Michael was called to the British Columbia bar in 1981 and practises primarily in the ADR field, mostly in family law mediations, as well as civil mediation and civil and family arbitration.  He has been a mediator since 1997.  Based in Penticton, he is a Certified Family Law Mediator and Family Law Arbitrator by the Law Society of British Columbia and is a civil mediator and arbitrator, holding the designations of C. Med., Q. Arb., and Cert.Fam.Arb. and is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

He is a member of the Mediate BC Family Roster and BCAMI Civil Roster and acts as a mediator for the Law Society in fee disputes between lawyers and clients.  Michael is President of the British Columbia Arbitration & Mediation Institute (BCAMI) and currently Vice-President of the BC Branch of the Canadian Bar Association .  He is an executive committee member of the CBA National ADR Section and Okanagan ADR Section. He writes regularly for the Advocate, a legal magazine in BC, both legal articles and as its wine columnist, and has also published several articles in BarTalk magazine and the Canadian Arbitration & Mediation Journal.   He is periodically asked to talk on ADR, legal and wine-related topics for various legal groups and at continuing legal education programs.

With offices in New Westminster, Victoria and Kelowna CHOA provides service to its members throughout the province, promoting an understanding of strata living, and the interests of strata property owners. On average the association fields 250 inquiries a day from owners, strata council members, managers and agents, and delivers over 100 seminars annually on a variety of strata related topics including governance, operations and administration.

Dianne Martin, is a seasoned mom, stepmom, Certified Stepfamily Counsellor and Registered Social Worker. She has over 30 years' experience working with families in Canada and the UK as a social worker, Team Leader and Program Consultant.

Martin, a passionate advocate for remarried families, launched Dianne Martin & Associates in 2009. She designed and developed a powerful array of evidenced based counselling and educational programs for stepfamilies. When research revealed that many family service professionals did not understand the unique stepfamily issues and dynamics, she designed a two-day professional development event: From Intake to Integration: A Therapeutic Model for Working with Stepfamilies

Martin received her Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of Calgary and studied under Dr Lofas, PhD, LCSW, NYC, NY of the Stepfamily Foundation. She is a member of the BCCSW, BCASW, CASW.

Martin is a blogger, contributing writer to StepMom Magazine. She is Psychosocial Support Program volunteer and facilitates a cancer support group. Martin resides with her husband on Vancouver Island.

Julie is on the roster of BC Child Protection Mediators and Canadian Human Rights Commission Mediators, has been a Mentor in the Mediate BC Child Protection Mediation Practicum, and has coached for the Continuing Legal Education Society Family Mediation training, and the University of British Columbia Law, Justice Institute of BC and the University of Northern BC, and most recently Thompson Rivers University Law School.

Julie also facilitates workshops for The College of New Caledonia on developing culturally appropriate practices for working with First Nation families and communities.

Melissa's career for 15 years has been based on supporting people to utilize the most effective communication, marketing and PR strategies to best clarify their focus. Her research offers cutting edge, relevant data to be incorporated in every application and is based in a preventative model.

Whether Melissa is conducting a seminar, workshops or giving talks, she is engaging, humorous and full of applicable, useful tools for people to utilize quickly.

Anne is a lawyer, mediator and a workplace consultant in British Columbia.

She has been the Equity Ombudsperson for the Law Society of British Columbia for the last 15 years works and a consultant, who assists her clients with development of respectful workplace policies, training and mediation of conflicts. She also assists publically traded companies in corporate governance, TSX policies and corporate development in general.

As the Equity Ombudsperson she deals with issues of discrimination and harassment among lawyers, staff and articling students. In this position, she coaches and assists clients to deal with issues of discrimination and harassment, assists organizations and law firms to implement respectful workplace polices, procedures and practices. She is also called into firms to mediate solutions for firms that are facing challenges in their workplace culture.

