Mediator Resume

Experienced divorce and family mediator providing facilitative mediation in complex family matters, including separation and divorce, co-parenting, financial and support issues, special needs considerations, and elder and intra-family disputes. Known for working effectively in high-conflict situations and supporting parties through difficult conversations toward informed and durable agreements. Serves as a Collaborative Law divorce coach in interdisciplinary cases and brings a clinical social work background that supports effective facilitation in complex and high-conflict cases.

Mediation and Family Services - Principal Mediator and Founder

Mediator

Founder/Principal Mediator/Collaborative Law Coach, Mediation and Family Services, Inc., 2014-Present; Divorce and Family Mediator, Independent Practice, 2009-2014; Advanced Mediation Trainer (since 2014)/Divorce and Family Panel Mediator (2009-2023), MWI, 2009-Present. Instructor, Court-Mandated High Conflict Co-Parenting Program, William James College, 2015-2023. Clinical Consultant and former Director of Training & Curriculum Development, Think:Kids at Massachusetts General Hospital, 2015-Present. Adjustment Counselor, Canton High School, 2009-2015; Program Director, Germaine Lawrence School, 2001-2009.

15+ years of experience as a divorce and family mediator, including matters involving complex parenting and financial dynamics, high-conflict communication patterns, special needs considerations, and elder and intra-family disputes. Regularly facilitates restructuring decisions for families in transition, including multi-party conversations among parents, adult children, extended family members, and participating professionals, with a focus on restoring workable communication and supporting durable agreements. Professional leadership includes service on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation, including as Chair of the Professional Development Committee, contributing to statewide training standards and professional programming for mediators. Faculty member for the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council and regular presenter for local and national mediation and family dispute resolution organizations on topics related to child-centered mediation, conflict communication, and high-conflict co-parenting. Additional experience includes eight years of work in a court-ordered High Conflict Parent Education Program at William James College. Earlier professional experience includes clinical social work and leadership roles in educational and treatment settings, informing work with complex family systems and high-conflict dynamics. Certified in Collaborative Problem Solving® through Massachusetts General Hospital’s Think:Kids program.

More than 15 years of experience mediating hundreds of divorce, parenting, elder, marital, and intra-family matters. Serves as a neutral in mediations involving parenting plans and decision-making, co-parenting coordination, financial matters and support obligations, property division, and special needs considerations before, during, and after divorce. Regularly facilitates complex multi-party family mediations, including matters involving parents, adult children, extended family members, and professional participants such as attorneys and financial professionals. Provides facilitative mediation in cases involving high-conflict dynamics, persistent communication breakdowns, strained or limited parental relationships, and emotionally complex family restructuring decisions. Experience includes matters involving pre- and post-nuptial agreements, blended families and stepparents, special needs decision-making (including educational, developmental, and transition planning), elder caregiving and guardianship issues, estate-related sibling disputes, trial separations and reconciliations, cohabitation agreements, parent–adult child and parent–older teenager conflict, post-divorce modifications, LGBTQ and same-sex divorce, and intra-family business disputes. Serves as a Collaborative Law divorce coach in interdisciplinary cases, contributing to structured negotiation processes involving attorneys, financial neutrals, and mental health professionals. Mediates family and divorce matters involving parties located throughout the United States in addition to Massachusetts-based cases, and works with parties and counsel to address jurisdictional and legal considerations while maintaining a consistent facilitative mediation process.

