July 2024 Newsletter

Transforming Conflict Through

Conflict Coaching

One of our many offerings at the Center for Dispute Settlement is conflict coaching. Like our other services, conflict coaching is a voluntary, confidential process which offers high-quality, third party support, while promoting parties' empowerment to resolve their own conflicts. Conflict coaching can provide benefits to one or both parties in a conflict, whether or not the parties come to the table for mediation.

Conflict coaching began in the 1990's within the field of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), as a way for providers to offer services when one or more parties declined mediation. Coaching programs in the workplace, including executive coaching, provided a basic framework for this new type of service.

In conflict coaching, a trained coach provides short-term, one-on-one support, typically for up to six sessions, to promote an individual's understanding, strategies, and skills for handling a particular conflict. Through a four-stage process, the coach supports the party to reflect on the conflict, explore how identity, emotions, and power play a role in the conflict, and plan strategies to address the conflict. Coaches can support parties with specific skills such as assertive communication, active listening, and apologies - and can even role play these skills if desired.

For more information about conflict coaching services, contact us at info@cdsadr.org or 585-546-5110.

Racial Equity Leadership Committee

Summer Retreat

On June 14th, members of the Racial Equity Leadership Committee (RELC) gathered for a retreat at Ellison Park. After reflecting on our experiences with our work on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), we reviewed our four major pillars and set goals for the year for each of these priority areas:

1) Education and training

2) Encouraging and supporting dialogue

3) Policy and practice

4) Alignment with agency strategic plan.

Finally, we engaged in an activity from the Transforming White Privilege curriculum, in which we developed our own meaningful questions to ask ourselves as a way of checking how white privilege shows up in our day-to-day interactions and the impact of that privilege. For more information, visit: https://www.racialequitytools.org/curricula/transforming-white-privilege

Staff Represent CDS at Community Events



Julie Burke, Monroe County Case Manager, represented CDS at the City of Rochester's End Gun Violence Day on June 1st. Gun Violence Awareness Day and Wear Orange Weekend are recognized across the country on the first Friday and weekend of June. The wear-orange movement was initially conceived by the classmates of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendelton of Chicago, who was shot and killed on a school playground one week after marching in President Barack Obama’s inauguration parade.

Martha Chazanoff, Livingston County Program Manager, and her son Ryan spent a lovely Saturday in June at the Livingston County Safety & Wellness Fair. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect with other professionals in Livingston County and to promote peaceful dispute resolution processes in Livingston County.

Ontario/Yates Staff Retreat

The Ontario/Yates County staff held their annual team retreat at the Cheshire Union in Canandaigua. Kim Reisch, Michelle Mitchell, and Ingrid Welch enjoyed a silk painting class and toured the art gallery and antique center. The staff also had the opportunity to talk about their work at CDS, including our mediation and restorative practices services, with the people they met.

Welcome to

New Board Member

Marisa Wilson

We are grateful to welcome Marisa Wilson to the CDS Board of Directors. Marisa is Associate Director of the George Eastman Circle, Office of Annual Giving at the University of Rochester. She has worked at the University of Rochester since 2014. She is also immediate past President of the Board of Trustees at Montessori School of Rochester.

Welcome, Marisa!

To view the full list of our current Board members, visit: https://www.cdsadr.org/?q=about

Agency Updates

Chyanne Bushyhead joined our Steuben County office as our new Youth Program Coordinator. Welcome, Chyanne!

We currently have 3 open positions:

Ontario/Yates Case/Program Manager (Penn Yann/Canandaigua offices)

Contact Kim Reisch: kreisch@cdsadr.org

Community-Based Program Coordinator (Rochester office)

Contact Ronalyn Pollack: rpollack@cdsadr.org

Bookkeeper (Rochester office)

Contact Danielle Betts: dbetts@cdsadr.org

For more information, visit: https://www.cdsadr.org/?q=job-postings

July Diversity Calendar 2024

If a holiday begins the evening before, we will mark it with an asterisk (*) below.

July is Disability Pride Month which raises awareness of disabilities, aims to end stigma, and celebrates diversity. In the United States, nearly 15% of the population identifies as disabled.

July 2 – Thurgood Marshall’s Birthday

Celebrate the birthday of the Supreme Court’s first Black Justice today.

July 6 – Dalai Lama’s Birthday

This is the birthday of the highest spiritual leader of Tibet who has stood against China’s occupation of Tibet since 1959.

July 8 – Hijri New Year

The Islamic New Year is celebrated on the first day of the month Muharram.

July 14 – International Non-Binary People's Day

This day aims to raise awareness of the issues faced by non-binary people around the world. Most countries don’t recognize genders outside of the binary of male and female.

July 18 - Nelson Mandela International Day

This day celebrates the legacy of the former South African president and anti-apartheid activist.

July 26 - National Disability Independence Day

This day commemorates the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990.

Source: diversityresources.com/diversity-calendar-2024/

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