She has a multi-disciplinary background in mediation, organizational development, coaching, business, and law. She launched her career in equality in employment in 1983, when she graduated with her multi-disciplinary Masters in Industrial Relations from Queen's University. With this education she secured a one year practicum with the Alberta Government where she was trained and exposed to all aspects of human resources, including: recruitment, selection, training, compensation and organizational development. In 1985, she moved to Ontario to develop a How to Handbook for medium sized employers to implement policies free of systemic discrimination for Ontario Urban Alliance on Race Relations in 1985. With this background, she has been working in the LSBC ombudsperson position and privately consulting to government and private companies on issues of discrimination and harassment.

She has been an active member of the CBA, specifically with the WLF. She was a member of the mentoring committee from the founding stage of the mentoring program for the CBA Women Lawyers Forum ("WLF") and was the Co-Chair for the Mentoring Committee for five years. She was also a member at large with the WLF and in this role she also developed the WLF Award of Excellence. In 2006, she was recognized by the CBA as an exceptional lawyer in the advancement of equality and was awarded the provincial CBA Equality and Diversity Award.

She was an associate at Fraser and Company and Owen Bird as a business securities lawyer. Currently she is a consultant to publically traded companies listed on the TSX, in areas of corporate governance, employment and project development and sits on number of publically traded TSX listed companies. She is the past President of the Law Court Inn and remains a director.

Also, she is the author of Beyond the Mirror, Seeing Ourselves As We Are, 2000 and has been a keynote speaker for various events on: diversity, empowerment, harassment and workplace practices.

Ms. Chopra's contact information is available here.

Shehni was sworn in as a Judge of the Provincial Court of British Columbia on March 31st 2000. She presides over cases in the criminal, family and civil divisions. Prior to her appointment to the Bench, Shehni was the Assistant Deputy Chair of the Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board.

Shehni was born in Kenya and educated in Kenya, England and Canada. She has a Bachelor's degree in business, a Masters degree in liberal studies from Simon Fraser University, and a law degree from the University of British Columbia. She practised civil and criminal litigation for ten years before her appointment to the Refugee Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board in 1993.

Active in the Ismaili Community, Shehni served as a member of the Leaders International Forum. She is the former Chairperson of the National Conciliation and Arbitration Board and has served as Vancouver Convenor for the Aga Khan Foundation–Partnership Walk for international development. Shehni is a Director on the Canadian chapter of the International Association of Women Judges and on the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges – Equality and Diversity committee. She served as a member of the Canadian Bar Association – Equality Committee and Alternate Dispute Resolution Advisory Panel and as a director on the B.C. Council for Administrative Tribunals and the Burnaby Chamber of Commerce. She is a member on the Centre for Excellence in Immigration and Integration – Federal Partnership Council and an advisor to the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society.

Shehni has been active in professional development and training of decision-makers and has facilitated workshops on gender and cross-cultural issues. She has been a speaker and presenter at many conferences on issues involving equality and justice, immigration and human rights. Shehni completed the National Judicial Institute's Social Context Faculty and Course Development Program for Judges in 2001. She was nominated as BC's 100 influential Indo-Canadians in 2008. She is the recipient of the Queen's Jubilee Award (2002) and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012) for exceptional Community service to Canada.

John Sanderson is a mediator, arbitrator, independent investigator, fact-finder, consultant and lawyer called to the Bar in Ontario and British Columbia.

Mr. Sanderson has acted as mediator, facilitator and arbitrator across Canada and internationally in numerous labour and commercial matters, including insurance claims, corporate contractual disputes, securities and broker-client investment claims, construction matters and disputes, environmental disputes, inter-governmental disputes, employment matters, in relation to First Nations claims and interests, claims of discrimination, violations of human rights and behaviour-related complaints, and disputes in the public and private sector. He has acted as Chief Negotiator for Government of Northwest Territories. He has advised parties on the design of dispute resolution systems, providing training on ADR techniques and conducted numerous conflict and relationship audits. He is a principal of Conflict Managers Group, an alliance of senior professionals from different disciplines formed to provide advice on all aspects of conflict management, to parties in both the public and private sector across Canada. He is a co-founder of Pathways Partnership, which provides facilitation and advisory services arising from the obligation to consult with respect to relationships between business, First Nations and government.

