TRAINERS UPDATES
Hello all. We held a meeting of DR trainers nearly a month ago. It was a wonderful and productive meeting and we decided we ought to meet again.
This balance of this email is (1) a report of the meeting (2) a request for info from you and (3) a suggested next meeting time.
REPORT
The meeting was focused on a short set of questions. What training do you do regularly, and when? What training do you do rarely that you'd like to do more? What training would you like to do? Any ideas for building a community of trainers?
We discussed many potential benefits of working together -- from being able to recruit helpers to doing co-training, to collaborating on purchases of space and materials, to finding substitutes in case of emergencies, to move safely into new areas of training and more.
In order to start, we needed to know who did what. Here's a summary of what people said.
Tsipora Dimant -- 4x/yr basic mediation at PCC, fall and spring advanced mediation; once in a while -- team building and conflict resolution. Would like to do facilitation training. Would like to see more coordination of training calendar and more advanced training for experienced mediators.
Mary Forst -- Basic mediation each spring, workplace mediation (2 days) once per year, winter term mediation skills at UO. Once in a while -- facilitation, large group mediation, dialogue, consensus building, teambuilding, roleplay coaching. Would like to train about supervising mediators, and believes we ought to market collectively.
Sam Imperati -- does only "in house" trainings (no open enrollment) on basic and advanced mediation, diversity, conflict management, public policy facilitation. Would like to see us work on scheduling, an approach to DAS, coordinate with IAPZ, IAF, ASTD, OLI, OSB etc, and capitalize on market power of the group (advertising, marketing, space, trading skills).
Louise Neilson -- teaches an undergraduate component at Marylhurst through the communications department, as well as courses in open thinking and creativity.
Erin Ruff -- used to do a lot of training associated with the courts and their mediation programs. Will in the future be concentrating on teaching parents how to use conflict resolution skills in their families (and more -- I'm not capable of fully expressing Erin's vision). She would like to be working on how to create the next generation of conflict resolution professionals and would like the community to make cross referrals, to do group brainstorming, and to find and fill gaps and needs.
Linda Scher -- acts as a roleplay coach for Confluence NW and is making annual a workshop on committed relationships. She lectures on mediation in a family law class at L&C. She identifies a need for training in family mediation and some way to fill the void left by the elimination of Erin's position at OJD. She'd like to see more interaction and discussion among the community of trainers and affiliated mediators.
Chris Sheesley -- does a 40 hour basic training for Resolutions NW and City of Beaverton each year in Jan/Feb, and 4 hours sessions on such topics as "conflict resolution 101" and "communicating in conflict." Occasionally, he does a 4-8 hour training for line staff, communicating under stress and the manager as mediator. Would like to see us be able to refer opportunities to colleague if he doesn't do what the customer is requesting or if the dates won't work. Chris also values the network benefits described already, and suggests we need a next step of training and opportunities for community mediators.
Laurel Singer -- does a 1x/yr basic mediation training at confluence center (5 days, spring), 1x/yr advanced workplace mediation (2 days, late spring), 2x/yr collaborative governance through OC/NRCC (5 days, Jan and May), 2x/yr facilitating collaborative processes (3 days). All can be open to the public. Once in a while she does private trainings for agencies, with topics including dealing with difficult people, dealing with angry patrons (in the library!), conflict management for managers, and more. She would like to do a 1 day training for government leaders on intitiating collaborative governance. She would like to see the community coordinate at a minimum and aspire to create new trainings to fill unmet needs.
For my part, I mostly teach law students in Salem, but I also teach a mediation class and a negotiation class in May-June in Portland. Non lawyers may apply, and any lawyer or law student can attend. I also will be teaching a 1/2 day "ethics for negotiating lawyers" class this fall (hoping to make that annual), a 1 day negotiation or mediation advocacy course this spring, both in Portland, and I'm looking to create and maintain a training calendar of events that are geared toward mid-level to advanced mediators and their clients. I hold a monthly group meeting of a small invited group of mediators where we discuss theory and practice and I can envision a group of targeted "salons" consisting of people with similar levels of interest and skill. I also do private training, and I have done training for the DOJ and the Court of Appeal. I generally do 2 CLE appearances each year as well.
REQUEST FOR INFO
You get the idea. Some of us filled out a form telling everyone what we do regularly, what we do once in a while and what we'd like to do, and what we'd like a community of trainers to do. Now tell us what your answers are! That's exactly the purpose of the Johnston event and this trainers subgroup -- share, comment, keep the ball rolling.
SUGGESTED NEXT DATE
Tuesday, December 1, from 3-5 pm, at the Lucky Lab on Hawthorne. Same little private room. Same deal -- I buy the peanuts.
Hope to see you then, and in the meantime, see you at OMA.
Best,
Rich