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Hello CDSC Friends.

For me, September brings thoughts of school. If you’re using this time to think about your professional development activities this fall, please consider our Basic Mediation Training. The course isn’t just for those who want to mediate cases. Human resources professionals as well as managers/directors who deal with conflict in the workplace find the training helpful. There’s more information below on the course starting at the end of the month.

September at CDSC means we’re planning for our annual BASH, this year on October 28. You’ll find information below along with the announcement of our Peacemaker Award recipients. This event helps raise the funds we need to keep our programs affordable. Please consider sponsoring the event or buying a ticket.

Now that vacation season is behind us, our first Roundtable of the fall is set for September 24.

Please join us! If you have any questions, concerns, or want to touch base, please be in touch at marty@communitydispute.org.

CDSC promotes better ways to understand and peacefully resolve conflict through skilled pro bono mediators and training programs in mediation and conflict management. We also provide free and low-cost mediation and conflict resolution services, which helps keep vulnerable residents in their housing, students out of the school-to-prison pipeline, and families and co-parents in healthy relationships, among many other important outcomes. We hope you will support our work with a generous sponsorship for the 2026 Bash! The celebration will be held virtually via Zoom on Wednesday, October 28, 2026 from 5:30- 6:30pm. Details on the various levels and benefits of sponsorship are here. We give special recognition to our sponsors and are, of course, pleased to accept donations below the sponsorship minimum as they also help keep our programming and services robust. Individual tickets may be purchased here. We are pleased to announce the recipients of our Peacemaker Awards, to be given at our BASH.

2026 Peacemaker Award Recipients: Senate President Karen Spilka and De Novo Center for Justice and Healing

Senate President Karen E. Spilka has established herself as a respected leader in state government. Those who work with the Senate President witness the power of her mediation and facilitation skills as she brings parties together and navigates complex issues. It is no surprise that prior to becoming a legislator, the Senate President worked in private practice as an arbitrator and mediator, specializing in labor and employment law and community and court mediation. In addition, she has been a facilitator and fact finder in disputes in the public and private sectors, as well as a social worker and trainer of adult mediation and school-based peer mediation programs, collaborative-based collective bargaining and conflict resolution strategies.

De Novo Center for Justice and Healing provides legal help in the areas of housing and homelessness prevention, family law/domestic violence, immigration law, and disability benefits, as well as a full range of mental health services and case management to help clients cope with the emotional impact of trauma. Its holistic model of care means clients not only receive effective legal assistance, but they are also better able to navigate the enormous struggles they face. De Novo provides many of its services through the efforts of over 100 volunteer attorneys, clinical social workers, psychologists, paralegals, interpreters, student interns and other professionals who together contribute one-half million dollars in direct services each year. De Novo and CDSC share a common history – come to BASH to learn more!

Basic Mediation Training

CDSC’s Basic Mediation Training gives hands-on skills development for responding to conflict. This 32-hour training is for you if you are interested in:

• learning to become a mediator
• incorporating mediation skills into your current work
• making a shift in your professional role
• volunteering with CDSC as a mediator

This training combines role plays, exercises, and presentations. It meets the statutory requirements for mediator confidentiality related to the Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 233, Section 23C and can be the first step toward certification under Rule 8: SJC Rules on Dispute Resolution.

Cost: $895. The full cost of training must be paid before the first session.

Register on CDSC’s website.

Tuesday/Thursday: September 29, October 1, 6, 8, 13, 15 5:00 – 8:00 pm on Zoom

Saturday: October 3 and 17 9:30 am – 4:30 pm 60 Gore Street, Cambridge

Reframing Peace Mediation

Reframing is a fundamental tool of mediators. Yet, how do mediators get parties to accept new framings they put forward?

In his book Reframing Peace Mediation: Overcoming Negotiation Impasses in El Salvador, Dr Owen Frazer presents three underlying mechanisms that explain how a mediator can get their framing adopted by the negotiating parties, thereby advancing the negotiations. Based on an empirical analysis of the United Nations mediation in El Salvador between 1990 and 1992, the book contributes to our understanding of how peace mediation works.

Join the Roundtable on September 24 at Noon to learn more about framing and reframing in peace mediation and discuss the similarities and differences with mediation in community settings.