Texas Mediation Trainers Roundtable

Lee Taft, J.D., M.Div

The Texas Mediation Trainers Roundtable (TMTR) hosted its annual Train-the-Trainer Event on February 21, 2013 in Dallas, Texas. Lee Taft and Stuart Elovitz were this year’s featured trainers.

Taft, owner of Taft Solutions, is an attorney, mediator, and expert is apology. He presented “Reparative Processes in Mediated Settings: Apology, Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Mediation” and examined the role of apology and related reparative processes in mediation. Based on over twenty years of experience as a litigator and his scholarship in apology research, Taft presented his ground-breaking model. To bring the model to life, Taft led the audience through several specific case studies.

Elovitz is an ophthalmologist, author, and lecturer on visual and emotional mapping. He presented “Mediators Smart Chart: Use the Hercules Affect Affliction Power Grid in Mediation Training” and overviewed of the color-coded Smart Chart, a detailed look at twenty-one emotions. Elovitz highlighted the significance emotions and facial expressions play in mediation.

Dr. Stuart Elovit

Laura Otey and Betty Gilmore, co-conveners for the TMTR, expressed their thanks to Barbara Manousso, Train the Trainer chairman, for her work in planning the training.

The TMTR is comprised of mediation trainers who endorse the TMTR standards for training. The organization gathers for three meetings each year in addition to the train-the-trainer event for additional training and to conduct the business of the organization.

Individuals interested in becoming members of TMTR should contact:

Mike Amis, Treasurer
Texas Mediation Trainers Roundtable
P.O. Box 851201
Richardson, Texas 75081

Printable Flier

Texas Mediation Trainers Roundtable presents its annual Train the Trainer workshop in Dallas, Texas on Thursday, February 21, 2013 at the Hampton Inn, Walnut Hill from 8:30 AM until 4:30 PM. This year’s program features two national presenters:

Lee Taft, J.D., M.Div.  
Lee Taft has been a Dallas trial attorney and mediator who attended the Harvard School of Divinity after being a litigator to explore the impact and pedagogy tools of apology and forgiveness. He is a compelling speaker, not to be missed.

Reparative Processes in Mediated Settings: Apology, Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Mediation
Taft’s workshop will examine the role of apology and related reparative processes in mediation. A variety of different definitions for each term will be explored. The workshop will be grounded in theory yet promises to be both practical and experiential for trainers to use in their training programs and in their own practice.

Stuart Elovitz, M.D. 
Dr. Elovitz is an ophthalmologist, author, and lecturer on visual and emotional mapping. He brings a medical background and unique process on how to read clients, as well as a fresh insight as to how to train others on the use of these important skills.

Mediators Smart Chart: Use the Hercules Affect Affliction Power Grid in Mediation Training
Using the Mediators Smart Chart, Train the Trainer participants will learn the 21 feelings – emotions on the color-coded MEDIATORS SMART CHART and the significance of fear, anxiety, guilt, hurt, anger, hate, shame, and empathy; this knowledge will enable trainers to teach their students how to better approach the process of mediation.

Location

Hampton Inn Dallas-North-I-35E at Walnut Hill
11069 Composite Drive
Dallas, TX 75229
(972) 484-6557
Maps and directions

The Dallas Hampton Inn at Walnut Hill is offering a wonderful discounted rate of $99 a night, which includes breakfast and evening lite-dinner and libations. They will offer this rate for five nights for our Train the Trainer attendees, in the event that TAM conference goers might want to stay at this hotel, since it is only seven miles away from the Westin. For hotel reservations, mention special discount under Texas Mediation or ask for Ruth Gallenberg, Director of Sales at (972) 484-6557.

