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A Note from Our President/CEO
With election week upon us, I want to acknowledge that anxiety levels are high, and to remind us to take care of ourselves. Remember to take frequent breaks to breathe, walk, or stretch.
Here is a short meditation prompt for your week:
Breathe in courage
Breathe out fear
(Repeat as needed)
-Shira May
President/CEO
Center for Dispute Settlement
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Roc the Day with CDS
On December 3, our community will come together to ROC the Day, and CDS hopes to make it a huge success!
ROC the Day is a 24-hour giving opportunity to support the work of not-for-profits in the nine-county Greater Rochester area. Donors can express your enthusiasm for your favorite cause by sharing the message with friends, family, co-workers, and social networks.
As a member of the CDS community, we encourage you to join us during this 24 hours of giving.
Don't forget to visit ROCtheDay.org on December 3
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CDS Training Institute
Fall 2024 Offerings
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Introduction to Restorative Justice
Friday, November 15, 9:00am – 3:30pm
First Federal Building 19th Floor: 28 E. Main St, Rochester
Fee: $200 – Open to the public. Lunch will be provided.
Presented in collaboration with Partners in Restorative Initiatives
To register, email smay@cdsadr.org. Payment can be made online at https://www.cdsadr.org/?q=pay-my-bill
Transforming White Privilege
Monday, December 2, 9:00am - 3:00pm
For CDS staff and board members
To register, email Martha Chazanoff: mchazanoff@cdsadr.org
The Art of De-Escalation: Interrupting the Negative Conflict Spiral
Friday, December 13, 9:00-10:30am
First Federal Building 19th Floor Training Center: 28 E. Main St, Rochester
Fee: $25 - Open to the public
To register, email smay@cdsadr.org. Payment can be made online at https://www.cdsadr.org/?q=pay-my-bill
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Photos from Our Donor Appreciation Luncheon
A huge thank you to our donors who attended our Donor Appreciation Luncheon on October 22 at the First Federal Building in downtown Rochester. The event theme was "Promoting peaceful dialogue during election season and beyond" and featured keynote speaker Simeon Banister, President & CEO at the Rochester Area Community Foundation.
Board Treasurer Parris Bryant II introduced our new CDS Peacemaker Society, a community of philanthropists committed to five years of giving to CDS, who will gather quarterly to discuss opportunities for innovations and new directions in our agency's work.
For more information about how to invest in the future of peacemaking, contact Shira May, President/CEO: smay@cdsadr.org.
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Fall Cohort Completes
Basic Mediation Training
Congratulations to our CDS staff, volunteers, and community partners who completed 35 hours of Basic Mediation Training in September-October.
Those who wish to become a certified mediator with CDS will move on to their apprenticeship program, which consists of 3 observations, 3 co-mediations, and one solo mediation observed by a supervisor.
For more information about our mediation trainings, visit our website at www.cdsadr.org.
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CDS Represented at Local Conferences
CDS staff and board members presented on the topic of "Witnesses to Injustice: A
Community Organization's Transformative Journey of Allyship With Indigenous Communities" during September and October.
The presentation described our agency's partnership with the Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation to host the KAIROS Blanket Exercise: Witness to Injustice program for staff and board members. Afterwards, a working group drafted our agency's Land Acknowledgment, which can be found on our website.
The presentation took place at two local conferences: the Urban League's Interrupt Racism Summit, and the University of Rochester's Boundless Together Diversity Conference.
In addition, we congratulate CaTyra Polland, our new full-time AmeriCorps member at CDS, who was honored with a Legacy Award at the Interrupt Racism Summit for her work as a published author, editor, and speaker.
Pictured, left to right:
-Stace Pierce, Maia Taub, Ronalyn Pollack, and Milo Obourn at the Boundless Together Conference
-Shira May and Adedoyin Bishi with Mary Lupien, Rochester City Councilmember at the Interrupt Racism Summit
-CaTyra Polland (3rd from left) at the Legacy Luncheon at the Interrupt Racism Summit
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Peer Mediation Training
Congratulations to our new Peer Mediators at Young Women's College Prep (YWCP) Charter School in Rochester!
