"Mary and Laurel are both masterful in their ability to teach, but especially their ability to model the principles."
Course Attendee
LCSW
~~ Who We Are ~~
Owner and Principal Trainer
Mary C. Forst, J.D., has been a mediator, facilitator and trainer since1978. She assists people in organizations and workplaces in handling conflict creatively and holistically, offering a combination of mediation, dialogue, team building, system design, and skills training. She designs and facilitates consensus building processes for land use and public policy disputes. Mary also offers training in mediation and related skills to the public and to organizations on site. She has practiced law, and has served as an inner-city police officer. Mary's animated, down-to-earth training style and her personal stories make the mediation experience come to life for the participants.
E-mail: mcforst@igc.org
Associate and Principal Trainer
Laurel Singer,M.S., L.P.C. Laurel's focus, since starting her private practice in 1991 as a mediator and facilitator, has been to design and implement the most effective process possible to assist an organization, group, or collection of stake holders to resolve conflicts and make decisions constructively and collaboratively. Drawing on over 20 years of experience as a licensed professional counselor working at both the treatment and management level, Laurel brings a unique blend of expertise and tools to create the conditions needed to enable all parties to become engaged and involved in critical conversations about implementing changes and solutions to make a difference in their situation. In addition to her private mediation practice, Laurel is a Program Manager with the Oregon Consensus Program at Portland State University. In her role, she is specifically working to foster the use of collaborative practices and approaches for addressing public policy issues in Human Services including the fields of education, health care and other social services. As a seasoned trainer with over two decades of experience, Laurel has earned a reputation for excellence in designing and implementing customized, skill based training in mediation, resolving conflict, defusing angry/hostile people, workplace violence prevention, and managing the challenge of change. Participants consistently describe her as an engaging, dynamic and effective trainer who combines practical and concrete information with warmth, humor and personal antidotes.
E-mail: LauSinger@aol.com
Mediation Associates
Guadalupe Guajardo, Senior Consultant, Technical Assistance for Community Services, specializes in training and consulting in workplace issues and in systems design and planning. She offers bilingual and bicultural training and consultation (rooted in Latino culture), and has over twenty years' experience in organizational development and transformation. Guadalupe holds a doctorate in Learning and Change in Human Systems, an MA/ABS in Organizational Development and Transformation, and an MA in Theology.
E-mail:gg@tacs.orgWebsite: http://www.tacs.org
Molly Rodriguez Keating, M.S.W. has a private practice in mediation, facilitation, and conflict management coaching. Her clients include individuals, businesses, and not-for-profit organizations. Molly's approach to her work is to help create an environment where people can find their own solutions. She has helped hundreds of individuals and groups.
E-mail: mk@mollykeating.com
Web: http://www.mollykeating.com
Chris Sheesley, MA. serves as a full-time professional in the conflict management field with a focus on employment and organizational conflicts. He uses his deep and broad experience to facilitate successful resolutions to particularly higher-level, challenging workplace disputes. As a practitioner since 1991, Chris has conducted more than 1,250 mediation and facilitation cases, comprised of thousands of individual sessions, across a wide range of governmental, corporate and community settings. He has amassed over 5,000 hours of experience teaching conflict management skills to a range of clientele from small non-profits and large federal agencies. Chris earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Conflict Resolution from American University and his Master of Arts in Organizational Communication is from Marylhurst University where his thesis explored client resistance to offers to engage in mediation.
E-mail: CSheesly@InAccordnw.com
Website: www.InAccordnw.com
Jamie Damon. For 20 years, Jamie has worked as a mediator and facilitator with individuals, citizen groups and local, state, and federal agencies to achieve collaborative decisions. She is recognized throughout the Northwest for her strong mediation, facilitation, training, and public process design skills. Jamie has mediated/facilitated over a thousand cases ranging from neighbor-to-neighbor issues to complex multi-party, public works, public facilities, emergency services, transportation, land use, planning, water resources and legislative issues. She has successfully designed and managed the public involvement and information process for numerous complex and controversial projects in Oregon, Washington and Alaska. Jamie has held leadership roles in the Oregon Mediation Association and the Oregon Dispute Resolution Commission and is currently completing her Masterâs Degree in Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding at SIT in Vermont.
E-mail: jdamon@pdx.edu
Website: http://www.jlainvolve.com/team_jdamon.html
JoAnn Jackson was a board member of the Oregon Mediation Association (OMA) for six years, as well as a 10-year member of the Association of Conflict Resolution (ACR). She has a bachelor's degree in Business Management, and a Master's Degree in Business Administration. She was a diversity trainer for City of Portland employees, and a past trainer and employee for the City's Bureau of Emergency Communications. Her career has included being a Manager and Regional Director of Donor Resources Development with the American Red Cross Blood Services, Pacific Northwest Region, in Portland (1994-2006).