Registration and Membership

The registration fee includes a continental breakfast, lunch, and post-lecture wine and cheese networking reception. Cost for the program will be $75 for TMTR members. For non-TMTR members, registration will be $100. Registration after February 15th or at the door will be $125 for members and $150 for nonmembers.
Registration Form

TMTR membership dues for TMTR are $25. Renewing members and new members may register by including their membership dues and form with their workshop registration fee and form.
Membership Application

All forms should be mailed along with checks made payable to “TMTR” to:

Mike Amis, Treasurer
Texas Mediation Trainers Roundtable
P.O. Box 851201
Richardson, Texas 75081

Questions

For more information, please contact T3 Program Chair Dr. Barbara Sunderland Manousso at (713) 840-0828 or mediation@manousso.us.

“Unless the parties have agreed to engage in alternative dispute resolution or are required to do so by contact, the court must not – by order or local rule – require the parties to engage in alternative dispute resolution” (p. 10).

Loretta Masse

Loretta Maase, M.A., NCC will conduct a training on the Nurturing Parenting Co-Parent Program for TMTR members at the upcoming quarterly meeting on November 19, 2012. The meeting will be held at the Austin DRC and the training will begin at 10 a.m. 

Loretta earned a Masters degree in counseling in 1995, with a specialization in child development and parent-education. She is a therapist, parenting coordinator, and parenting coach with over 25 years experience. Loretta is also a Credentialed Mediator and National Trainer with the Nurturing Parenting Program. In addition to maintaining a private practice, she provides training and consultation to legal and clinical professionals working with high-conflict co-parents.

The Nurturing Parenting Co-Parent Program (NPCP) is typically referred for Parent Coordination/Facilitation by Guardian ad litems, family attorneys,  judges, and family mediators. The NPCP model combines the principles and structure of Divorce Impasse Parent Facilitation (mediation and conflict resolution) with the developmental sequence of the evidence-based Nurturing Parenting Program. NPCP helps parents learn: how to grow in empathy as a means to decrease reactivity and conflict; how to identify and meet their needs constructively while understanding and meeting their children’s needs; how to identify and overcome destructive attitudes affecting their role as a parent and co-parent; how to learn emotional regulation for themselves and their children; how to effectively communicate, resolve conflicts, reduce stress, and problem solve parenting and co-parenting issues. As parents’ awareness and skill in these areas increase, so does their ability to implement a nurturing, child-centered parenting plan with their co-parent.

This training session is only available to TMTR members. Click here for membership information.

Margaret Leeds

Margaret Leeds, principal in Leeds’ Conflict Management in San Antonio, will conduct a special training for TMTR members at the Roundtable’s next quarterly meeting on September 24, 2012. The meeting will be held at the Austin DRC and the training will begin at 10 a.m.

Each generation wants new symbols, new people, new names. They want to divorce themselves from their predecessors. Jim Mor

The term generation gap is a term used to describe the different values and attitudes between one generation and another. This term is typically used to describe the gap between parents and their children. Since the 1960’s, the term generation gap has also been used to describe the clash one age group has with another in various settings. Because humans live on average 77 to 80 years, four potential generations may exist in a social setting today. For example, the Traditionalist Generation represents people in a generation born before 1946. The Baby Boomers are people born between 1946 and 1961. Generation X represents people born between 1962 and 1980, and Generation Y represents people born in the 1980s and 1990s.

This mini-workshop will explore the dynamics of the generation gaps in today’s society… in the family, in the workplace…and, for TMTR’s purposes, in a mediation. Different generations interacting with each other may lead to miscommunication or misunderstanding. Furthermore, the way each generation handles confrontation may also be a point of friction. Understanding the differences in background, attitudes, and interactive styles of each generation is paramount in creating a mutually respectful and peaceful environment for all.

This training session is only available to TMTR members. Click here for membership information.

The Texas Mediation Trainers Roundtable hosted its annual Train-the-Trainer Event on February 23 in The Woodlands, Texas.

Patti Porter

Pattie Porter, President of Conflict Connections, Inc. in San Antonio, was this year’s featured trainer and presented ”The Delicate Balance Between Being the Expert and a Guide in the Training Room.”

