CUC MONTHLY UPDATES
The Center for Understanding in Conflict
Transforming Emotions and Opinions into Sources of Empathy, Connection, and Understanding.
Hello Friends and Supporters,
This month, we’re focusing on growth—growth in our programs, our partnerships, and our collective impact. We’re excited to share updates about new opportunities to deepen your skills in conflict resolution, reflect on approaches that foster empathy and understanding, and connect with a supportive professional community.
We’re also reaching out for urgent support to help Ukrainian mediators access training through interpreters, enabling them to bring conflict resolution tools to their communities in a time of great need. The generosity of our volunteers and supporters continues to inspire us, and we’re grateful to everyone who has stepped forward so far.
Whether you’re looking to refine your practice, gain new perspectives, or join us in making conflict resolution more accessible worldwide, we hope this month’s updates will offer something meaningful to you.
Thank you for continuing to walk this path with us.
In partnership,
James Dykeman
Executive Director
CAN YOU HELP US WITH UKRAINIAN INTERPRETERS?
We've had a number of understanding-based trainers come forward to volunteer to teach LIMU's Ukrainian mediators in a 40-hour basic training this Spring – and we are so grateful for their support!
We do still need assistance with resources for Ukrainian interpreters during the program. Please click below to learn how you can help!
STAFF ANNOUNCEMENT
We are delighted to announce that Pat Lau will join the Center for Understanding in Conflict in 2025 as our Assistant Program Director, a position funded through Intel Corporation’s ENCORE program and administered by SVP Portland.
Pat will focus on developing the CUC Workplace Mediation program and partnership development, playing a critical role in expanding our capacity to deliver workplace-focused conflict resolution and mediation training. He will refine and create curricula tailored to HR professionals, managers, and mediators, collaborating with our leadership team to design impactful training programs for diverse professional sectors.
In 2013, Pat co-founded and for over ten years led Intel’s?Collaborative?Mediation?Program. This in-house workplace?mediation?program helped resolve challenging conflicts among co-workers, peer managers, team members, supervisors, and subordinates.
Pat is a trainer at the CUC, has presented at numerous national conferences, published in the?“Corporate Mediation Journal”?and in the 2nd Edition of?“Managing Conflict”?by David Liddle.?He regularly volunteers as a mediator for small claims cases for the Portland Multnomah County Circuit Court and is also Past Chair of the Oregon Mediation Association Workplace Special Interest Group.
You can learn more about Pat on our leadership page.
FEATURED ARTICLE
A Compassionate Approach to Resolving Marital Conflict with Understanding
Matrimonial disputes often touch the deepest parts of our lives, stirring emotions and raising complicated legal and personal questions. For many, the idea of resolving these conflicts through an adversarial process feels overwhelming and even disheartening. The Understanding-Based Approach offers a different path—one grounded in respect, empathy, and collaboration. It helps people work through conflict in ways that not only resolve the immediate issues but also leave them with a stronger sense of clarity, agency, and dignity.
At the heart of this approach is a belief that those most affected by a dispute are also best equipped to resolve it. Instead of placing decisions in the hands of a judge or relying solely on legal arguments, the process brings people together to talk openly, explore their concerns, and make choices that work for their unique circumstances. For couples, this can mean finding ways to stay connected as co-parents or parting with greater mutual understanding and less resentment. For professionals who support them—lawyers, therapists, educators, and workplace facilitators—this approach opens up opportunities to help clients address not only the surface-level issues but also the deeper patterns and needs that fuel the conflict.
BOOK REVIEW
A Teacher’s Companion: How to Center Empathy & Emotional Well-Being for Yourself and Your Students by Misha Safran
Misha Safran’s?A Teacher’s Companion?is a thoughtful and practical guide that offers profound insights for educators and conflict resolution practitioners alike. As a conflict resolution professional and graduate of the Center for Understanding in Conflict’s teacher training program, Safran brings a uniquely informed perspective to their work, weaving principles of emotional well-being and empathy into every chapter. Their approach aligns closely with the understanding-based model, offering a roadmap for fostering meaningful connections in challenging situations.
At its heart, this book emphasizes the transformative power of empathy, specifically for those in teaching professions and of particular relevance for conflict resolution trainers. Safran invites readers to embrace emotional awareness—both their own and others’—as a foundation for connection and growth.?
