December 2021 Newsletter

Friday, December 3, 2021 - 3:00pm

December 2021 Newsletter

Message from our President/CEO

I want a new world where humans accept the hard truth as routinely as they accept the easy lies in this world." - Ibram X. Kendi

This Thanksgiving holiday, my family celebrated the occasion with a festive meal and expressions of gratitude for the blessings in our lives. We also acknowledged that this day is one of mourning for many Indigenous Peoples, as well as a call to action against the racism and oppression which they continue to experience.

It is never an easy thing to hold space for difficult truths. And yet, the more we practice acknowledging the hard truths, the more we open our hearts to the reality of our world. We may come to recognize that we can hold multiple things at the same time: we can feel grateful for what is going well, while also mourning and taking action to change what's not.

There have been many hard truths in our world this year. This is the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a new variant making its presence known. While we celebrate the availability of vaccines and booster shots, we continue mourning the loss of our sense of safety and normalcy.

We also acknowledge the ongoing pain of racial violence in our nation. The acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse and the trial of the three men who murdered Ahmad Arbery remind us that racial bias, hate, and violence continue to take a toll on our communities.

As we approach the winter season, we may ask ourselves: How can we continue to take joy in the holidays and our special occasions, and at the same time, what actions can we take to create a better world, and what is within our power to change?

As we know very well in our conflict resolution field, all change starts with ourselves. At the Center, we are committed to ongoing reflection, both to appreciate what is going well in our work, as well as to address areas that call us to do better. The impact of racial violence continues to spur us to do our part to eradicate racism in all its forms. As you'll see below, in our Strategic Plan for 2021-2024, our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) is one of our three priority areas, inviting engagement from all our stakeholders, including staff, volunteers, board members, as well as our community partners. We know that together, we can and will make a difference.

As we enter this holiday season, we invite you to reflect on the gifts you have received this year, as well as the gifts that you offer our world.

We are grateful that you are part of our community of peacemakers.

In peace,

Shira May, Ph.D.

President & CEO

Strategic Plan for 2021-2024

The Center for Dispute Settlement's Strategic Plan represents a vision for the future of our work with the communities we serve. Developed in collaboration with staff, volunteers, board members, and community partners, the Strategic Plan charts a course for advancing our mission to use and promote peaceful dispute resolution processes throughout our communities.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the development of this Strategic Plan. We look forward to continuing our partnership as we work to create more peaceful communities, together.

December 2, 8:00am

Why Reflective Practice Matters -

Excellence is not an Accident

The Association for Conflict Resolution, Greater New York Chapter, hosts a virtual in-service on the first Thursday of each month.

Register at: www.acrgny.org

Congratulations to our November 2021

Basic Mediation Training Cohort

Trainer: Kim Reisch

We are delighted to welcome our new cohort of staff and volunteer mediator apprentices who took part in our latest Basic Mediation Training. The group also included community members who took the training for professional development purposes. Welcome to our community of peacemakers!

Photos from our

Advanced Regional Training:

"Inclusion, Self-Awareness, & Bias"

November 4, 2021

Presenter: Mohammed (Mo) Ahamed

EDI Executive Search and Consulting Firm

Staff, volunteers, and community partners took part in this energizing one-day training, funded in part by a mini-grant from the New York State Unified Court System, Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution, through the Community Dispute Resolution Centers Program (CDRCP).

Special thanks to our local sponsors:

Partners: $100

Jean Ticen

Steven James Media Group

Andrew Thomas

Theodore Kantor, Esq.

