CDR Associates Bernard Mayer, Ph.D., Partner at CDR Associates, is an internationally-recognized leader in the field of conflict resolution

BERNARD MAYER, Ph.D.

Bernard Mayer, Ph.D., Partner at CDR Associates, is an internationally-recognized leader in the field of conflict resolution. A skilled mediator, Dr. Mayer has facilitated many complex and highly controversial environmental conflicts, commercial and organizational disputes, planning and development issues, and public decision-making processes.

Dr. Mayer has worked with federal, local and state agencies on designing and facilitating intergovernmental dialogue and public participation procedures on land use, water policy, solid waste management, shared infrastructure, wildlife management, environmental protection, Superfund allocation and cleanup issues, municipal financing and taxation policies, transportation, and resource allocation.

In addition to the projects summarized below, Mayer has worked with the Bureau of Reclamation on handling public input processes and intergovernmental disputes concerning the Central Arizona Project, the Denver Regional Council of Governments to facilitate the coordination of city and county master plans for a five-county region, the State of California as a facilitator of the California Growth Management Project, the City of Denver on a highly emotional issue regarding the placement of public housing in the community, the City of Boulder Planning Department where he co-designed a public participation procedure which involved gathering broad community input for long-term regional planning issues, including transportation, growth, environmental protection, economic development and similar issues, on designing better internal communication procedures around the management of large construction contracts, and the cities of Denver and Aurora as a facilitator of a citizen input process regarding solid waste management projects.

He has provided consultation, mediation, facilitation and training for many federal, state and local agencies including the U.S. EPA, Minerals Management Service, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Defense, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as well as for numerous governmental departments and agencies of the State of Colorado. He has mediated disputes among governmental agencies and corporations about shared infrastructure, and disputes between Native American governments, other governmental entities, and private corporations.

Dr. Mayer is internationally recognized as a trainer and an innovative leader in applying mediation and conflict resolution to human service arenas and particularly to disputes between public agencies and involuntary clients. He has taught courses or seminars for the University of Colorado, University of Denver, Harvard University, University of Missouri, Windsor University, Colorado State University, University of Warsaw (Poland), the Budapest College of Economics (Hungary), and many other educational institutions. Dr. Mayer has conducted conflict management training and consultations for the Environmental Protection Agency, the Minerals Management Service, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Defense, as well as for numerous governmental departments and agencies of the State of Colorado. Mayer has consulted on conflict management procedures and trained mediators, negotiators, and conflict intervenors throughout the United States and Canada, and in Australia, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, and New Zealand.

Dr. Mayer has been involved in labor management negotiations as a representative of both labor and management at different stages in his career. He worked with a major professional association and several labor organizations developing interest-based negotiations of collective bargaining contracts; participated as a negotiator in labor management negotiations as a member of a collective bargaining unit and later as administrator in an organization involved in labor negotiations. He facilitated an extended intervention to resolve deeply divisive issues between management and union officials within a government institution. He has mediated a large number of disputes including employee grievances, client/agency, consumer complaints and employee/employer disputes. Prior to his work with CDR Associates, he has had experience bargaining for both management and unions.

EDUCATION, TRAINING and AFFILIATIONS

Dr. Mayer received training in mediation and conflict resolution from CDR Associates (1980), the Social Conflict Program at the University of Colorado (1984), and the Conflict Clinic at the University of Missouri in St. Louis (1986).

Dr. Mayer was awarded his Ph.D. from the University of Denver, Graduate School of Social Work, with an emphasis on conflict resolution, in 1987. He holds an M.S.W. (1970) from Columbia University, where he studied psychiatric social work and community organizing, and a B.A. (1968) from Oberlin College, where he graduated cum laude, with a major in European and Asian history.

Dr. Mayer currently serves on the board of the Association for Conflict Resolution and a member of Association of Family Conciliation Boards.

PRESENTATIONS

Selected list of lectures and papers presented at recent professional meetings:

"Conflict Resolution in Child Welfare." Family Mediation Canada, 1987

"Trends and Challenges in Conflict Resolution." Iowa Peace Institute, keynote speech, 1987

"New Applications of Family Mediation." National Conference on Peace Making and Conflict Resolution, 1986

"Mediating Multi-Party Disputes." NCPCR, 1986

"The Interface between Mediation and Family Therapy." NCPCR, 1986

"Conflict Resolution and Family Violence." Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution, 1986

"The Use of Mediation and Family Therapy in Parent/Child Conflicts."

PUBLICATIONS

Dr. Mayer is the author of many books and articles. His most recent publication is "Beyond Neutrality: Confronting the Crisis in Conflict Resolution" San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Read Beyond Neutrality Chapter One.pdf.