Ms. Jackson is a mediator, workplace consultant, and presenter for businesses, nonprofits, and higher education on topics of diversity, mediation, inclusion, and executive leadership. She is a long time resident of Portland and lives in Northeast Portland.
E-mail: JoannTWitty@msn.com
Mary Heffernan has been an organizational development consultant in private practice for over fifteen years, providing services focusing on strategic visioning and planning, team-building, group communication skills, and training and consultation in multi-culturalism and conflict resolution. Currently, she also offers coaching and advising to organizational leaders and managers. Mary also brings over ten years of experience as an organizer and executive director of nonprofit organizations.
E-mail:temenos@easystreet.com
Alanna Hein has a consulting practice in Beaverton, Oregon, established in 1991, which focuses on building high performing work teams, planning for and managing change, facilitation skills and valuing diversity. Her consulting clients have included: City, County and Federal government agencies, private non-profit organizations, and corporations of all sizes. Alanna taught graduate and undergraduate courses in the business and management department for four years at Marylhurst College. She has been a Director of Human Resources, Senior Affirmative Action Officer for the State of Washington, Employment Services Director for the YWCA, Community Advocate, and Auditor. Her training and consulting are recognized as exceptionally effective, and her jokes are almost always funny.
E-mail: HeinConsul@aol.com
Theresa Jensen has been a mediator, trainer and dispute resolution professional since 1983, and is recognized as one of the pioneers of mediation in Oregon. She draws on her background as a teacher, trial attorney and consultant in cross-cultural conflict. Theresa has successfully mediated a broad range of disputes, including employment, business, land use, environmental, education, family and health care issues. A major focus of her work involves mediating workplace disputes, including discrimination and cross-cultural issues. She also works with organizations in-house to improve interpersonal communications and team relationships, to help address conflicts at an organizational level, and to design systems for managing conflicts. In addition, she designs and facilitates community dialogues and collaborative processes for multi-party public disputes. She especially enjoys working with issues of trust and respect, and with parties who desire to enhance or restore on-going working relationships.
E-mail: tjensen@q.com
Training Coaches
During our training sessions you will be individually coached by some of the most experienced professional mediators in the Northwest.
Donald A. Cole has been a mediator since 1993. He is the court-connected mediation coordinator for the State Court in Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson Counties. He also maintains a private mediation practice.
He can be reached at (541) 385-5728
Anita Engiles is a legally trained professional mediator. She provides training in conflict management and mediation skills in addition to mediation. She also provides mentoring on an individual basis and meeting facilitation for agencies and groups.
E-mail: anitae@efn.org
Clifford Jones, Senior Consultant, Technical Assistance for Community Services: specializes in nonprofit consulting and training in the areas of organizational development, facilitation, cross cultural alliances, mediation and conflict resolution. Cliff has over twenty years of experience in working with nonprofits and has worked with hundreds of organizations.
E-mail: cj@tacs.org
Website: http://www.tacs.org
Stephen Ruffo has been a negotiator and facilitator for over 20 years and mediates disputes in Small Claims Court, Family Mediations, Workplace Mediations, Music Industry Mediations, Construction Mediations, and Peer Mediations involving kids in the middle schools. He currently works for Bridgewaters and Confluence Center for Mediation & Training in Oregon and Sound Options in Washington as a mediation trainer, teaching Mediation and Negotiation skills to lawyers, judges, and the private sector. Stephen is also involved in the music industry and is the Executive Director of Bluegrass at the Beach, a music camp on the Oregon coast.
E-mail: ruffo@olympus.net
Linda Scher has been providing family mediation services in a private practice setting in Portland since 1990. She provides mediation to families in the areas of reconciliation, separation, partnership dissolution, divorce, and post-divorce related matters, assisting with issues around children, finances and property division. Linda is a Practitioner Member of the Academy of Family Mediators and a member of the Oregon Mediation Association (OMA), having served on OMA's Board of Directors for nine years. Linda is currently serving on the Oregon Statewide Family Law Advisory Committee.
E-mail: Linda@Schermediate.com
Website: http://www.Schermediate.com
Rebecca A. Sweetland, J.D., M.S.W. Experience includes workplace, community, juvenile victim-offender, cross-cultural, and public policy. Training and coaching in conflict resolution skills for 15 years. Member of Shared Neutrals, Oregon Mediation Association, National Association for Community Mediators.
E-mail: RASweetland@aol.com
Mary C. Forst, J.D., has been a mediator, facilitator and trainer since1978. She assists people in organizations and workplaces in handling conflict creatively and holistically, offering a combination of mediation, dialogue, team building, system design, and skills training. She designs and facilitates consensus building processes for land use and public policy disputes. Mary also offers training in mediation and related skills to the public and to organizations on site. She has practiced law, and has served as an inner-city police officer. Mary's animated, down-to-earth training style and her personal stories make the mediation experience come to life for the participants.
