NVMS trainers are recognized subject matter experts in the field of conflict resolution, each with over 25 years of practical experience. They guide employees at all levels of an organization to integrate conflict resolution competencies that foster productive, thriving work environments. Our trainers hold advanced degrees in law, social work and conflict management, as well as certifications in mediation, facilitation, and a variety of assessment tools.
They love what they do, and they do it with passion. We all look forward to working with you.
Tracey Pilkerton Cairnie, MS, PCC is a court-certified mentor mediator, ICF certified coach, facilitator, and trainer. She specializes in relationship and group dynamics, as well as management and leadership optimization, and she mediates resolutions and provides coaching to individuals and teams. Mrs. Cairnie works closely with her clients to clearly articulate the issues, interests, and desired outcomes. Dispute resolution services include issues in the workplace (EEO, interpersonal relations, intra-agency dynamics), community (land use, tenant/landlord, public policies, HOAs), families (property distribution, parenting plans, custody, visitation, adoptions), business management/labor, contracts, generational planning, change management, strategic planning), and other services as required. Mrs. Cairnie is an adjunct professor at George Mason University where she teaches collaborative communication, mediation, and negotiation skills as well as conflict theory and alternative dispute resolution. She holds an MS in Conflict Analysis and Resolution.
Linda W. Hall is a Supreme Court of Virginia certified mentor mediator. Her company, L.HallAndCo., LLC, provides alternative dispute resolution services, including mediation, arbitration, and conflict resolution and diversity training. In addition to NVMS CRC, she is a lead mediator in the Federal Shared Neutrals Program and a mediator for the Multi-Door Dispute Resolution Division of the District of Columbia Superior Court. Linda is a retired member of the Federal Senior Executive Service. She is a member of the Virginia Mediation Network. She is an associate member of the American Bar Association and Dispute Resolution Section. Ms. Hall received special training in EEO matters and is Safe Zone Trained.
Dr. Alma Abdul-hadi Jadallah has advised and worked on strategic projects related to conflict prevention and mitigation, training and education, and capacity building on the national and international levels. She has been a speaker at various national and international forums. Dr. Abdul Hadi-Jadallah earned her Ph.D. from the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. Her dissertation research titled “Reflections on Practice: The Impact of 9/11 on Conflict Resolvers” focused on the impact of a critical event – 9/11 – on the practice of conflict resolvers. As a scholar/practitioner, she teaches graduate-level courses in conflict resolution practice and theory at leading academic institutions such as The Carter School at George Mason University, the Summer Peace Institute at Eastern Mennonite University, the American University School of International Service/International Peace and Conflict Resolution Program, and the Georgetown University School of Government/MA Program in Conflict Resolution. She is an affiliate faculty at the Women’s Center at George Mason University, and a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Global Peace at American University.
Stephen Kotev, MA is a conflict resolution consultant offering mediation, negotiation and facilitation services, conflict coaching, training, and somatic education to private and government clients. He specializes in training conflict resolvers on how to maintain their calm in the most stressful of situations. Mr. Kotev has successfully mediated workplace and EEO disputes for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of the Navy, Department of Interior, the Department of Homeland Security, the Social Security Administration, the EEOC, the United Parcel Service, and the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights, and other organizations.He is adjunct faculty at George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. He holds an MA from George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution and certificates in leadership coaching and conflict coaching from Georgetown University and Conflict Coaching Matters LLC. He is Chair of the Association for Conflict Resolution Task Force on Safety in ADR and holds rank in the Japanese martial art of Aikido and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Mary Elizabeth Lynch, MA, JD is a Senior Fellow at George Mason University’s Center for the Advancement of Well-Being. Mrs. Lynch holds an MA in Philosophy and is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law. Before turning to teach full-time, she practiced law for 15 years, specializing in family law, employment law, and mediated settlements. In addition to her skills in issue-spotting and the transformation of inner and outer conflict, she brings 40 years of personal application of mindfulness and meditation practices. She believes mindful awareness training creates the foundation for sustainable change – building personal and professional well-being, strengthening analytical and intuitive reasoning skills, and fostering the enhanced capacity for resilience. Ms. Lynch has created a novel format for helping participants work constructively with their talents, gifts, and values, as well as their growing edges, attitudinal and emotional blocks. Her innovative “Energy Constellation” technique taps into and powerfully integrates one’s somatic, intuitive, and intellectual resources. In so doing, it brings a deeper understanding and healing to physical, emotional, and mental patterns that stand in the way of fully expressing and living one’s talents in the world.
James R. Meditz, MA is a consultant, facilitator, certified mediator, and instructor in conflict resolution in employment, commercial, and community situations for federal and state agencies and for private clients. During his more than 30-years career as a federal employee, Mr. Meditz focused on national security and a wide range of international issues. He worked routinely with colleagues from numerous federal agencies, the military services, and foreign counterparts in domestic and international settings. He worked abroad during TDY and a PCS assignment. He retired as a senior executive and from the US Navy as a Captain. He is certified in the use of the Conflict Dynamics Profile©; Licensed as a Coaching Clinic© Facilitator; is an instructor of conflict management and related communications and supervisory skills; and provides conflict management services for numerous federal, state and local clients. Mr. Meditz has an MA Degree in International Relations from Boston University and a BA in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is a graduate of the National Defense University/National War College and the OPM Federal Executive Institute. Mr. Meditz is a past President and current member of the Virginia Mediation Network in addition to memberships in other professional organizations. He has a private practice, and he is on the rosters of the NVMS Conflict Resolution Center and several other organizations.
