Deaf Mediations & Hard-of-hearing Mediators (Presented by Jess Kent, Dr. Elizabeth S. Kent, Esq.)

TIME	THURSDAY, JUNE 1
8:00am	Roundtable Breakfast Discussion - Mediation "At Scale": The story of the near-collapse of the largest Tribal-Federal negotiations in a generation (Presented by Joshua Flax) *This event is FREE to attend but requires a separate registration. Register for the Roundtable Breakfast Discussion here.
10:10am	Time Dynamics in Mediation: Effects and Mitigation (Presented by Damian Priamurskiy, Caroline Ewing, Onawa Gigliotti)
11:20am	Use of Mediation and Facilitation for The Speed of Need in Implementing Climate Resilience and Adaptation (Presented by Christopher Kane, P.E., J.D., Lara Fowler, Joseph A. Siegel, J.D., Liliana Pimentel) CLE Credits: 1.5 (Law Practice Management)
12:45pm	Deaf Mediations & Hard-of-hearing Mediators (Presented by Jess Kent, Dr. Elizabeth S. Kent, Esq.) CLE Credits: 0.5 (Ethics and Professionalism)
1:40pm	Conflict Management Strategies in Virtual Teams (Presented by Yeju "Chloe" Choi)
2:50pm	TRUE COLORS: INTERACTIVE MEMBERSHIP SESSION (Facilitated by Dawne Mitchell and ACR-GNY Vice President of Membership Ingrid Scholze) *This event is designed for ACR-GNY members and prospective members but all are welcome. Become a member today!*
4:30pm	The Speed of Need Before, During, and Beyond Prison (Presented by Trudy K. Junkroski, Abdul Shakur, Ney McCain, Ryan Moser)

Session tracks

• Commercial ADR (Business, Finance, Securities)

• Interpersonal (Family/Divorce, Restorative Justice, CDRC, Interfaith) 

• Organizational/Governmental (Labor/Employment/Workplace, Schools, Co-op/Condo, Ombuds)

• Peacebuilding/CR Process (International, Societal, NGO, Large Scale)

• Dispute Prevention, Negotiation, and Other Resolution Skills

• Other 

VIEW SPEAKERS' BIOS

ROUNDTABLE BREAKFAST DISCUSSION (VIRTUAL) - 8:00am

(Co-presented by CUNY Dispute Resolution Center at John Jay College & ACR-GNY)

Mediation "At Scale": The story of the near-collapse of the largest Tribal-Federal negotiations in a generation

Presented by: Joshua Flax

In 2016, the US Department of Transportation initiated mission-critical negotiations with a body of tribal negotiators representing all 574 federally recognized tribes in the country to fund roadbuilding and safety measure construction across Indian country. This case study examines the mediation that rescued these negotiations from collapse and highlights some of the "adaptive mediation" (Dr. Peter Coleman et al, Columbia University) moves the mediation team used to turn these negotiations away from disaster and ultimately to success.

*This event is FREE to attend but requires a separate registration. Register for the Roundtable Breakfast Discussion here.

SESSION #15 - 10:10am

Time Dynamics in Mediation: Effects and Mitigation

Presented by: Damian Priamurskiy, Caroline Ewing

Moderated by: Onawa Gigliotti

Time can play a very strong role in mediation, in mediators' decision making, in creating bias, and in outcomes. In this presentation you will hear about a mediation that brought this topic to the fore. We will discuss research about the effects of time pressure on decision making using real life examples that illustrate how quickly and unconsciously decisions are weighed and made. We will cover such cognitive biases as the halo effect, sway, and framing bias. We will share several ways to mitigate these negative effects including strategies from global industries. We will discuss how mediators can stay alert to these oncoming conditions. We will conclude by sharing proposed approaches to staying ahead of these conditions and steadying the mediation process. We look forward to a lively discussion with the participants about their experiences with time pressure in mediation and how they have addressed this. We can then work together as a group to develop a sample list of mitigation strategies that we can use when faced with time pressure in our future practice.

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SESSION #16 - 11:20am

Use of Mediation and Facilitation for The Speed of Need in Implementing Climate Resilience and Adaptation

CLE Credits: 1.5 (Law Practice Management)

Presented by: Christopher Kane, P.E., J.D., Lara Fowler, Joseph A. Siegel, J.D., Liliana Pimentel

The impacts of climate change increasingly are causing more severe storms that are compounded by sea level rise. The result is more flood and storm surge damage events such as storm surge damage from Superstorm Sandy, flooding in the Mississippi Valley, and Chesapeake Bay contamination from stormwater runoff. Implementing solutions to these crises are hampered by many conflicting interests, funding challenges and decades-long project implementation. Effective conflict avoidance and early resolutions can improve the path to more swiftly reach sustainable solutions and avoid additional losses. The speed of need can benefit from more structured and effective processes using skilled neutrals.