Laurel Singer,M.S., L.P.C. Laurel's focus, since starting her private practice in 1991 as a mediator and facilitator, has been to design and implement the most effective process possible to assist an organization, group, or collection of stake holders to resolve conflicts and make decisions constructively and collaboratively. Drawing on over 20 years of experience as a licensed professional counselor working at both the treatment and management level, Laurel brings a unique blend of expertise and tools to create the conditions needed to enable all parties to become engaged and involved in critical conversations about implementing changes and solutions to make a difference in their situation. In addition to her private mediation practice, Laurel is a Program Manager with the Oregon Consensus Program at Portland State University. In her role, she is specifically working to foster the use of collaborative practices and approaches for addressing public policy issues in Human Services including the fields of education, health care and other social services. As a seasoned trainer with over two decades of experience, Laurel has earned a reputation for excellence in designing and implementing customized, skill based training in mediation, resolving conflict, defusing angry/hostile people, workplace violence prevention, and managing the challenge of change. Participants consistently describe her as an engaging, dynamic and effective trainer who combines practical and concrete information with warmth, humor and personal antidotes.
Guadalupe Guajardo, Senior Consultant, Technical Assistance for Community Services, specializes in training and consulting in workplace issues and in systems design and planning. She offers bilingual and bicultural training and consultation (rooted in Latino culture), and has over twenty years' experience in organizational development and transformation. Guadalupe holds a doctorate in Learning and Change in Human Systems, an MA/ABS in Organizational Development and Transformation, and an MA in Theology.
clients include individuals, businesses, and not-for-profit organizations. Molly's approach to her work is to help create an environment where people can find their own solutions. She has helped hundreds of individuals and groups.
Jamie Damon. For 20 years, Jamie has worked as a mediator and facilitator with individuals, citizen groups and local, state, and federal agencies to achieve collaborative decisions. She is recognized throughout the Northwest for her strong mediation, facilitation, training, and public process design skills. Jamie has mediated/facilitated over a thousand cases ranging from neighbor-to-neighbor issues to complex multi-party, public works, public facilities, emergency services, transportation, land use, planning, water resources and legislative issues. She has successfully designed and managed the public involvement and information process for numerous complex and controversial projects in Oregon, Washington and Alaska. Jamie has held leadership roles in the Oregon Mediation Association and the Oregon Dispute Resolution Commission and is currently completing her Masterâs Degree in Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding at SIT in Vermont.
JoAnn Jackson was a board member of the Oregon Mediation Association (OMA) for six years, as well as a 10-year member of the Association of Conflict Resolution (ACR). She has a bachelor's degree in Business Management, and a Master's Degree in Business Administration. She was a diversity trainer for City of Portland employees, and a past trainer and employee for the City's Bureau of Emergency Communications. Her career has included being a Manager and Regional Director of Donor Resources Development with the American Red Cross Blood Services, Pacific Northwest Region, in Portland (1994-2006). 
in Beaverton, Oregon, established in 1991, which focuses on building high performing work teams, planning for and managing change, facilitation skills and valuing diversity. Her consulting clients have included: City, County and Federal government agencies, private non-profit organizations, and corporations of all sizes. Alanna taught graduate and undergraduate courses in the business and management department for four years at Marylhurst College. She has been a Director of Human Resources, Senior Affirmative Action Officer for the State of Washington, Employment Services Director for the YWCA, Community Advocate, and Auditor. Her training and consulting are recognized as exceptionally effective, and her jokes are almost always funny.
Theresa Jensen has been a mediator, trainer and dispute resolution professional since 1983, and is recognized as one of the pioneers of mediation in Oregon. She draws on her background as a teacher, trial attorney and consultant in cross-cultural conflict. Theresa has successfully mediated a broad range of disputes, including employment, business, land use, environmental, education, family and health care issues. A major focus of her work involves mediating workplace disputes, including discrimination and cross-cultural issues. She also works with organizations in-house to improve interpersonal communications and team relationships, to help address conflicts at an organizational level, and to design systems for managing conflicts. In addition, she designs and facilitates community dialogues and collaborative processes for multi-party public disputes. She especially enjoys working with issues of trust and respect, and with parties who desire to enhance or restore on-going working relationships.
Clifford Jones, Senior Consultant, Technical Assistance for Community Services: specializes in nonprofit consulting and training in the areas of organizational development, facilitation, cross cultural alliances, mediation and conflict resolution. Cliff has over twenty years of experience in working with nonprofits and has worked with hundreds of organizations.
Stephen Ruffo has been a negotiator and facilitator for over 20 years and mediates disputes in Small Claims Court, Family Mediations, Workplace Mediations, Music Industry Mediations, Construction Mediations, and Peer Mediations involving kids in the middle schools. He currently works for Bridgewaters and Confluence Center for Mediation & Training in Oregon and Sound Options in Washington as a mediation trainer, teaching Mediation and Negotiation skills to lawyers, judges, and the private sector. Stephen is also involved in the music industry and is the Executive Director of Bluegrass at the Beach, a music camp on the Oregon coast.