Also the author of "The Dynamics of Conflict Resolution: A Practitioner's Guide." San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers. 2000.

"Mediation and Dispute Resolution in the Field of Social Policy." Mediation and Conflict Resolution in Social Work and Human Services. Edward Kruk, ed. Nelson-Hall Publishers. Chicago (1996).

PAST EMPLOYMENT

Prior to joining CDR, Dr. Mayer worked as an adolescent and family therapist, as a program administrator in mental health and substance abuse treatment programs, and as the clinical director of a residential treatment program for emotionally disturbed youth. He has been involved in labor management negotiations as a representative of both labor and management at different stages in his career.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC POLICY EXPERIENCE

The following are descriptions of public participation processes and natural resource or land use disputes in which Dr. Mayer has served as a process manager/mediator.

Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation (1998). In November, 1996, the Ministries of Defense of Russian and Norway, and US Department of Defense signed a Declaration on Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation (AMEWC). This declaration recognized that "some aspects of military activities, in particular radioactive and chemical contamination issues, may have negative impacts on the Arctic environment," and emphasized the "vital importance of cooperation between military organizations to prevent and solve environmental problems in the Arctic." Turning such declarations into agreed upon projects, priorities, and strategies, however, presents a major challenge involving concerns about national security, legal and financial limitations, and competing national interests. Planned and facilitated a meeting of experts in environmental affairs from the Norwegian and Russian Ministries of Defense and the US Departments of Defense, State, Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency held in July, 1998. The purpose of this meeting was to overcome barriers and provide a strategic basis for cooperation on military-related environmental projects in the Arctic. At this weeklong meeting, the group negotiated and agreed to joint documents (prepared simultaneously in Russian and English) about key problems, areas for cooperation, potential projects, and procedures for developing new projects to help protect the Arctic Environment. These documents were developed to guide the work of the AMEC project in the years to come.

Resource Guide to Constructive Engagement in the Computers and Electronics Industry (1998). Co-authored a guide book on "constructive engagement" (collaborative discussion and negotiation) among industry, government, environmental, and community stakeholders to address environmental issues involving manufacturing facilities in the computers and electronics industry. Ms. Ghais conducted several case studies of various constructive engagement forums (such as community advisory panels, good neighbor agreements, multi-party mediation, and neighbor-labor cooperation), and also interviewed past and potential participants in constructive engagement processes. The authors derived lessons and recommendations from the case studies and interviews to inform the body of the Resource Guide. The guide was commissioned by the Alternative Strategies Work Group of the Computers and Electronics Sector Subcommittee of the EPA Common Sense Initiative. This was a multi-stakeholder group charged with identifying and promoting innovative strategies for enhancing environmental performance in the computer and electronics industry. http://www.epa.gov/publicinvolvement/pdf/resolve1.pdf

Ministry of the Environment, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), and the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) Jakarta, Indonesia (1998). As part of a national initiative by the Indonesian Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and several other national governmental agencies to develop mediation systems to resolve disputes in a number of arenas, Dr. Mayer conducted a forty-five hour Training-for-Trainers Seminar, to prepare Indonesian professionals to present training seminars on culturally and situationally-appropriate conflict resolution processes. Trainees will ultimately serve as mediator trainers who will prepare independent professionals and government employees to resolve environmental, civil, family, and labor disputes.

Transportation Finance Committee/GO Boulder (1996-1998). The City of Boulder's office for alternative transportation (GO Boulder) hired Dr. Mayer to facilitate the work of a committee to devise a funding plan for Boulder's unique local bus system. The committee was comprised of representatives of businesses and residents from various parts of Boulder as well as the sizable university community. Dr. Mayer facilitated both the committee meetings and public meetings to obtain broader input as a recommendation took shape. The committee reached a consensus recommendation, which took into account the concerns voiced at the public meetings. The recommendation was quickly adopted by a near-unanimous vote of the City Council. The committee is continuing into a second phase to find ways to close funding gaps in the city's Transportation Master Plan.

International Public Policy Dialogues Workshop (1997). Facilitated a workshop aimed at developing ways to make international environmental negotiations and other international public policy dialogues more effective, particularly those among the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The workshop included U.S.-based representatives of industry, environmental groups, environmental justice organizations, Native American tribes, federal regulatory agencies, academics, scientists, and others concerned with environmental negotiations in North America. With Dr. Mayer's help, the group developed a better understanding of the concerns of the various stakeholders and discussed controversial issues. The meeting led to development of a draft set of principles to guide international negotiations.

