Click here to register online. Click here to download the registration brochure.

NYSDRA marks a quarter century of advancing the practice and profession of Dispute Resolution this year. Join the celebration at

NYSDRA’s 25th Anniversary Conference: Rooted in Resolution

October 20-22, 2010 - Hilton Garden Inn Troy & Rensselaer Banquet & Conference Facility - 235 Hoosick Street,Troy, NY 12180

This conference features:
    •    Workshops addressing all parts of the profession – from roots, to branches and leaves.
    •    A celebration of the past 25 years of dispute resolution
    •    Up to 4.5 available CLE credits for both experienced and newly admitted attorneys
    •    Award presentations to David Kaczynski and Mark Collins
    •    2010 NYSDRA Membership Meeting
    •    Great food, friends and entertainment!

Schedule of Events:

Wednesday, October 20, 2010
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM Kick-Off Session
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Welcome Reception

Thursday, October 21, 2010
7:30 AM – 9:00 AM Conference Sign-In & Continental Breakfast

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM Workshop Session 1 - Click here for all workshop descriptions.
Roots - Mindfulness: The Importance of Humility in a Mediator with Mark Kleiman (Ethics CLE 1.5)
Branches - Interpreting Non-Verbal Communication with Matt Episcopo
Leaves - Building Successful Strategic Alliances: Proactive Negotiation and Mediation Techniques with Lisa Renee Pomerantz, Esq. (Skills CLE 1.5)

10:30 AM – 11:00 AM Networking Break
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Annual NYSDRA Membership Meeting
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM Lunch

2:00 PM – 3:30 PM Workshop Session 2 - Click here for all workshop descriptions.
Roots - Dilemmas without Delusion:  An Advanced Ethics Experience for Mediators with Duke Fisher & Timothy Mourdant (Ethics CLE 1.5)
Branches - Handling Hot Conflict:  Mediator Strategies that "Work" with Jody Miller & Judy Saul
Leaves - Managing Multi-Party Mediation Sessions with Bernadette Poole-Tracy

5:00 PM – 9:00 PM 25th Anniversary Reception & Banquet
The 2010 Andrew Thomas PeaceBuilder Award will be presented to David Kaczynski, the executive director of New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (NYADP) and the brother of Theodore Kaczynski - the so-called Unabomber. Theodore Kaczynski was arrested in 1996 after David and his wife Linda approached the FBI with their suspicions that Theodore might be involved in a series of bombings that caused three deaths and numerous injuries over 17 years. After leading a successful statewide campaign to end New York’s flawed and ineffective capital punishment system, David has focused his organization’s work on promoting community initiatives that address the root causes of violence and that provide meaningful assistance to those directly affected.
He has also found a unique friendship and partnership with Gary Wright, one of his brother’s bombing victims. Together, the two have traveled the country sharing their insights about healing with academics, victims’ groups and the public.
David's dedication to finding solutions to human problems through understanding and compassion as opposed to violence and coercion led NYSDRA to recognize him with this award. His story touches on the things we must learn and the balances we must achieve to keep our sense of humanity alive through adversity and crisis.
At this event, we also will honor NYSDRA’s founders and past presidents, and celebrate the past 25 years with music and dancing!

Friday, October 22, 2010
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Breakfast Buffet

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Workshop Session 3 - Click here for all workshop descriptions.
Roots - Our Lips are Sealed - Or are they? with Elizabeth Shampnoi, Esq, Alida Camp & Paul Bennett Marrow (Ethics CLE 1.5)
Branches - Making Room at the Table:  A Strength-Based Approach to Mediating with Children and Families with Rebecca Price & Michelle Kirschbaum (Skills CLE 1.5)
Leaves - Effective Conflict Resolution Trainings for Fun and Profit Part Deux: Readin’, Ritin’ and Rubber Chickens with Steve Robinson & Mark Leuthauser

11:30 AM – 12:00 PM Networking Break

12 Noon – 2:00 PM Awards Luncheon & Closing Session
The 2010 Lawrence Cooke Peace Innovator Award will be presented to Mark Collins. Mark is the Assistant Coordinator for the New York State Unified Court System’s Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution & Court Improvement Programs. In this position, he assists the Coordinator in overseeing and expanding alternative dispute resolution services throughout New York State in addition to funding the Children’s Centers operating in many of New York’s courts.  Mark became the Assistant Coordinator of the Community Dispute Resolution Program in 1982, and became responsible for its coordination in 1996. He supervises the Community Dispute Resolution Centers Program in all sixty-two counties in New York. Mark has served as board member on the National Association for Community Mediation (NAFCM) for six years, including two years as Co-Chair, and he has provided assistance with other state court systems in their design of community mediation and ADR networks.  Over the past twenty-nine years, Mark has participated in hundreds of mediations, facilitations, arbitrations and victim-offender dialogues, the latter process between victims of serious crime and offenders who are incarcerated in a New York State prison. Prior to his work in ADR, Mark worked for two years in the NYS Unified Court System’s Office of Budget and Finance.  He has a Bachelors Degree in Political Science from St. John Fisher College and a Masters of Science Degree in Judicial Administration from the University of Denver, College of Law.

Mark's dedication to New York's Community Dispute Resolution Program has fostered growth in the field of conflict resolution for more than twenty-five years, so it is about time we recognize his contributions with this award!
At the closing session, experience The Next Generation of Dispute Resolution Professionals: Lessons from youth peer mediators with Duke Fisher, Sarah Rudgers-Tysz and David Karp

Overnight Rooms:
A block of rooms has been set aside at the Hilton Garden Inn Troy for the nights of October 20, 2010 and October 21, 2010 at the amazing rate of $99 per night! Click here to make your reservation online and on the “Select Your Reservation Details” page, enter Group Code: NACA, or call 1-877-STAY-HGI. Reserve your room by September 3, 2010 before this special rate is sold out.

Directions to the conference:
FROM THE NORTH: Take the Adirondack Northway/NY Route 87, South, to exit 7/Route 7, east towards Troy/Cohoes. Follow Route 7 over route 787, about 5 miles. At the bottom of the bridge, go straight through the light and proceed up the hill on Hoosick Street. The Hilton Garden Inn Troy will be three quarters of a mile up the hill on the left hand side.?FROM THE SOUTH: Take the New York State Thruway/ I-87 North towards Albany. Merge onto I-787 North, via Exit 23 towards Downtown Albany/Rensselaer/Troy, for about 9 miles. Merge onto NY 7 via Exit 9E towards Troy/Bennington. Go East, up the hill, on Hoosick Street, at the light at the bottom of the bridge. The Hilton Garden Inn Troy will be three quarters of a mile up the hill, on the left hand side.
Parking is free at the hotel for conference attendees.

Names and e-mail addresses of conference registrants will be compiled and distributed to all attendees for post-conference networking. Please check the appropriate box at checkout to opt-out of sharing your name and e-mail address. 

Rates:
Member Early Bird (before October 1st): $199?Non-Member Early Bird (before October 1st): $249?Member Regular (after October 1st): $229?Non-Member Regular (after October 1st): $279?10/21 25th Anniversary Reception & Banquet Only: $125?10/22 Award Luncheon Only: $100

Click here to register online. Click here to download the registration brochure..

Cancellation Policy:
Refunds for cancellations will occur as follows:
Cancel by September 20, 2010 – Full Refund
Cancel by September 27, 2010 – 75% Refund
Cancel by October 4, 2010 – 50% Refund
Cancel by October 11, 2010 – 25% Refund
Refunds will not be offered after October 11, 2010.
No shows will be invoiced.
Substitutes are allowed.