Download this newsletter as a PDF.
Hello CDSC Friends.
As we welcome summer, this newsletter will update you on all things CDSC. Our Board of Directors is leading the search for our next Executive Director while our staff and volunteers continue to do their extraordinary work.
I hope the season provides an opportunity for rest, rejuvenation, and time spent in warm sunshine.
If you have any questions, concerns, or want to touch base, please be in touch at marty@communitydispute.org.
Save The Date: BASH 2026
Please mark your calendars.
Our annual fundraiser will be Wednesday, October 28 at 5:30 p.m. on Zoom.
A Farewell and A Welcome
At our Annual Meeting earlier this month, Steve Bardige wrapped up 10+ years on CDSC’s Board of Directors, including serving as Treasurer. When newly retired, Steve saw a Cambridge Chronicle article that included a pitch from CDSC for summary process mediators. After a conversation with executive director Gail Packer, Steve participated in our Basic Mediation Training program, and later joined the Board.
Before retiring, Steve served as a legal services attorney in Boston and on the Cape and managed the Commonwealth’s Special Education Division at the State Board of Education. While there, he implemented a mandatory mediation process to build bridges between parents and schools, an accomplishment he still points to today. After a decade with the state, he joined Wang Computers to market its application software to the courts – followed by 30 years of various marketing positions in the high tech industry.
Steve gives these wise words to incoming Board members: “Know the culture but don’t be limited by it.” We’ll miss Steve’s wisdom and experience and will take his advice to heart. Steve leaves CDSC in a much stronger place than when he joined the Board, and we are deeply grateful.
As we bide farewell to Steve, CDSC welcomes three new members to its Board of Directors: Sara del Nido Budish, Robert (Bob) Smith, and Amy Wanger. CDSC is grateful they are willing to lend their talent and time to our organization.
Sara is the Assistant Director of the Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program and a Lecturer on Law at the Harvard Law School. She teaches courses on conflict management theory and practice, including Multiparty Negotiation, Group Decision Making, and Teams; and Contemporary Dilemmas in Dispute Resolution.
Amy Wanger is a divorce mediator, conciliator, and family law attorney with over 30 years of litigation experience. She has served on panels for MCLE and is a 1979 graduate of New England Law School and a 1976 Cum Laude graduate of Boston University.
Bob Smith is an Emeritus Professor of Law at Suffolk University, where he served as Dean of the Law School. He has volunteered with CDSC for many years and is a long-time member of the MetroWest Mediation Services board of directors.
Volunteer Spotlight: Danielle Fox
Achieving true social and economic justice means creating diverse coalitions of partners – and diversity frequently leads to healthy conflict and disagreement. Aiming to strengthen coalitions by helping them navigate conflict, Danielle Fox realized that becoming a mediator would enable her to better take on this effort.
Mediation proved to be a powerful tool. When most successful, disputants find their own voice in both the process and the solution. Danielle finds satisfaction in creating a safe and peaceful space in which parties can find their own answers. “I try to go into every mediation in a fresh way, and open to learning – it enables me to be more open about how the parties will mediate together.”
Born in Brockton, Danielle has followed a career path marked by a commitment to human rights, environmental justice, equity, and inclusion. Currently, the Organizing Manager & Policy Specialist for Climate Finance Action, Danielle has worked in justice organizations throughout the U.S. and internationally. She’s served as research director for a state legislative committee; built student networks in support of Physicians for Human Rights; managed campaigns for the Union of Concerned Scientists – and more.
Lucky for CDSC, Danielle has found time to volunteer her mediation skills as a volunteer mediator. “I love it … I’ve found it strengthens me both personally and professionally … I’d recommend it for anyone interested in organizing, collaborating, partnerships … mediation is for anyone truly committed to inclusion.”
Thank you Danielle for your insightful and thoughtful contribution to CDSC’s work!
A Salute to CDSC’s Volunteers
They answer our call to help people with housing disputes, disagreements about neighborhood issues, and arguments with partners and family members trying to make big decisions about their loved ones of all ages. They’re in District and Juvenile Courts, on Zoom, and in our conference room.
Who are they? None other than our dedicated, committed, and hardworking volunteers who give us more than 1,000 hours of service every year!
Volunteer mediators listen and guide. They experience daily triumphs and challenges. They see us when everything is working fine, and when there is a particularly difficult mediation.
Our ability to fulfill our mission depends of them. We count on our team of volunteers more than they can imagine, and we are grateful more than we can express. We are confident that we will meet the needs of every person who comes to our door asking for mediation because we know our amazing mediators make that happen.
CDSC’s volunteer mediators are thoughtfully recruited and carefully screened. Potential volunteers complete a comprehensive application, provide references, and meet with the Executive Director. In many cases, potential volunteers are referred to our Practicum program for additional training and experience before joining our roster. Interested in becoming a volunteer? Contact us at cdscinfo@communitydispute.org.
Remembering Mimi Grosser
Our longtime volunteer Mimi Grosser, who made a lasting impact on CDSC, died on June 9. Her family is planning a memorial event later in the summer for all who loved her and want to come together to remember and celebrate all the emotional and spiritual gifts she generously gave us over so many years.
Mimi started with CDSC in the late 1980s as a volunteer case coordinator and volunteered until her retirement in 2014. We are profoundly grateful to Mimi for her extraordinary commitment and all she did to make CDSC what it is today.