EPA Region 8 Murray Smelter Site Superfund Project (1996-1997). Over a six-month period, facilitated meetings between EPA Region 8, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, ASARCO (the primary PRP), the City of Murray, engineering consulting firms, and a number of property owners regarding the cleanup and redevelopment of a former smelter site. Discussion meetings had two parallel foci: (a) risk assessment and remediation, including agreements among the EPA and UDEQ regarding applicable clean-up and protective standards for soils and groundwater, and (b) the land use, including redevelopment opportunities which provide a range of remediation options. As a result of this facilitation, the parties reached agreements on appropriate technical approaches and protective standards and strategies, and developed an Agreement in Principle that will serve as a basis of certainty for EPA's Proposed Plan.

Tri-District Water Project (1994-1995). Mediated agreement among officials and attorneys of three water districts in southern Colorado that share a water treatment facility. A series of disputes and lawsuits had been filed in the Colorado Supreme Court regarding ownership, expansion, capacity allocation, and financial obligations for operation of the facility. The parties negotiated an agreement in principle for handling all the major issues in dispute. This was then formulated into a contractual agreement, ending all litigation and leading to a needed expansion of the facility.

Colorado Division of Wildlife Furbearer Dialogue (1994-1995). Facilitated a six-month stakeholder dialogue which developed policy recommendations regarding the management of furbearer populations which were forwarded to the Colorado Wildlife Commission. The dialogue focused on heavily value laden issues concerning attitudes towards hunting, trapping, and predator management. Participants included wildlife management professionals, agricultural interests, trapping and hunting groups, animal rights activists, and environmental organizations.

Colorado Division of Wildlife, Mount Evans Wildlife-Recreation Dialogue (1995). Successfully mediated a stakeholder dialogue charged with developing policy recommendations for wildlife-related recreation for the Mount Evans wilderness area. The stakeholder group was comprised of representatives from various hunting organizations, animal rights groups, state agencies, and environmental groups. The stakeholder group explored competing wildlife-related recreational needs, and developed consensus recommendations for management of the wilderness area which included components such as a buffer area along the road within which hunting would be prohibited. The Colorado Division of Wildlife adopted the recommendations from the group.

Alaska Wolf Summit, Alaska Governor's Office and Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Wildlife Conservation Division (1993). Facilitated a large public participation process, initiated by the Governor of Alaska, to explore the issue of wolf management as a way to influence predator/prey relationships. Dr. Mayer assisted in the process design, designed the public meeting format, facilitated all plenary sessions, and trained staff from the Alaska Ombudsman's and Division of Wildlife Conservation offices as small group facilitators and recorders. Over 120 invited participants, representing the Alaska Board of Game, the Hunters' Association, Native Alaskans, environmental groups, wildlife conservation organizations and animal rights activists participated in the process, which was designed for both information exchange and option generation. Fourteen hundred people attended the information sessions to hear the final report back to the Governor and the Alaska Board of Game, which had both procedural and substantive proposals.
The Summit succeeded in framing the issue of predator/prey relations in terms of ecosystem management. There was a high level of hostility and even a danger of violence entering into this discussion, but the design and facilitation of the process led to a constructive dialogue which helped move the process away from being the focus of boycotts, demonstrations, and court challenges, toward a calmer and more thoughtful policy making process.

Boulder Public Works Department (1993). Served as a consultant to the city of Boulder Public Works Department, advising the staff on public input process for maximizing citizen input into the design, construction, and mitigation of the impact of a pipeline construction project and coaching city personnel in their negotiations with landowners and other agencies. This project involves the replacement of a major raw water pipeline servicing the city and delivering water from the city's watershed to its treatment plant. The proposed pipeline impacts federal forest service lands and residential areas and has generated considerable public and agency concern.

Boulder, Colorado, Municipal Finance Strategy Committee (1991-1992). Facilitated the City of Boulder's citizens' committee appointed to advise the City Manager and Council on long-term fiscal planning issues. The Municipal Finance Strategy Committee examined the City's unmet operating and capital needs, explored legal and structural reforms, looked for improved efficiency, and sought out new revenue sources to put the City of Boulder in a fiscal position to reach its strategic goals.

City of Boulder Planning Department. In conjunction with a ten-year update to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, the City of Boulder sponsored a series of workshops designed to explore options for Boulder's future and provide public input for revisions to the Comprehensive Plan. Dr. Mayer consulted on design of the overall series and trained the small group facilitators for the workshops.

Citizen's Housing Task Force, City of Denver, Colorado. Facilitated a series of meetings of the Citizen's Housing Task Force to develop guidelines for the Denver Housing Authority, the City Council, and the Mayor concerning Denver's dispersed low-income housing program. Serious conflict had arisen concerning the location of public housing units in various neighborhoods in Denver. The Housing Authority wanted to disperse public housing in single-family or duplex units throughout the city in an effort to destigmatize public housing and to encourage residents to be integrated into the neighborhoods within which they were to be located. Residents of the affected neighborhoods were concerned both about the potential effect this would have on the neighborhoods and the process by which the decision had been made. The consensus that was developed in this mediation integrated neighborhood concerns with the Denver Housing Authority's mission of providing affordable and fair housing for low and moderate income families, the handicapped, and senior citizens.