Dr. Edmond Akubuiro

Anonymous

Investors: $250

Chris Hill, I. Gordon Corporation

Leaders: $500+

Wegmans

Anonymous

EDI Executive Search and Consulting

Difficult Truths: Progress vs. Presence?

by Clayton Lyons

As the months pass and we find ourselves entering a third calendar year consumed by a deadly pandemic, I have found myself asking: what does it mean to move forward? Change is guaranteed; time is constant; but progress? That is harder to pinpoint. From a global health perspective, progress has been measured by confirmed cases, vaccines administered, and lives both lost and saved. These numbers fluctuate greatly by region & time, and like most raw data, have been manipulated to support a wide variety of agendas. From a business perspective, progress typically coincides with money and efficiency: clients served, profit earned, the omnipresent “bottom-line.” Both categories starkly differ from how we measure progress at the mediation table. Assuming one is to mediate transformatively (that is: the parties know best), our only measure of progress is what is in front of us: engagement, emotion, and energy. Indeed, even the notion that mediation is about progress feels misplaced. From my own time as a mediator (and as someone with conflict) I have worked many cases where a “shift” in disposition - both positive and negative - comes long before and long after any particular session. And so, if sessions and agreements are no guarantees of success, what are we left to hold? If Covid cases decline in Rochester but rage in the Global South, have we made progress? And if Covid is eradicated entirely but our healthcare system is no more accessible or resilient, did we move forward? For me, the underlying point is that the conventional narrative of progress is like bumpers in a bowling alley. It defines our boundaries and sets the direction but it is neither pin nor ball nor bowler. Perhaps it is time for a new metric by which we measure value. Not progress, not profit, but something akin to mediation: presence, difficult truths, and a firm understanding that our goal is always a moving target.

Clayton Lyons is Restorative Practices Coordinator at the Center for Dispute Settlement

Spotlight On

Agricultural Mediation

It all came down to a butterfly.

The Davis family* had owned their family farm for generations. When it came time to retire, Joe and Dawn were looking forward to selling the farm and moving to North Carolina to be close to their children.

However, to everyone's surprise, a certain species of butterfly that made its home on the Davis's land showed up on the New York State list of endangered species, and the Department of Environmental Conservation issued the family a letter forbidding them to sell their land since it had been designated a "critical habitat."

The Davises contacted the Center for Dispute Settlement for assistance through our New York State Agricultural Mediation Program (NYSAMP). Within a matter of weeks, a large group mediation was convened, including representatives from the DEC, the National Wildlife Federation, and the New York Farm Bureau. Over the course of several sessions, the parties came up with an agreement allowing the Davises to sell their land to the state, fulfilling their dream of retirement.

Agricultural Mediation, along with all of our conflict resolution services, is a safe, confidential process, available at low- or no-cost, that can empower all parties to have a voice in resolving their conflict and avoid lengthy court procedures.

For more information about Agricultural Mediation, contact: Jim Waight at jwaight@cdsadr.org or call (607) 776-6976. Or visit www.cdsadr.org.

*All names and identifying information have been changed.

Music That Inspires

We Can Work It Out.

Peace, Love, and Understanding.

Respect.

Do you have a favorite song about conflict resolution?

Recently, on the Dispute Resolution in Legal Education listserv, Karen Tokarz (Washington U-St.Louis) shared that her Mediation students had initiated a competition to find songs that highlight the world of mediation. She shared a list of songs on the slate, and invited list members to suggest others. Within 48 hours, the community had shared over 70 titles including songs with mediation, arbitration, negotiation, and conflict resolution themes.

Check out this list of songs to inspire us to bring our best selves to conflict.

Happy Listening!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWu_6fmE3JoZ6W_EuAZhCn1PA8SDedN0T

Agency Updates

Welcome to Marina Taub and Rachel Wilson, who join Matt Cole in our Monroe County Family Court Diversion Program.

As part of the growing movement to ensure pay practices that are fair, equitable, and meet employees' needs, the Center is proud to announce that we have officially raised our minimum wage to $18/hour. We will also be including pay rates with every job posting, as well as publishing pay scales for all our staff positions in our new fiscal year beginning April 1, 2022. We welcome your feedback about our agency's pay and hiring practices. Thank you to our staff for all that you do to support a healthy, happy, and thriving workplace at the Center.