Porter has worked extensively in the dispute resolution field for over 17 years providing mediation, facilitation, negotiation training, and conflict coaching services to individuals, businesses, and organizations, including higher education institutions such as the University of Delaware and the University of Texas. She has worked extensively with the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Postal Service, NASA, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Porter hosts her own Blog Talk Radio show, The Texas Conflict Coach. She holds the Advanced Practitioner – Workplace Mediator designation for the Association for Conflict Resolution, is a Credentialed Distinguished Mediator in the Texas Mediator Credentialing Association, and the CINERGY certified advanced conflict coach and coach-mentor recognized by the International Coach Federation.

In the day-long training, Porter led participants through an overview of seven intelligences for adult learning complete with suggestions for ways to incorporate each one into the design of training sessions. Participants were also asked to explore their own learning preferences and how they impact the emphases they place on training elements.

In a final exercise, participants formed teams to design and present a short training segment.

Laura Otey and Betty Gilmore, co-conveners for the TMTR, praised the workshop for its focus on enhancing training techniques. “This training, because of its emphasis on the training aspect, has been one of the richest train-the-trainer experiences we have had in recent years,” Otey said.

The TMTR is comprised of mediation trainers who endorse the TMTR standards for training. The organization gathers for three meetings each year in addition to the train-the-trainer event for additional training and to conduct the business of the organization. Individuals interested in becoming members of TMTR should contact:

Mike Amis, Treasurer
Texas Mediation Trainers Roundtable
P.O. Box 851201
Richardson, Texas 75081

The winter meeting of the Texas Mediation Trainers Roundtable will be conducted at 4:30 p.m. immediately following the Train the Trainer Event on Thursday, February 23. The location for the meeting is Trinity Episcopal Church, Atrium Room, 3901 S. Panther Creek Drive, The Woodlands, Texas.

Pattie Porter

Pattie Porter, President of Conflict Connections, Inc. in San Antonio, will be the featured presenter for TMTR’s annual Train the Trainer (T3) Event on February 23, 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Trinity Episcopal Church, 3901 S. Panther Creek Drive, The Woodlands, Texas. The T3 Event is hosted by TMTR each year on the day preceding the annual Texas Association of Mediators Conference.  PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A CHANGE IN LOCATION FROM THE ORIGINAL EVENT SITE. SEE DIRECTIONS TO SITE BELOW.

Porter’s presentation will be specifically designed to address issues facing mediation trainers and is entitled “The Delicate Balance Between Being the Expert and a Guide in the Training Room.”

For workshop objectives and complete agenda, click here.

Porter has worked extensively in the dispute resolution field for over 17 years providing mediation, facilitation, negotiation training, and conflict coaching services to individuals, businesses, and organizations, including higher education institutions such as the University of Delaware and the University of Texas. She has worked extensively with the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Postal Service, NASA, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

As a senior trainer for Coca-Cola Enterprises during the launch of its nationwide dispute resolution program, Porter provided training in all areas of conflict resolution. In the last 5 years, she led, organized and designed multi-day, train-the-trainer workshops for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) which focused on teaching others about conflict management as a way to shift the organizational culture at airports across the United States.

Porter hosts her own Blog Talk Radio show, The Texas Conflict Coach. She holds the Advanced Practitioner – Workplace Mediator designation for the Association for Conflict Resolution, is a Credentialed Distinguished Mediator in the Texas Mediator Credentialing Association, and the CINERGY certified advanced conflict coach and coach-mentor recognized by the International Coach Federation.

Workshop Description:

Description: Are you a sage on the stage or a guide on the side? Being an effective and experiential trainer requires an understanding of adult learning theory but more importantly, the ability to carry out an engaging and powerful learning experience. A core element of this train-the-trainer workshop is the ability to facilitate a participant’s own learning through powerful questions, dialogue exchange, and the use of various exercises designed to address a number of participant learning styles. Participants in this training will learn how to balance between being an expert or sage, and a guide in the training room. They will also learn….

a) techniques to design processes when delivering an exercise
b) online technologies that enhance the learning experience
c) easy techniques for graphically recording on flip charts
d) how to facilitate a participant’s learning and understanding of key concepts

This is a hands-on, experiential workshop designed to challenge participants and move them outside their comfort zone. Participants will be physically moving in the room, so comfortable shoes and clothes are recommended.