Denver Regional Council of Governments. Dr. Mayer facilitated negotiations between the Denver Regional Council of Governments planning staff and planners from DRCOG's constituent members regarding the role of regional master planning. Issues included: the acceptable degree of control the regional plan should have over local plans, the part DRCOG should play when conflicts arise between overlapping local plans, the function of the regional plan as a predictor of future trends, and the desired latitude in regional planning beyond state legislative mandate and federal requirements for regional water quality and transportation planning.

Cities of Denver and Aurora, Colorado, Waste-to-Energy Project. The cities of Denver and Aurora engaged CDR Associates to serve as process designers and managers and for a Citizens' Advisory Committee to help determine the feasibility of building a plant to convert solid waste into energy. As co-lead on the project, Dr. Mayer worked with the cities to establish criteria for committee selection, identify representatives of various community neighborhoods and groups, interview interested citizens, and make appointment recommendations to the two mayors. He also designed a process for how the committee would coordinate its work with the management team established by the two cities. Through a year-long process, Dr. Mayer facilitated meetings of the committee, which evaluated the financial, community, and environmental issues involved, in order to reach a consensus on a recommendation to be made to the two city governments. The final report and recommendation from the Citizens' Advisory Committee reflected an intense process of consensus building and collaborative problem solving.

Telephone Access Charge Round Table. Mediated a dispute involving telephone access charges among over 30 parties including the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, AT&T, GTE Sprint, MCI, Mountain Bell, 26 independent phone companies, resellers, and public interest groups. The break-up of AT&T in January 1982, called for divestiture of the 22 local Bell Operating Companies from the parent company. CDR Associates was asked by the Public Utilities Commission of Colorado to convene an Access Charge Round Table composed of the key parties concerned with the reimbursement of local companies for the termination of long-distance calls. Seven major interest groups were identified and all agreed to participate. Dr. Mayer helped to convene the process, worked to identify the parties, developed a negotiated procedure to finance the project and facilitated the plenary sessions and individual task group meetings over an eight-month period. The Round Table met regularly between May, 1985 and January, 1986 to define the issues, to identify parties' major interests and to develop possible settlement options. Interest-based recommendations formulated by the parties were submitted to the Public Utility Commission for their consideration and approval.

Denver Water Board, Citizen Advisory Committee. Facilitated a public input process regarding the proposed Two Forks Dam and Reservoir. Small group problem solving was used to collect and refine concerns and proposals for the mitigation of negative impacts. Recommendations were made by the problem-solving group to the Citizens Advisory Committee and the Denver Water Board.

Relocation and Expansion of Denver's Stapleton Airport. Facilitated a series of large public meetings (100-300 people) in Denver and surrounding communities in which plans for the new airport were presented and the public was provided with an opportunity to comment on the development. These meetings were initiated by the New Airport Development staff to enhance the quality of public input and to identify problems that need to be addressed in order to build a broad-based consensus on the location of the facility.

EXPERIENCE IN ORGANIZATIONS

International Labor Organization, Geneva (2003). In conjunction with staff of the ILO's Office of the Ombudsperson, CDR Partners Bernie Mayer and Mary Margaret Golten designed, developed materials for and delivered two three-day training programs for facilitators and managers at the headquarters office of the ILO. The purpose of the trainings was to prepare managers and facilitators at the ILO to handle conflicts and negotiations in a constructive and creative manner. The focus of this program was on how to address the concerns of all the people involved in a discussion, how to be an effective listener, problem solver, and when necessary, advocate. Issues of ethnicity, culture, gender, and class and how they impact conflict and its resolution were also addressed throughout the program. In addition, CDR provided an initial training for trainers for staff from the Office of the Ombudsperson to help them prepare for their role in this training and to prepare for future programs. Following up on this program CDR provided ongoing case consultation to the Office of the Ombudsperson.

Publishing Company (confidential) (2001). Worked with chief editor and CEO of a publishing company to discuss issues in communication, decision making, and management philosophy.

Police Department (Confidential) (1998). Mediation with an entire police department.

University of Texas Law School, Austin, Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution (1998). Conducted training for Fellows of the Center involving negotiating complex disputes.

University of Wyoming (1997). Facilitated a 2½ day faculty and staff retreat with one follow-up meeting to discuss the merging of three discipline groups into a new department under a strategic plan for one of the University's colleges. Results were a set of consensus recommendations on how to work together including new department structure, communications, leadership and decision making.

