January 2023 Newsletter

Friday, January 6, 2023 - 1:00pm

Celebrating 50 Years!

* 1973 - 2023 *

January 2023 Newsletter

Message From Our President/CEO

It is my honor to kick off the Center's 50th anniversary year and announce our year-long campaign for 2023: "Building Conflict-Resilient Communities."

We start the year by taking a look at our origins as a community dispute resolution center, founded in response to social justice issues in the City of Rochester during the time of the Civil Rights Movement.

The year was 1973. Tensions were growing around the issue of public school integration, and attempts at discussion had failed to de-escalate the rising conflicts among educators, parents, and community members.

Photo: Former President/CEOs Andrew Thomas

and Sherry Walker-Cowart

Finally, the American Arbitration Association was called upon to train a grassroots group of community organizers, in an attempt to support dialogue and bring healing and transformation to the community. Thus our organization was born, originally founded under the name "Community Dispute Services." Ours was the first community dispute resolution center in New York State, and the third in the nation.

As the agency became more deeply immersed in the Rochester community, its programs expanded to encompass not only civil and criminal matters referred from city and town courts, but also juvenile and custody and visitation matters from family court. Additionally, community groups, institutions, and municipalities began contacting the agency for trainings and consultation in conflict resolution techniques.

In 1979, the agency became incorporated as an independent nonprofit organization and changed its name to the Center for Dispute Settlement. In 1981, the Center received a grant from the Unified Court System's Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution, joining the network of Community Dispute Resolution Centers (CDRCS), now serving every county across New York State.

Between 1983 and 1997, the Center expanded beyond Monroe County to include Livingston, Ontario, Wayne, Seneca, Cayuga, Yates, and Steuben.

Over the coming year, please stay tuned to an exciting line-up of events, webinars, and opportunities to become involved with the Center and join us in celebrating our 50th year.

We hope you will join our campaign and support us in "Building Conflict-Resilient Communities" within your own community, workplace, neighborhood, and family.

We look forward to envisioning our next 50 years together.

In peace,

Shira May

President/CEO

The Rochester Advisory Board of "Community Dispute Services" - the Center's original title - founded by the American Arbitration Association in 1973.

Custody and Visitation Mediation Training

Monday and Tuesday, February 27th and 28th, 2023

9:00am- 5:30pm (both days)

First Federal Training Center, 28 East Main Street, 19th Floor, Rochester, NY 14614

Training provided by Donna Durbin

New York State Unified Court System Certified Trainer

Successful completion of Basic Mediation Training is a prerequisite.

Registration Fee: No Charge to CDS Mediators & Apprentices. Fee charged for other CDRC mediators. Please note that space is limited. Registration Deadline: February 20, 2023.

If you have any questions, please contact Donna Durbin at ddurbin@cdsadr.org or (585) 546-5110 ext. 108.

Recap from our

Advanced Regional Training:

"A Transformative Approach to Working with Parties with High Conflict Behaviors"

Trainer Gina Tinker-Williams facilitated this in-person training for a cohort of 15 mediators and apprentices from across our organization. Gina emphasized that in Transformative Mediation, we do not measure success solely on the basis of the agreement that is reached. Rather, we look for a range of measures of success including:

Parties' interaction is transformed from weak/self-absorbed to strong/responsive
Parties better understand each other
Parties are listening more respectfully
Parties are speaking with more clarity
Parties are at the least accepting, if not agreeing
Parties are more able to see each other's perspective
Parties are willing to accept the other's good faith
Parties are more open
Parties are more attentive to one another

In case you missed it, this training will be offered again in a virtual format in February - stay tuned for registration information. For more information, please email Ronalyn Pollack: rpollack@cdsadr.org.

This training is made possible through a grant from the Unified Court System, Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution

A special thank you to our sponsors!

Partner

Custom 100

Parris Bryant

Ronald Johnson

Joseph Stulberg

Jean Ticen

Sherry Walker-Cowart

Leader

EDI Executive Search/Consulting Firm

I. Gordon

Wegmans

Community Impact Survey

In an effort to continually improve the inclusivity of our organization, the Center for Dispute Settlement is reaching out to our community members to ask about your experience with the Center. The short survey should take about 5-10 minutes to complete.

The survey is open to volunteers, clients, referral sources, partner agency staff, and community members within our 8-county service area.

The survey will remain open until January 15, 2023. Results and next steps will be shared in our February 2023 newsletter.

We would appreciate your honest, candid feedback.

Thank you!

Take the Survey

Update from the Racial Equity Leadership Committee (RELC)

by Subrata Paul,

Case Manager, Cayuga County

Happy New Year from the Racial Equity Leadership Committee!

In 2020, CDS staff founded RELC as a way to increase our commitment and impact in promoting diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) across our organization. As 2023 begins, RELC wants to encourage people to continue their DEIB journey. Deeper understanding of DEIB doesn’t happen overnight. Continued learning to develop or strengthen our knowledge is a key part of bringing equitable change to our organization and communities.

In 2021, the United Way rolled out a 21-day Equity Challenge. The 21-day Equity Challenge is a powerful opportunity to develop a deep understanding of inequity, racism, and other social inequities, and its impact on our community.

The challenge includes articles, podcasts and videos that will provide opportunities to develop a deeper understanding of how racism and inequity affect our lives and community, offer suggestions for reflection and options to continue learning.

There are many ways to embrace and interact with the challenge, including:

• LEARN – Read, watch, or listen to the content that is shared each day.

• REFLECT – Think about the questions that are offered for self-reflection.

• CONNECT – Talk with your colleagues, family, and friends about what you are experiencing.

We recognize that the information shared during the Challenge may be emotionally and intellectually challenging to engage with, especially for people who have experienced racism and oppression. We encourage you to go at your own pace, to take a break from the Challenge, whenever you may need and return when you are ready.

If there is interest, RELC can host a zoom meeting to provide space to reflect and explore what is being discussed in those articles, podcasts, and videos.

The link to the 21-day Equity Challenge is located here at https://unitedwayrocflx.org/21-Day-Equity-Challenge

For more information about RELC, contact Michelle Mitchell at mmitchell@cdsadr.org or Maia Taub at mtaub@cdsadr.org.

Looking forward to a wonderful 2023!