Mr. Sanderson is a member and former Chairman of the Labour Relations Section of the Canadian Bar Association. He is a member of: the Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee of the Canadian Bar Association; Mediate BC (civil roster); the ADR Institute of Canada and is a panel member of ADR Chambers (Western Canada). He is a Past-President of the Board of Directors of the BC Arbitration and Mediation Institute; a Past-Director of the BC Dispute Resolution Innovation Society (now Mediate BC Society); Past-President of the BC Chapter of the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution; former Chair of the Advisory Board to the Centre for Labour and Management Studies, University of British Columbia; and was a founding Director of a non-profit educational organization, The Pacific Foundation for Economic and Social Co-operation and its Centre for Conflict Management. He is a conciliator with the Canadian Human Rights Commission; arbitrator and mediator, Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada; mediator, Canadian Dispute Resolution Corporation; senior adjudicator, Indian Residential School Adjudication Secretariat; court appointed arbitrator, Hepatitis C Class Action Claims; arbitrator, Canadian Transportation Agency; and Ombudsperson, BC Hydro.

Mr. Sanderson is the author of a book on arbitrations entitled "Labour Arbitrations and All That," as well as a book on collective bargaining, entitled "The Art of Collective Bargaining." He co-authored the first editions of a leading book on Alternative Dispute Resolution, published by Carswell, entitled "Innovative Dispute Resolution: The Alternative".

Cheryl is a lawyer whose practice focusses on dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration, administrative law, and real property assessment law. Cheryl chaired BC's Property Assessment Appeal Board from 2003 to 2015, and served as Vice-Chair from 1995-2003. Since 2007, Cheryl has chaired BC's Surface Rights Board, a tribunal exercising jurisdiction under the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act and other statutes to resolve surface lease and right of way disputes between landowners and the holders of subsurface rights. She is a member of the Hospital Appeal Board, established under the Hospital Act to hear appeals from hospital management boards respecting registered health practitioners. From March 2013 to April 2014, Cheryl served as Acting Chair of BC's new Civil Resolution Tribunal, assisting with the development of Canada's first on-line tribunal to help citizens resolve strata and small claims disputes.

Cheryl was active in the development of the British Columbia Council of Administrative Tribunals (BCCAT), and served for many years as a member of that organization's Board of Directors, including as its President from 2004-2006. She assisted with curriculum development for BCCAT courses to offer training to appointees of quasi-judicial boards and tribunals and is a BCCAT course instructor. In October 2009, Cheryl received BCCAT's Recognition Award for outstanding contribution to administrative justice.

Cheryl serves on the editorial boards of two CLE Practice Manuals – Real Property Assessment and Administrative Law.

Tina Cicchetti is a partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP in Vancouver. Tina's practice focuses on domestic and international commercial arbitration and investment arbitration. She has been arbitrator, counsel or tribunal secretary in a wide range of matters, including M&A, shareholder disputes, licensing, construction and distribution agreements. Tina has experience with cases under the ICC, AAA, ICDR, JCAA, Swiss, LCIA, UNCITRAL and BCICAC Rules. She routinely advises clients on the drafting of arbitration clauses and strategic options available in commercial and investment arbitration.

For many years, Tina taught a seminar on international commercial disputes as an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Law. She is also the former president and a current Advisory Board member of the Young Canadian Arbitration Practitioners (YCAP), and a member of the Executive Committee of ICC Canada (the Canadian National Committee to the ICC International Court of Arbitration), a member of the ICDR Canadian Advisory Committee, a board member of the Western Canada Commercial Arbitration Society (WCCAS), and a former member of the Regional Coordinating Committee of the North American Chapter of ICC's YAF. Tina was recognized by Who's Who Legal: Arbitration 2016 and named in the Lexpert Guide to the Leading US-Canada Cross-Border Litigation Lawyers 2014-2015 for International Commercial Arbitration.

Prior to joining the firm, Tina clerked at the BC Court of Appeal. She is fluent in English and has reading knowledge of French, Spanish and Italian.