University of Texas Law School, Austin, Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution (1994-97). Conducted training in multiparty negotiation of public disputes for attorneys, government officials, environmental activists, technical experts, and corporate managers.

U.S. federal agency (confidential) (1996). Consulted with a Cabinet level federal agency, which was experiencing over 50,000 personnel arbitrations a year, on how to develop and implement a mediation system to develop a less adversarial approach to resolving grievances.

State university(confidential) (1995-1996). Worked with a state university to develop better systems for handling conflicts between faculty, staff and administration. This is a unionized facility and the goal was to create more effective systems for addressing disputes about employment, harassment complaints, working conditions, and related issues within the context of the bargaining contract. Dr. Mayer helped them design better dispute systems, provided training in conflict resolution, and helped create an on-going training capacity within the university.

Canadian correctional facility (confidential) (1995). Worked intensively over a period of six months with a correctional facility experiencing extreme grievances, accusations about workplace harassment, a very unfriendly climate, and some very difficult specific conflicts. Dr. Mayer provided training, individual and intergroup mediation, dispute system design, and ongoing consultation to the facility during this time. New approaches to resolving grievances and other disputes were created, the backlog was considerably decreased, some very difficult and contentious ongoing disputes were resolved, and the entire staff was trained in conflict resolution. Reports from the facility continue to indicate that the labor-management climate is considerably improved.

Telecommunications corporation (confidential) (1995). Facilitated a meeting between management and labor representatives in a major division of a very large telecommunications corporation to develop better ways of handling grievances, preparing for negotiations, and dealing with conflict in the workplace in a more collaborative manner.

Public utility (confidential) (1995). A public utility that was about to enter into a potentially contentious collective bargaining process wanted to train its representatives in effective approaches to comprehensive contract negotiations. Dr. Mayer conducted a five-day training program for the negotiators prior to the commencement of collective bargaining.

Large Public High School (parties remain confidential) (1992). The Board of Education contracted with CDR Associates to carry out a situation assessment in a large public high school. The principal of the school had become the focal point for faculty dissatisfaction. CDR prepared an analysis, based on interviews with administration and staff, to assist the Board in taking necessary action.

City and county government (parties remain confidential) (1992). Mediated a dispute between management and staff of a department jointly managed between City and County government. Although relationships and communication were cited as the primary cause of long term disputes in this small rural community, structural problems in the management of the department were the principal issues in this mediation.

Boulder, Colorado, Municipal Finance Strategy Committee (1991-1992). Facilitated the City of Boulder's citizens' committee appointed to advise the City Manager and Council on long-term fiscal planning issues. The Municipal Finance Strategy Committee examined the City's unmet operating and capital needs, explored legal and structural reforms, looked for improved efficiency, and sought out new revenue sources to put the City of Boulder in a fiscal position to reach its strategic goals.

Major Public Utility and Tribal Government (parties remain confidential) (1991-1992). Long-term mediation of contract disputes and employment conflicts between a major public utility and a large tribal government. The issues included recruitment, supervision and promotion of tribal members in the industrial facility; cultural perceptions and differences within the plant and nearby communities; relationship and communication between leadership of the utility and tribe; and long-term contractual agreements between the two.

State School District (parties remain confidential) (1991-1992). Mediation and team building between and within labor and management teams, following a difficult and divisive strike. CDR worked with labor and management teams separately, providing team building and conflict management consultation. This was followed by joint meetings, to present collaborative negotiation approaches to the collective bargaining process and to assist the two groups in developing new approaches to dealing with one another.
City of Boulder Planning Department.In conjunction with a ten-year update to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, the City of Boulder sponsored a series of workshops designed to explore options for Boulder's future and provide public input for revisions to the Comprehensive Plan. Dr. Mayer consulted on design of the overall series and trained the small group facilitators for the workshops.

Cities of Denver and Boulder, Departments of Social Services, Departments of Child Protection. Co-designed and administered a national pilot project that provided dispute resolution and mediation services for conflicts that arose between agencies and clients. This was a major national demonstration project on the effectiveness of alternative dispute resolution procedures with involuntary clients and child protection agencies.

School board and teachers' association (confidential). Assisted a school board, district superintendent and teachers' association to change their negotiating procedures toward an interest-based process.

Professional association (confidential). Worked with a major professional association and several labor organizations in developing interest-based approaches to negotiation of collective bargaining contracts and in handling internal issues to the organization.

State of Colorado, Department of Judiciary. Facilitated a retreat of administrative and management staff to discuss and plan major staff reorganization. Led staff in a discussion of staff relations, staff reorganization and long-term organizational goal setting.

