that's right for them.

I'll see you in San Diego.

Very truly yours,
Lou Gieszl, ACR President