Registered Social Worker and Certified Clinical Counsellor Peter Silin is the founder and principal of Diamond Geriatrics, Inc. Diamond Geriatrics and Elderpost.com. Diamond Geriatrics provides case management, seniors housing consultations, health care navigation, and counselling.

Peter received his bachelor's degree from McGill University and his Masters in Social Work from the University of Toronto. He has worked with seniors and their families for over thirty five years in nursing homes, family therapy agencies, community care, geriatric medicine and psychiatric clinics, and hospitals.

Peter has written numerous articles for magazines, professional journals, and newspapers, been seen and heard on national network and local TV and radio, and has acted as a national eldercare consultant with the Canadian government and in private industry. The second edition of his book, Nursing Homes and Assisted Living: The Family's Guide to Making Decisions and Getting Good Care, was published by Johns Hopkins University Press and is used around the world.

Les has been a member of the BC Bar since 1975 and a solicitor of the Bar of England and Wales since 1991.  He was in private practice from 1975 until 1997 when he became CEO and President of Urban Communications Inc., a publicly listed telecoms company, as well as conducting arbitrations.  He has been a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators since 2011 and is a director of the BCICAC and member of the BCAMI.

Called to the Bar of British Columbia in 1986 Kathryn practised with a variety of firms in the Vancouver area. In 1997 she become Legal Counsel to the Chief Justice and Associate Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia. In 2001, she was appointed a District Registrar of the Court and in 2010 she became the Registrar of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, serving until 2014.

Kathryn has a long-standing interest in consensual dispute resolution, obtaining her mediation training at Harvard Law School (Program on Negotiation) in 2012 and through the American Arbitration Association University in 2013.  She is a member of both the Mediate BC Civil and Family Rosters and is accredited as a "family dispute resolution professional" (mediator and arbitrator) by the Law Society of British Columbia. She is  a member of the domestic and mediation panels of the British Columbia International Commercial Centre and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.  She was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2015.

From Kelowna, Ron has practiced in B.C. since 1975.  Ron began practicing mediation in 1985.  He has conducted hundreds of mediations in most areas of law since that time.  In 2013, Ron decided to focus his attention on mediation and arbitration to provide the best possible solutions for the Family Law matters of his clients.  Ron is a dedicated leader in the British Columbia legal profession.

He is a founding Board Member and is a Past Vice-Chair of the B.C. Mediator Roster Society and past Chair and Executive Board Member of the Continuing Legal Education Society of B.C. (CLE). Some of Ron's leadership activities entail teaching and coaching mediation skills for CLE, the Justice Institute of British Columbia, the BCAMI and the National Judicial Institute.  Ron is a member of the Mediate BC's Family and Commercial Mediation Rosters.  He is qualified to conduct family mediations and arbitrations through the Law Society of BC. He received his Queen's Counsel in 2010 for his service to the profession.

Carol obtained her law degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1987 and has practised law in the New Westminster area for over 20 years at all levels of court, including the British Columbia Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.  She has extensive experience in complex family law matters, including property division, maintenance, and custody and access disputes. Carol was appointed Queens Counsel in 2011.  Her practice is primarily in family law, and she is also a family law mediator.  Carol has been a member of the Vancouver Collaborative Divorce Group since January 2001 and is one of the pioneering members of the Collaborative Family Law Group serving the Lower Mainland.  She has been an instructor for Continuing Legal Education on several occasions, including the Family Law Conference in 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011.  Carol co-wrote the 2005 Family Law Deskbook.

After graduating from the University of Saskatchewan and completing a 10 year career in Corporate Finance, Scott transitioned into the Public sector with several assignments inside the Canada Revenue Agency and Canada Border Services Agency. In 1996, as part of a journey in self-discovery, Scott took a 5 year leave from Government where he and his family served as volunteers with a US based international relief and development agency. Working amidst the oppressed and conflicted peoples of southern Appalachia & Central America, Scott provided direction to local initiatives focusing on conflict transformation through several Victim-Offender Reconciliation Programs (VORP) he administered. In 2002, Scott and his family returned to Canada, rejoining his Federal employer as an Internal Labour Relations Mediator. Since that time, Scott has continued his international work within multi-disciplinary teams engaging conflict environments in Northern Ireland; Rwanda, Burundi & east Congo; and, most recently, Cambodia & Laos.