Interventions with Boards and staff of private non-profit organizations. Facilitated discussions between and among staff, Boards, and consumers of several local, regional and national non-profit organizations. These discussions dealt with Board relations, staff/board relations, intra-staff relations, and relations between the client population and the organization.

Suburban city government (confidential). Facilitated a meeting of all management staff of a large suburban government to discuss conflicts between departments and across different levels of the organization. Helped design a long-term intervention process to look at the overall organizational difficulties and to look into work on disputes within particular city departments.

Process design. Has helped design a mediation component to formal personnel and equal employment opportunity grievance procedures for several federal agencies.

MEDIATION OF DISPUTES

Dr. Mayer has mediated numerous disputes, including:

large-scale intra-organizational disputes for both public and private organizations
employee grievances
employee/employee disputes
client/agency issues
consumer complaints
partnership dissolutions
disputes arising from bankruptcy proceedings
disputes within family businesses
disputes arising from sale of corporate facilities
environmental and other public policy disputes.

He has also served as a mediator/facilitator in over a dozen large-scale environmental and public policy dialogues, negotiations, and multi-party decision-making processes.

EXPERIENCE IN DISPUTE SYSTEMS DESIGN

TRAINING EXPERIENCE

Training delivery. As a part of the CDR training team since 1980, Dr. Mayer has been a trainer in over 100 different alternative dispute resolution training programs on a vast array of skills and processes. He has also provided training in group processes, team building, working with violent clients, and group care for disturbed youth.

US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, Training for Superfund Site Teams (2000). Mr. Mayer designed and delivered this program to introduce remedial project managers, public involvement specialists, and attorneys to fundamental concepts of conflict management. Topics covered included conflict analysis, negotiation, communication skills, making choices among conflict resolution procedures, uses of third party neutrals, and convening. A major emphasis of the course was on the appropriate roles for EPA staff and applications of the skills to their jobs.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Training (1982 to present). Designed and wrote training materials for, and repeatedly conducted a four-and-a-half day seminar on "Negotiating, Bargaining, and Conflict Management" for the Corps of Engineers in the U.S. and abroad. Skills in this course are applied by environmental regulators, planners, and project managers in addressing flood control, wetlands, and dam management issues.

Supreme Court of Ohio, 2001. Adapted the Domestic Abuse and Custody Mediation Training for Mediators curriculum originally developed by the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law and the Academy of Family Mediators for use by trainers in Ohio. Provided an inaugural training for 60 court mediators, judges, court personnel, and domestic violence professionals regarding domestic abuse and mediation. The project, jointly developed by the Supreme Court and CDR, stressed that if the mediator determines there is a history of violence or a fear of violence by either party, mediation will not occur except in very specific and controlled situations. (Criteria for mediation include the survivor of the domestic violence requesting mediation, with the ability to bring an advocate or other support person; the mediator being skilled and experienced in mediating "violence cases;" and the parties having the capacity to mediate without fear of one another.)

University of Texas Law School, Austin, Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution (1998). Conducted training for Fellows of the Center involving negotiating complex disputes.

LEADR Lawyers Engaged in Alternative Dispute ResolutionAustralia and New Zealand (1994-1997). Conducted three programs in Advanced Mediation of Commercial and Civil Disputes for lawyers.

University of Texas Law School, Austin, Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution (1994-97).Conducted training in multiparty negotiation of public disputes for attorneys, government officials, environmental activists, technical experts, and corporate managers.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal (1997). Designed and delivered two 3-day advanced mediation training programs for 60 tribunal mediators of disputes involving challenging land use issues and cross-cultural dynamics.

State of Colorado Department of Human Services (1997). New welfare reform legislation in Colorado is changing how State, county and local social service agencies work with each other. For the State's child welfare division, the decision-making authority regarding rates, foster care and residential child care facilities is now shifting from the State to the county level. Dr. Mayer developed and delivered a 5-day negotiation and facilitation training for the Department's child welfare division to assist State staff with the challenge of building different yet effective relationships with county and local child welfare departments in this new environment.

Bureau of Reclamation, Water Resources Planning and Operations (1992-1993). Designed and delivered a five-day training program in facilitation, negotiation, and other alternative dispute resolution skills for staff involved in planning, decision making, and public involvement activities in environmental issues.

US WEST Learning Systems. Developed and piloted a training program in conflict resolution, negotiation, and collaborative problem solving for managers involved in self-managed work teams at U S WEST. The program focuses on providing conflict anticipation and management skills to resolve disputes at the lowest appropriate level in the organization. To customize the training for U S WEST, CDR developed scenarios relevant to the U S WEST work environment. This program has been conducted on an ongoing basis at U S WEST for the past seven years.

