April 2023 Newsletter

Friday, April 7, 2023 - 11:30am

April 2023 Newsletter

The Center for Dispute Settlement proudly celebrates National Deaf History Month during the month of April.

Over 11 million Americans are Deaf or hard-of-hearing, representing about 3.5 percent of the population. Rochester, New York has the largest per capita population of Deaf and hard-of-hearing people in the nation, largely due to long-standing institutions serving the Deaf community including Rochester School for the Deaf (https://www.rsdeaf.org/) and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute for Technology (https://www.rit.edu/ntid/).

RIT/NTID will host a series of "Big Read" events this month, featuring Ilya Kaminsky's book, Deaf Republic. Kaminsky, who is the Bourne Chair in Poetry at Georgia Tech's School of Literature, Media, and Communication, is a hard-of-hearing Ukranian immigrant who grew up in Rochester. The programming schedule can be found at: https://www.rit.edu/ntid/performing-arts/big-read-ntid

The Center for Dispute Settlement works with several partners that provide services to the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community, including LanguageLine Solutions (provided through our membership in the New York Dispute Resolution Association) and Sign Language Connection. All of our services can be accessible through telephonic or video-based interpretation, written translation of text or audio files, and conversion to increase accessibility for individuals with visual impairment (e.g., Braille, large print). We are always happy to work with clients to best meet their individual needs.

In peace,

Shira May

President/CEO

Community Building Circle Training

April 11-13

9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Notre Dame Retreat Center, Canandaigua

Trainers: Kim Reisch, Ingrid Welch, and Ronnie Pollack

$50 for community members and volunteers

This three-day training is designed to provide participants with the knowledge and skills to facilitate community building circles, also known as talking circles or peace circles.

Lunch and snacks will be provided.

For more information, contact Ronnie Pollack, Director of Training and Community Engagement: rpollack@cdsadr.org

Basic Mediation Training

May 9-11 & 17-18

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

Notre Dame Retreat Center, Canandaigua

Trainer: Kim Reisch

$200 for volunteers, $1,000 for those taking the course for professional development. Scholarships are available, with priority given to People of Color (POC) and participants from other underrepresented communities

This 35 hour training will provide an introduction to the theory, principles and practice of mediation in the Transformative Mediation framework to prepare participants to mediate community disputes as a volunteer with the Center for Dispute Settlement. Community members may also attend for professional development purposes, space permitting.

Participants will have the opportunity to:

Explore their values, biases, and experiences with conflict.
Understand the core values of mediation and standards of practice for community dispute resolution centers, like the Center for Dispute Settlement, and the Unified Court System.
Understand and practice the core activities of a mediator practicing with a transformative mediation orientation.
Develop the ability to engage in a reflective practice of mediator self-assessment and continued learning.

For more information, contact Ronnie Pollack, Director of Training and Community Engagement: rpollack@cdsadr.org

Welcome to our new Director of Restorative Practices, Ivelisse Gonzalez!

Ivelisse Gonzalez is a respected leader in community work with almost two decades of experience serving others. Originally from Puerto Rico, she moved to Rochester, NY with her parents at the age of 13 and overcame obstacles to become a strong advocate for building bridges between cultures and communities. As an Ordained Minister, she uses her advocacy skills to create equitable access to resources and opportunities with the goal of creating a more just world.

In her most recent role as Supervisor of Intervention Services at Ibero-American Action League, Ivelisse oversaw the Prevention Education Services Program and the Restorative Program, demonstrating her exceptional leadership and management skills. Ivelisse's commitment to community service extends beyond her professional role. She served as the former Chair of the Outreach and Communications Committee for Uplift Irondequoit, formerly known as Drug Free Irondequoit, and is a contributor to the 2021 Rochester Latinx Agenda.

Ivelisse's academic accomplishments include completing her theology studies from the University of North Texas, obtaining Human Services Credentials from the University of Connecticut, and earning a Certificate of Behavioral Health from the Addiction Training Institute in Florida. She is also a Certified Life Coach and a member of the International Coaching Federation.

In her spare time, Ivelisse enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, traveling, and creating abstract art.

Board of Directors Transitions

Our Board of Directors held its final meeting of the fiscal year on March 28th in person at the First Federal Building 19th floor training room. Special thanks to Executive/Program Assistant Dorethea Jackson-Smith for coordinating the logistics for the beautiful luncheon and providing plaques for our outgoing board members.

The Board elected the following members to serve a 2-year term in the following officer positions:

Joe Brown, Board Chair
Jonathan Ferris, Vice Chair
Mary Williamson, Secretary
Parris Bryant, II, Treasurer

We said a grateful farewell to our outgoing board members who have generously served our agency:

Armando Musa
David M. Tang
Dr. Edmond Akubuiro
Terrence Burns
Dr. Stephanie Geter
Jean Ticen

We have several new board members joining us in 2023-24, whom we will profile in upcoming newsletters. We also have four board vacancies. If you would like to nominate someone for board service, please contact Dorethea Jackson-Smith at djackson@cdsadr.org.

Pictured from left to right: Joe Brown, Armando Musa, Jean Ticen, Shira May, Dorethea Jackson-Smith, and David Tang

NYS Community Dispute Resolution Center (CDRC) Director Meeting

The NYS CDRC Network held its annual Director Meeting on March 21-23 at the Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution (OADR) in Castleton-on-Hudson, near Albany.

Donna Durbin (Director, Monroe County) and Shira May (President/CEO) presented on the Center's divorce mediation program, as part of a panel about resource development efforts across the state network.

Other session topics included: volunteer utilization, challenges to quality of online mediation, marketing our services, and the ADR initiative in the courts.

Guest presenters spoke about ongoing partnerships between the CDRC network and the NYS Division of Human Rights, Department of Education, and the Care Coordination Organizations (CCOs) serving the intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) community.

Finally, participants were invited to take part in an input session regarding the development of a strategic plan for the NYS Dispute Resolution Association (NYSDRA).

Pictured from left to right: Niki Rowe (NYSDRA Board Vice President), Theresa Hobbs (NYSDRA Executive Director), and Katie Stair (Strategic Plan Consultant)