As part of the Eastern Mennonite University and Seminary (Harrisonburg VA) Conflict Transformation and Peace Studies program, Scott has been conducting mediations and facilitations inside and out of government for nearly two decades.
Scott is a Government of Canada accredited mediator with the Department of Justice's ICMS network, a member in good standing of the ADR Institute of Saskatchewan, and holds the designation of Chartered Mediator (C.Med.) with the ADR Institute of Canada. Scott is a Director of the ADR Institute of Canada.

Scott lives in Regina with his wife Julie and their adult daughter. Another daughter and son-in-law reside in Saskatoon.

Mr. Singleton has practiced law since 1969. He has concentrated on the areas of insurance, construction, professional liability and environmental matters, on behalf of property owners, architects, engineers, contractors, regulatory agencies and insurers. He has acted as counsel in several precedent-setting cases involving insurers, architects, engineers and other participants in the construction industry and has been counsel on a wide variety of problems related to environmental issues.

Mr. Singleton is also a chartered arbitrator and mediator of complex commercial disputes, and is actively involved in both mediation and arbitration on behalf of his own clients and as a mediator/arbitrator retained by others. He also acts as a fairness advisor/monitor of procurement activities in a variety of settings.

Walley Lightbody is a director of the BCICAC.  After decades as a top legal counsel in Vancouver he moved to the Okanagan where he has a practice in arbitration and mediation.  He received the Georges Goyer Award by the BC Branch of the CBA in 2010 for his service to the legal profession and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.

Lecturer, Performance Bonds, Labour and Material Bonds, Insurance Bureau of Canada, 1981, Continuing Legal Education, 1987. Advisory Director, Big Brothers of Vancouver, since 1968. Recipient of Cecil Walker award, 1987. President, The Lawyers' Inn. Member, Board of Arbitrators and General Counsel, for the British Columbia Internatonal Commercial Arbitration Centre, since 1988. University of British Columbia (Bachelor of Arts, 1956. Bachelor of Laws, 1960).

Clayton holds fellowships in the London, UK-based Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, the British Columbia and Ontario Institutes of Chartered Professional Accountants, and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators. He has written numerous articles and published a book entitled Matrimonial Settlements: The Tax and Accounting Implications (Butterworths Western Canada, 1980) and a supplement to it in 1982. Following eight years as regional valuations partner in Coopers & Lybrand (now PriceWaterhouseCoopers), he joined the Vancouver Stock Exchange as its Executive Vice-President in charge of Corporate Finance, Trading, and Compliance. From 1996 to the present, he has been providing arbitration and mediation services as well as business valuation opinions, primarily in a litigious context.

Before establishing an independent arbitration practice in January, 2013, Gerald Ghikas was head of Litigation and the Chair of the Commercial Arbitration Group in the Vancouver office of the Canadian national firm of Borden Ladner Gervias LLP. He is the former Chair of the Executive Committee and Managing Partner of Ladner Downs.  With over 40 years of ADR experience, Mr. Ghikas has acted both as arbitrator and counsel in ad hoc and institutional commercial arbitrations in Canada and abroad. He has extensive experience in arbitrations and litigation relating to mining exploration, the energy industry, engineering, technology, intellectual property and trademark matters, partnerships, joint venture agreements, manufacturing and distribution, international trade, finance and capital markets, construction disputes, real estate and commercial leasing.

He is on the American Arbitration Association Roster of Distinguished International Arbitrators International Centre for Dispute Resolution and a member of the American Bar Association, the Canadian Bar Association and the International Bar Association. Mr. Ghikas is a member of the London Court of International Arbitration and Founding Member and Chair of the Western Canada Arbitrators Round Table. He is also an Executive of the Canadian National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration and Member of Arbitration Commission. Mr. Ghikas is the recipient of the 2006 Lionel J. McGowan Award for Excellence in the field of alternative dispute resolution in Canada and is the author of numerous publications.