CDR Associates' Boulder-Based Public Training Programs. Regularly serves as a trainer for CDR Associates' internationally recognized training programs offered in Boulder, Colorado, on the Mediation Process, Divorce and Child Custody Mediation, Dispute Systems Design and Organizational Conflict Resolution.

U.S Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8. Conducted a series of training programs for agency staff on Conflict Management Skills.
Developing Training Course Curricula. Dr. Mayer has extensive experience designing training programs and developing training courses in dispute resolution and related areas. Specifically, he has:

Developed numerous dispute resolution simulations and exercises dealing with interpersonal disputes, group processes, multi-party disputes, negotiations, facilitation of decision making, etc.

Developed and designed the curricula for courses in dispute resolution for numerous universities.

Designed an advanced mediation training program.

Designed training programs for personnel managers, private corporations, school administrators and principals, planners, health administrators, tribal officials, probation officers, public mediation organizations, and citizens groups.

Mayer is particularly adept at developing training programs or components on short notice, and even on-the-spot, tailored to address specific needs or problems of clients.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

GTZ Indonesia Training for Trainers (1998). CDR conducted a 40-hour seminar on Training-for-Trainers to prepare Indonesia trainers to contact a wide variety of conflict management and mediation courses. A major focus for these trainers will be environmental mediation. This program is part of CDR, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law's initiative to create a nationwide environmental dispute resolution system. The project was supported/funded by PVI, a project of GTZ, the German Technical Assistance Agency.

Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation (1998). November, 1996, the Ministries of Defense of Russian and Norway, and US Department of Defense signed a Declaration on Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation (AMEWC). This declaration recognized that "some aspects of military activities, in particular radioactive and chemical contamination issues, may have negative impacts on the Arctic environment," and emphasized the "vital importance of cooperation between military organizations to prevent and solve environmental problems in the Arctic." Turning such declarations into agreed upon projects, priorities, and strategies, however, presents a major challenge involving concerns about national security, legal and financial limitations, and competing national interests. Planned and facilitated a meeting of experts in environmental affairs from the Norwegian and Russian Ministries of Defense and the US Departments of Defense, State, Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency held in July, 1998. The purpose of this meeting was to overcome barriers and provide a strategic basis for cooperation on military-related environmental projects in the Arctic. At this weeklong meeting, the group negotiated and agreed to joint documents (prepared simultaneously in Russian and English) about key problems, areas for cooperation, potential projects, and procedures for developing new projects to help protect the Arctic Environment. These documents were developed to guide the work of the AMEC project in the years to come.

Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Evaluation Project (1998). CDR's professional conflict assessment and evaluation services were secured by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation of Flint, Michigan, to collect and assess learnings from multicultural cooperation and ethnic dispute resolution projects supported by the Foundation since it began its Eastern European civil society initiative in the late 1980s. CDR and the Berghof Center for Constructive Conflict Management, its German assessment partner, have conducted on-site visits and interviewed over one hundred individuals working for a number of U.S., Western European, and Eastern European conflict management organizations involved in assisting parties to address and resolve internal ethnic and political conflicts in Tajikistan, Moldova, and the former Yugoslavia; the interstate war between Armenia and Azerbaijan; and efforts to establish conflict resolution centers to address multicultural issues in a number of Eastern European countries. The assessment explored such questions as: the utility and success of various approaches to address and resolve ethnic conflicts, results of interactions between various levels of conflict management activities (at the state and community levels), the roles of non-governmental agencies in dispute resolution, and successful strategies for building effective international partnerships and teams to address conflicts of this type. Preliminary results of the assessment were presented to Mott's Board of Directors in early June and a final report was completed in September of 1998.

AUSTRALIA

Centrecare Marriage and Family Services, Perth, Western Australia (1992). Participants from across Australia attended this five day mediation training program. The joint focus of the seminar was Divorce Mediation and Parent/Child Mediation, in a wide variety of cultural and ethnic situations, including the Aboriginal communities of Australia.

Lawyers Involved in Alternative Dispute Resolution (LEADR), Sydney, New South Wales (1990). Commercial disputes are on the increase in Australia and the legal community is seeking efficient and cost effective ways to manage these types of conflicts. LEADR, the leading Australian legal organization promoting the use of negotiated and mediated settlements of commercial disputes, contracted with CDR Associates to conduct a 40-hour seminar on Commercial Mediation for 45 lawyers from a significant number of the major Australian law firms. The course explored the mediation of insurance and construction claims, contract disputes, partnership dissolutions as well as resolution procedures for other types of commercial disputes.

Family Mediation Centre, Parramatta, Sydney, New South Wales (1990). Dr. Mayer co-conducted The Mediation Process, a 40-hour seminar on mediation as a means of resolving interpersonal, community, organizational and legal disputes. This introductory program was designed to prepare mediators from both the public and private sectors to practice as impartial third party conflict managers.