Registration for the event is open only to 2012 members of TMTR until January 14. Registration will be open to all individuals beginning that date. (REGISTRATION IS LIMITED TO 30 PARTICIPANTS.)

The fee for the day-long workshop is $100 and includes all materials, refreshments and lunch. Annual Membership dues for TMTR are $25. Renewing members and new members may also register prior to January 14 by including their membership dues and form with their workshop registration fee and form.  You may download those forms here: TMTR Membership App 2012. TMTR Train the Trainer Registration 2012.

All forms should be mailed along with checks made payable to “TMTR” to

Mike Amis, Treasurer
Texas Mediation Trainers Roundtable
P.O. Box 851201
Richardson, Texas 75081

DIRECTIONS TO TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH

TAKE WOODLANDS PARKWAY EXIT FROM I45 and go west on Woodlands Parkway to the third signal light.  Turn left onto South Panther Creek Drive.  Go to the first stop sign.  Continue on to the third cut through and make a U-turn.  In about 25 feet, turn right into the driveway for the church and Creekwood Park.  Go past the first entrance to the church to the back parking area.  Go about 100 yards down the walkway toward the church and the building on the left will be the Atrium Building.  Go in the door and take the first left.  You are there.

IF YOU ARE STARTING FROM THE WOODLANDS EXECUTIVE CONFERENCE CENTER:   Take the winding road from the Conference Center back to Grogan’s Mill Road.  Turn left, go to the first signal light and go left under the bridge.  You are now on Woodlands Parkway.  Follow the directions above, turning left at the first signal light on to South Panther Creek Drive, etc.

In response to recommendations from the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Supreme Court approved amendments to the “Ethical Guidelines for Mediators” which were adopted by Court Order dated June 13, 2005 (Misc. Docket No. 05-9107). The new Court Order, dated April 11, 2011 (Misc. Docket No. 11-9062), will make the revisions effective June 1, 2011.

For a copy of the Court Order and the newly-revised guidelines, click Ethical Guidelines Amended Order.

Lee Jay Berman

Thirty mediation trainers gathered in San Antonio on February 24, 2011, for the annual Texas Mediation Training Roundtable “Train the Trainer” event.  Lee Jay Berman, Los Angeles, California, challenged the group to think differently about the diverse needs of both mediators and their trainers in today’s environment.

Noting that Texas was a leader in the mediation movement, Berman described how California had adapted and shaped the profession and the processes surrounding it. He emphasized the need of mediators to meet the expectations of the parties while honoring the proven techniques of facilitation. “An important part of our job as trainers, is to keep mediators fresh,” Berman said.

Berman addressed the difficulties of providing training to a diverse group of individuals. Much has been done to standardize training, he said, and for good reason.  However, he presented the question of whether trainers are meeting the needs of those who come for training.

Berman is the Founder and President of the American Institute of Mediation. He served as the national chair of the American Bar Association Section on Dispute Resolution’s Training Committee for four years. Berman is the former director of the Mediating the Litigated Case program at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine University School of Law.  He is a national panelist for the American Arbitration Association, a Distinguished Fellow with the International Academy of Mediators, a Diplomat with both the California and National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, and is internationally certified by the International Mediation Institute.

Berman shares his insights on dispute resolution through his blogsite, Eye on Conflict, hosts a weekly radio show called Talk It Over, and trained mediators, judges and business leaders in India, Croatia, Jordan, the UAE, and the Netherlands.

Betty Gilmore introduces Lee Jay Berman

Lee Jay Berman challenges trainers to see things differently

Train the Trainer Event - San Antonio

Lee Jay Berman and Train the Trainer participants

The Texas Mediation Trainers Roundtable is a guild of individuals who come together to set standards and ensure the quality of mediation training in the State of Texas.