The Panel will present an overview and background of some examples of storm-related catastrophes and offer lessons-learned on how ineffective conflict management in multi-stakeholder efforts to address the climate crisis, can put parties on the slow road to recovery. The panel will also discuss how mediators and facilitators can help to speed those efforts and enhance outcomes by using some best practices in community engagement and collaborative governance. They will describe how these tools offer an opportunity to help parties to form partnerships, build broad-based support and implement creative long-term solutions on a much quicker timeline.

•••• (Mediation and Community Engagement)

SESSION #17 - 12:45pm

Deaf Mediations & Hard-of-hearing Mediators

CLE Credits: 0.5 (Ethics and Professionalism)

Presented by: Jess Kent, Dr. Elizabeth S. Kent, Esq.

Join a Buffalo-based mother-daughter mediator duo for a dynamic discussion covering 2 topics: best practices for mediations with 1) language translation services and 2) hearing impaired parties. How does the ability/disability spectrum and language fluency affect power imbalances between parties in mediation? This interactive presentation requires active participation and will conclude with Q&A to swap best practices. Come for the comedy, stay for the skills! As the field of mediation grows, and more diversity is reflected by the parties, our professional abilities must expand too: How do we select an interpreter in preparation for a successful mediation? How can a mediator communicate effectively with clients who require a translator, or for whom a translator is unavailable? According to the American Community Survey, Buffalo currently houses 22,000+ foreign-born residents whose first language is not English. Additionally, according to the 2021 National Institute of Health Study, 3/1,000 US-born children have a detectable level of hearing loss in one or both ears. More than 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents and approximately 15% of American adults (37.5 million) over the age of 18 report significant hearing loss that affects their ability to communicate effectively.  What are the best practices for mediating as a hearing impaired mediator? What are the tips to mediate with a party who has a hearing loss? 

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SESSION #18 - 1:40pm

Conflict Management Strategies in Virtual Teams

Presented by: Yeju "Chloe" Choi

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way organizations and teams operate. According to the Bureau of Labor Statics, 35% of employees worked remotely in 2020 during the peak of COVID-19. People tend to face more challenges in managing conflict in a virtual team environment (Caputo et al., 2018). Despite the rapid increasing need, there is a lack of understanding in conflict and its management in virtual teams. Based on the literature review and the findings of a recent study of 223 surveys and 23 semi-structured interviews, this session will discuss (1) how conflict manifests and often dealt with in virtual environments and (2) share the conflict prevention and management strategies for virtual teams. This session will be helpful for organizations and professionals in dealing with challenges to virtual team collaboration and recommended organizations to train their leaders with the list of behaviors that this study found to be helpful to reduce the challenges.

••

TRUE COLORS: INTERACTIVE MEMBERSHIP SESSION - 2:50pm

Getting to the Heart of Enhanced Collaboration and an Engaged Membership

Facilitated by: Dawne Mitchell and ACR-GNY Vice President of Membership Ingrid Scholze

As a member organization and a professional community ACR-GNY seeks partnership and collaboration of its membership to advance its goals and objectives. Knowing how we show up--- as our true selves is key information as to how we show up as a contributor on a team, committee, and or in a collaborative process. This workshop will aim to give participants insight into how they approach problem solving, what they believe they need to feel effective, and how they can best work with others who think and strategize differently. With this newly discovered knowledge, the membership committee will then aim to elicit feedback on what steps ACR-GNY can take to further engage its existing membership and incentivize new membership.

True Colors Activity: True Colors is a self-assessment tool that engages participants in self-discovery as it relates to effective teaming. One way to achieve the most optimal experience in working with others is to be self-aware of your own skills, blind spots, and strengths. This exercise is a fun and interactive opportunity for professionals to engage in hearty discussions and discovery while identifying the styles of others on the team and maximize the ability to work with others. This exercise will lead to one of the best strategies to build effective collaborations and engagement.

*This event is designed for ACR-GNY members and prospective members but all are welcome. Become a member today!*

SESSION #19 - 4:30pm

The Speed of Need Before, During, and Beyond Prison

Presented by: Trudy K. Junkroski, Abdul Shakur, Ney McCain, Ryan Moser

Community members who have spent a significant portion of their lives in prison hold wisdom and stories that yearn to be shared. This presentation provides a glimpse of the stories of several extraordinary men who have lived through decades of incarceration, identifying the needs that were present in their lives before, during, and after prison. The opportunity to tell, to hear, and to engage with their stories elevates our understanding of one another's humanity and the ways in which we can be a restorative presence in the world.

•••• (Incarcerated Citizens; Re-Entry)