Australian Association for Families in Crisis, Melbourne, Victoria (1990). Dr. Mayer co-conducted a 40-hour seminar on Divorce and Child Custody Mediation for the members of this professional association.

BULGARIA

Ethnic Cooperation and Dispute Resolution Project, CDR Associates and the Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Sofia, Bulgaria (1993-1995). Bulgaria has always been a multi-cultural nation. At the cross-roads between Europe and Asia and between Christianity and Islam, Bulgaria has, over history, had to contend with accommodating multiple diverse groups. Today, the nation has a population that is approximately 85% Bulgarian, 9% Turk, 6% Gypsy (commonly referred to as Tzinganes or Romanes), and smaller numbers of Macedonians, Pomaks, Gagauz, Armenians, Greeks, Jews, Russians, Tatars and others.

During the Communist period, ethnic conflicts were suppressed and there was a massive initiative to force assimilation of all ethnic groups. This repression led to protests by the Turkish minority and an extremely high rate of immigration. With the toppling of the Communist government, most of the previous rights formerly held by Turks have been restored.

CDR's project, conducted in cooperation with the Bulgarian Center on Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, and funded by Pew Charitable Trusts, was designed to develop capacities to manage diversity and conflicts that result from interactions between ethnic populations. Dr. Mayer and CDR Partner Susan Wildau, headed the project which involved building a positive consciousness toward and acceptance of diversity; preparing citizens with skills to effectively manage differences within institutions and communities; building institutions, both within governments and NGOs that can assist parties to better manage and resolve social problems with ethnic components; and creating a legal structure that institutionalizes tolerance.

CANADA

Family Mediation Canada. CDR Partners and associates have made several presentations and conducted workshops on family-related mediation at meetings of this professional association.

Office of the Official Guardian, Toronto, Ontario. CDR Partners conducted a 24-hour seminar on Child Protection Mediation. This program was designed to report the results and resolution procedures developed as part of CDR's national pilot program on child protection mediation. The pilot project was funded by the U. S. Health and Human Services Administration and the National Institute for Dispute Resolution.

Provincial Court Judges of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario. CDR Partners designed and conducted a 32-hour seminar on Mediation and Settlement Conference Procedures for Ontario provincial judges. Canadian-specific case studies were designed for this seminar.

Child Protection Mediation Training, Toronto, Ontario. Dr. Mayer conducted a seminar on the Mediation of Child Protection Disputes. Participants included child care workers from across the province. The program focused upon the negotiation of mutually acceptable treatment and placement plans for children who had been abused or neglected.

Law Society of Upper Canada, Toronto, Ontario. Dr. Mayer has conducted two 40-hour seminars on Child Custody and Divorce Mediation for members of the Bar.

HUNGARY

Environmental Conflict Management: Practical Strategies for Resolving Ecological Issues. Dr. Mayer co-conducted a five-day seminar on Environmental Conflict Management for leaders from the Ministry of the Environment, regional/local government agencies, non-governmental organizations, university faculty, and students. This seminar explored how environmental conflict management procedures-negotiation, facilitation, mediation-could be used to address enforcement, regulatory, site-specific, and public policy disputes. The program enabled participants to explore how they could initiate joint cooperative efforts to address critical environmental issues--air and water quality, and development in the country.

Introductory Training for Trainers . In order to develop the internal capacity of Hungarians to present the kinds of training described above, CDR Associates conducted a two-day introductory Training For Trainers. Ten participants who had experienced the 40-hour labor/management training received additional training in some of the underlying theory from group dynamics, communication, etc., which contribute to the theory base of conflict resolution. They also were exposed to some of the practical nuts and bolts of conducting skill-based experiential learning seminars.

Leadership, Decision Making, and Conflict Management in Labor Relations: A Strategic Approach to Organizational Problem Solving. Dr. Mayer conducted a 40-hour seminar on Negotiation and Conflict Management for participants from trade unions, management and universities. The seminar focused on the use of cooperative negotiation procedures in collective bargaining, and collaborative planning. The group was also introduced to the concept of mediation for grievances and other kinds of labor/management disputes.

POLAND

Ministry of the Environment. Dr. Mayer conducted a five-day seminar on Environmental Conflict Management for leaders from the Ministry of the Environment, regional/local government agencies and the Polish Ecological Club. This seminar explored how environmental conflict management procedures-negotiation, facilitation, mediation-could be used to address enforcement, regulatory, site-specific, and public policy disputes. The program enabled participants to explore how they could initiate joint cooperative efforts to address critical environmental issues-air and water quality, development and toxic waste cleanup-in the country.

RESEARCH PROJECTS