Julia Morelli, MA has over twenty-five years of experience as a mediator, facilitator, manager, and consultant. Mrs. Morelli provides facilitation and organizational development services, and training in dispute resolution, cultural issues and diversity, the use of technology in conflict management, and stress management. Her client list includes government agencies, schools, corporations, associations, and nonprofit organizations. Her training includes work with the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, she teaches yoga and qigong, and whenever it is appropriate, she incorporates these techniques into her practice. She is co-author of “Culture and Breaking Impasse in Dispute Resolution,” published in Definitive Creative Impasse-Breaking Techniques in Mediation, (New York A.B.A., 2011); and “Developing Embodied Awareness and Action in Conflict Resolution,” in Faith and Practice in Conflict Resolution: Toward a Multidimensional Approach (2016, edited by Rachel Goldberg). Mrs. Morelli is a recurring presenter at various mediation and dispute resolution conferences, regularly attends the International Conference on Online Dispute Resolution, and is a regular guest lecturer at George Mason University.
James Q. Pope, MSW, JD is an attorney, mediator, and consultant in conflict management and subjects related to workplace conflict, employee relations, civil disputes, and divorce. Mr. Pope has conducted U.S. Department of State-sponsored mediation training for the governments of Israel and Palestine and has mediated and conducted conflict management, mediation, and negotiation training for numerous public and private agencies and organizations, including the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S.D.A., the Department of the Navy, N.O.A.A., NASA, NEA, the F.A.A., the Air Force, the U.S. Forest Service, the World Bank, and the Arkansas Supreme Court. Mr. Pope is currently an adjunct professor at the Catholic University Columbus School of Law and at George Mason University School of Law where he teaches mediation and arbitration. He was a founder of the Fairfax County General District Court Small Claims mediation program and of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the Fairfax County Bar Association.
Daniel Rainey is a member of the Board of Directors for NVMS Conflict Resolution Center, a Fellow of the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution, a member of the Board of Directors for the InternetBar.Org, and a founding member and founding Board Member of the International Council for Online Dispute Resolution (ICODR). He also serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Online Dispute Resolution. He was one of the instructors for the first online dispute resolution course in the world. He has developed graduate-level ODR courses for several universities in addition to skills-based ODR training for dispute resolution centers and professional associations. He is a member of the Supreme Court of Virginia’s Access to Justice Commission, Self-Represented Litigants Committee, and he is the co-chair of the International Mediation Institute Task Force on E-Mediator Competencies. In October 2017, at the Association for Conflict Resolution annual conference, he received the Mary Parker Follett Award for innovation in dispute resolution.
John (Norval) Settle, MPA, JD has over twenty years of experience as a mediator and trainer. He is certified as a mediator and Mentor Mediator by the Supreme Court of Virginia, and he holds Advanced Workplace Mediator status from the Association for Conflict Resolution. He is a contract mediator for three offices of EEOC (including EEOC’s internal “Resolve” program) and has mediated and trained for many federal agencies. He served as the contract Ombudsman for the U.S. Architect of the Capitol. Mr. Settle is on the faculty of George Washington University’s Center for Excellence in Public Administration, teaching conflict management and negotiation skills, and has taught negotiation skills at GWU Law School. He is a retired member of the Virginia Bar. Mr. Settle formerly held senior federal management positions, and he received the Presidential Award of Meritorious Executive in the Senior Executive Service.
Nathalie Thompson, MA is a Virginia Supreme Court certified mentor mediator, trainer and professional facilitator. Her expertise includes leadership and management development; executive leadership and team coaching; conflict prevention and resolution, mediation, conflict coaching; Restorative Justice practices; building and restoring working relationships; facilitation of meetings, strategic planning sessions, team retreats; building teams and enhancing teamwork; leadership and management development; career coaching and facilitator training and coaching. Mrs. Thompson has mediated cases in the workplace, court and school systems. She has also developed and designed numerous conflict resolution courses. Her training sessions are hands on, interactive, and incorporate: adult learning principles, experiential exercises, case studies and application planning. She has designed and delivered leadership training programs for thousands of managers and executives in the Communications, Hospitality, Government, Outplacement and other industries. International facilitation experience includes: China, Armenia, Thailand, Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico and the Caribbean.
Jeannette Twomey is a mediator, facilitator, and conflict resolution trainer in private practice, who has contributed enormously to the development of Alternative Dispute Resolution services in the Commonwealth of Virginia. She has been certified by the Supreme Court of Virginia since 1993 to mediate court referred cases and to teach courses that are part of the statewide certification program. She is a designated Virginia mentor mediator. Most recently, Jeannette was adjunct professor at the Washington College of Law, American University (2006-2015) and served on the Advisory Council, Department of Dispute Resolution Services, Supreme Court of Virginia (2005- 2014). Jeannette served as president of the NVMS Board of Directors from 1996-98. She received the Distinguished Mediator Award from the Virginia Mediation Network in 2014, and Trainer of the Year Award (2009) and Mediator of the Year Award (1994) from NVMS.
Michael West, MS has over twenty-five years of mediation and training experience. Mr. West specializes in training and coaching for senior executives, managers, supervisors, and employees of all levels in dispute management and resolution, leadership, management skills, team-building, communication, and relationship awareness skills. Mr. West presents at state and national conferences and has been a guest speaker on conflict resolution, basic and advanced training, for federal agencies, the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins George Washington University, federal and private sector managers and employees, attorneys, therapists, and other professionals. He received an MS in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University and is a graduate of Scotland Yard Inspectors’ Course (London, England). He is qualified to administer the Total SDI Inventory, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, the Emotional Intelligence (EQi) and the Conflict Dynamics Instrument. He is a certified coach with the International Coaching Federation and holds a Certificate in Executive Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University.