DIVORCE, FAMILY, AND CO-PARENTING MATTERS: -Parenting plans and residential schedules -Decision-making authority for medical, educational, developmental, and extracurricular matters -Co-parenting coordination and communication protocols -Special needs and neurodevelopmental decision-making, including educational, developmental, and transition planning -Blended family and stepparent disputes -Parent–older teenager and parent–adult child conflict -Post-divorce parenting modifications -Persistent communication breakdowns within families -LGBTQ and same-sex divorce matters -Elder caregiving responsibilities and guardianship issues -Estate-related disputes among siblings -Trial separations and trial reconciliations -Multi-party family disputes involving parents, adult children, extended family members, and professional participants FINANCIAL AND PROPERTY MATTERS: -Child support and allocation of children’s expenses -Alimony and spousal support considerations -Division of marital property, including real estate, retirement accounts, investments, and business interests -Valuation and distribution issues involving multiple properties or family-owned businesses -Financial separation planning in high-net-worth or complex asset cases -Pre- and post-nuptial agreement terms -Post-divorce financial modifications -Cohabitation agreements -Intra-family business disputes COLLABORATIVE LAW COACHING: -Communication coaching and conflict-management support in interdisciplinary Collaborative Law cases -Supporting clients in managing emotional dynamics during negotiation -Facilitating communication between clients and attorneys -Working alongside attorneys, financial neutrals, and mental health professionals in structured resolution processes -Supporting clients during team meetings and joint negotiation sessions

I use a facilitative and structured approach designed to make a stressful process more manageable and to support constructive communication. I aim to create an environment where parties feel safe, heard, and able to express their perspectives while working toward informed and durable agreements. I often prepare with parties individually, as appropriate to the needs and complexity of the case, to clarify goals, concerns, and process expectations, and then use joint sessions and private check-ins as needed to keep the conversation productive and balanced. My practice is grounded in party self-determination. I work to ensure that each person has the space to speak, respond, and be understood, and I use summarizing, reframing, clarifying questions, and reality-testing to support perspective-taking—including, when relevant, the perspectives of family members who may be affected but are not present. I help parties break complex issues into more manageable components and support them in navigating high-conflict or emotionally charged moments with greater clarity. I collaborate effectively with attorneys, financial professionals, and other involved practitioners when they participate in the process. I provide parties with resources, referrals, and process guidance when appropriate, while maintaining neutrality and a focus on helping them make their own decisions.

Conduct all mediations on Zoom and am fully proficient in managing joint sessions, private meetings, breakout rooms, and document sharing in a virtual setting. Willing to use other platforms if preferred by the parties.

Boston College Graduate School of Social Work (M.S.W.-2001); Endicott College School of Education (M.Ed., Organizational Development-2012); Trinity College (B.A., American Studies, Hebrew University Semester Abroad -1996).

Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW), Massachusetts, 2003; Meets Massachusetts requirements to practice as a Mediator and Divorce Mediator, 2009 Certified Trainer in Collaborative Problem Solving®, Massachusetts General Hospital/Think:Kids, 2014 Meets qualifications to practice as a Collaborative Law Coach, 2019

Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation; Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council; Academy of Professional Family Mediators; Association of Family and Conciliation Courts; National Association of Social Workers.

Recent Speaking Engagements: “Supporting Clients to Divorce with Dignity,” Massachusetts Association of Mental Health Counselors, 2025; National Association of Social Workers, 2025. “Mediation Is Not Just for Lawyers,” Boston College Graduate School of Social Work Continuing Education; National Association of Social Workers, 2025. “Family in Flux: Help Clients Navigate Divorce and Restructure with Intention,” Boston College Continuing Education Seminar, 2025. “Introduction to Collaborative Law Training,” Faculty, Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council, 2023–2025. “How Stress Hijacks Mediation—And What You Can Do About It,” Will Work for Food, international mediation professional development organization, 2025. “Family Law and AI—Panel Discussion,” Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Massachusetts Chapter Annual Conference, 2025. “How Understanding the Neurobiology of Stress Can Help Mediators Support Clients,” Southern California Mediation Association, 2025.

Hourly Rate: $480.00 Daily Rate: Not provided Study Rate: $480.00/hr Cancellation: $480.00/hr Cancellation Period: 2 Days Comment: Cancellations made fewer than 48 hours before a scheduled session will be billed at the full hourly rate for the time reserved.

English

United States of America

Provincetown, Massachusetts