Nine students, from 8th to 12th grade, along with five staff members, completed 12 hours of Peer Mediation Training in October. The training introduced participants to the key principles of mediation and provided role play practice in the core skills of presenting an opening statement, active listening, open-ended questions, summaries, self-monitoring, and agreement writing.
YWCP was one of several schools selected to participate in a year-long training and technical assistance program in partnership with a local community dispute resolution center, funded by a grant program through the New York State Department of Education.
For more information about Peer Mediation, contact Adedoyin Bishi, Community-Based Program Coordinator: abishi@cdsadr.org.
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Understanding Perspective
Martha Chazanoff, Program Manager, Livingston County
I had a lot of “aha” moments working with Michelle Mitchell, the Program Manager, of Ontario County as we prepared material for the Transforming White Privilege curriculum. My most recent moment came when familiarizing myself with historical advantages (for white people like myself) and disadvantages (for ALANA ( Africana, Latino/a/x, Asian & Pacific Islander, Native American, and All other Underrepresented Races and Ethnicities). So many policies such as: The 1790 Naturalization Act, the Social Security Act of 1935, and the 1935 Wagner Act, to were unfamiliar to me. I was not not taught about these acts – they were not part of my education in school. My family never discussed them. And yet, as enunciated in the curriculum guide, “These policies… had a significant impact on people’s lives and on our collective U.S. narrative about whose lives matter.”
Learning about these policies now helps me to recognize SYSTEMIC racism– those policies that got us where we are today as a society. To be able to witness those policies, I need to understand my own family story connected to those policies. For example, the Indian Removal Act of 1830, forcibly relocated Cherokee, Creeks, and other eastern Indians west of the Mississippi River to make room for white settlers. What did I know about that growing up? Nothing. What was discussed with family members? None of these policies. There wasn’t even so much as a mention of this heinous act. Was the discussion racialized? The fact that there was no discussion at all implies it wasn’t important in our community or like myself, my family didn’t even know about it let alone how we benefited. Do I have questions about this now? Absolutely. When you know better, you do better, so I’m taking responsibility for educating myself, my family, and my friends so we don’t repeat this horrific act and acknowledge how we benefited from a policy that wreaked havoc on the Native American people and culture.
I can recognize my triggers by grounding myself in knowing how historical realities were or were not learned and or discussed in my own family growing up. Honestly, it is humbling, frustrating, and embarrassing to admit that I knew nothing about the Native American history of the land I grew up on. It is helpful to speak from personal experience when making a case for racial equity or supporting someone to understand the concept of white privilege. It allows us to connect our own hearts with our heads, as well as to connect with other people and share information in a way that can be heard and received accordingly.
Is it hard? Yes. Is it awkward? Sure. Is it important? Absolutely. Is it worth it? Without a doubt. We can all participate in learning history, accurate history, at any point in our lives. We can assess our own family stories and consider how those historical events benefited or disadvantaged us because of our skin color. We can have honest conversations.
As noted in the Transforming White Privilege Curriculum: “Part of working for racial justice is understanding that systemic advantage and disadvantage are part of our personal history and experiences. The clearer we are about how the system of inequity impacts us, and how we can operate in the world, the stronger we will be.” I agree wholeheartedly which is why I’ve embarked on a journey of self-education about our history so that our present and future may be better, more equitable, and less painful than our past.
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Agency Updates
Congratulations to our 2024-2025 AmeriCorps - Community Mediation Service Corps (CMSC) members! CMSC members commit to one year of service at a community dispute resolution center. The program provides training in mediation, conflict coaching, and restorative circles, as well as offers opportunities for fellowship and service with other members across the statewide network.
Full-time member:
- CaTyra Polland (Administration)
Part-time volunteer members:
- Hailee Catalano (Cayuga/Seneca/Wayne Counties)
- Marissa Engel (Livingston/Steuben Counties)
- Cili Philips (Monroe County)
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