THE OTHER CHAIR PODCAST
Bridging NYC’s Divides: Conflict Resolution at OATH with Guests Judge Raymond Kramer and Sethu Nair
In this episode of The Other Chair, guests Judge Raymond Kramer and Sethu Nair from the Center for Creative Conflict Resolution at OATH discuss their role in transforming how conflicts are managed across New York City government, emphasizing community impact and practical conflict resolution strategies.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS
Our flagship experiential certificate training program centered in the Understanding-Based Model
In this gold standard mediation training, learn how to support parties working through conflict or engaging in other important conversations in a different way.?Our Understanding-Based model focuses on guiding parties to make knowing and informed choices together in a?respectful manner.?Highlights include:
领英推荐
West Coast: March 5 - 9, 2025, November 5 - 9, 2025
East Coast: June 23 - 28, 2025
Working Creatively with Conflict: 40-Hour Conflict Resolution and Matrimonial Mediation Training (East Coast)
Participants will learn matrimonial law and the core skills of the Understanding Based Approach, through lively demonstrations and role-plays, all of which immerse participants in the learning (16 and 24-hour can be taken seperately, or together for a 40-hour program). Realistic simulations, in which participants work through mediations with coaching from our teachers, offer participants the chance to hone their skills and experience the emotional challenges faced by parties in dispute. Participants describe these different modes of learning and their interplay as engaging and rewarding.
Upon completing this 40h Mediation Intensive Training, participants will have completed the requirements for a 24h Basic Mediation Training under Part 146 of the NYS Rules of the Chief Administrator of the Courts (“Part 146”) and the requirements for a 16-hour Advanced Matrimonial Mediation Training under Part 146.
Learn to Navigate Difficult Conversations
Join our expert-led series focused on transforming high-stakes conversations into opportunities for deeper understanding and connection. Over multiple sessions, you’ll learn practical strategies for managing conflict, de-escalating tension, and fostering open dialogue. Grounded in values of empathy, clarity, and collaboration, this series equips you to navigate difficult dynamics and build stronger, more trusting relationships. Ideal for professionals, mediators, and anyone facing challenging interactions.
Join a Support and Development Group in 2025
CUC invites you to join our next online cohort of SCPI, where conflict resolution professionals commit to exploring together practices of self-reflection that are constructive for ourselves and productive for our clients.
Participants will practice various self-reflection methods during six group online sessions over six months (approximately 1 three hour group session monthly) and in-between sessions individually (daily) and 1-1 peer meetings (weekly).
UPCOMING WEBINARS
Conflict can feel overwhelming and uncomfortable, often leaving us stuck, reactive, and uncertain about how to move forward. Yet beneath the surface of these challenging moments lies valuable energy and information that, when understood and utilized, can transform conflict into an opportunity for growth and connection. In this 1-hour webinar, we’ll take a closer look at what happens within us during moments of tension and difficulty—examining the emotions, assumptions, and patterns that shape our responses. This webinar supports us to reframe conflict not as a problem to avoid but as a doorway to deeper understanding and more authentic relationships.
Join?Melanie Rowen and?Sethu?Nair on Thursday, January 23rd at 11:00 AM Pacific / 1:00 PM Eastern
COMMUNITY VIDEO FOR JANUARY
4 Steps for Anti-racist, Anti-oppressive Conflict Resolution
Join Hansa Patel and Melanie Rowen for an insightful one-hour webinar with Rev. Liên Shutt, LCSW, a Zen Buddhist priest, social worker, and social justice advocate, as we explore strategies to address unconscious racism in conflict resolution.
This session introduces the PACE method—Prevent, Abandon, Cultivate, Extend—a four-step approach for skillfully engaging with unconscious racial biases during mediation. We will also delve into "up-power" and "down-power" dynamics in leadership and conflict. Drawing from Rev. Shutt's book Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path, this webinar is perfect for conflict resolution professionals and leaders committed to fostering racial equity and justice.
Support the Center with a CUC Connect Membership and enjoy interactive monthly webinars, over 70 program recordings, and professional support!
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The Center for Understanding in Conflict
is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.