Terence van der Woude is a Financial Consultant with Investors Group. He has achieved IG's prestigious PILLAR AWARD status by placing himself in the top 10% nationally for the last 3 years. He was also awarded with New Consultant of the Year for the Greater Vancouver East Region in 2015. His client base is mostly drawn from his former industry of Vancouver's vibrant film & live performance scene. Because of the nature of this industry, he specializes in US / Canadian income rules & regulations for Canadian citizens. Terence is a true Wet Coaster as he has lived in the Lower Mainland all his life and is grateful to be a very proud papa with his two children & loving wife.

Since founding Boilingpoint Group in 2007, Steve has thrived on helping organizations develop thought leadership and cross cultural strategies to drive business results. Before founding Boilingpoint, Steve was the Director of Marketing and Business Development of Chalk Media, a leading North American "how-to" content solutions company, where he played a key role in successfully navigating the business past the dotcom crash and getting it listed on the TSX Venture Exchange before its eventual acquistion by Research in Motion in 2008.

Big into community building, Steve currently volunteers his time serving as Board Director of Place des Arts, Co-Founder & Past Chair, for C3 Korean Canadian Society, Board Director of the Canada Korea Business Association, Member the Multicultural Advisory Council of BC, Committee Member for the Economic Development Advisory Council for the City of Coquitlam, Member of the Past Presidents' Council for the BC chapter of the American Marketing Association, President of the BC Liberals Coquitlam-Maillardville Riding Association and the Provincial Chair for the BC Liberals.

Steve is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and holds a Master of Arts from Korea University, where he specialized in the study of venture-backed technology, business and industry.

Art Kewin is a senior family dispute resolution professional. His professional experience as a psychologist, civil litigator at all levels of BC Courts, mediator, arbitrator, collaborative lawyer and financial planner is of unique value to clients negotiating major life transitions. Particularly when entering into, and moving on from, spousal relationships.

Art's practice integrates legal principles with financial facts and concepts to help build stronger foundations for new relationships and to create better solutions to the challenges of moving on. Essentially, legal principles guide and financial realities decide.

He became a Certified Family Mediator in 1986 and earned his Certified Financial Planner designation in 2001. He has taught the methods and benefits of integrating legal and financial concepts to lawyers, clinical counsellors, financial planners, insurance and investment advisors and accountants for over a decade.

Prior to law, Art travelled extensively, served in the New Zealand Army as a military psychologist and earned a Master's degree in psychology.

Art is a keen snowboarder and motorcyclist. Art and his wife Ruth, A Life Coach at www.DivorceRoadMap.com, live in South Surrey and are avid cyclists.

Patrick Williams is a partner with Clark Wilson LLP in Vancouver in their Strata Property and Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Groups. Patrick's practice focuses on assisting strata corporations, developers and strata lot owners with dispute resolution. He is an experienced and qualified arbitrator and mediator who has managed numerous strata property, real estate and construction disputes. Patrick has written and published many articles on issues in the strata property industry, including construction-related problems experienced by owners, property managers and developers. He is a regular contributor to the industry periodicals and regularly delivers presentations and seminars to industry groups, strata corporations and property managers. He has also published articles regarding the use and benefit of arbitration and mediation as an alternative to court and is a frequent guest instructor for the mediation component of the Professional Legal Training Course required to be taken by all articled students in British Columbia. He obtained his Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1973 and a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1974, from the University of British Columbia. He is a past president of the BCAMI and currently a trustee and president of the BCICAC.

Alex Ning is an experienced Notary Public and mediator. He has mediated since 1999, holds his C.Med through BCAMI and has served for many years as a small claims mediator and mentor in the Court Mediation Program administered by Mediate BC. His notary practice focuses on immigration and refugee matters and he was named BC Notary of the Year in 2010.

Having spent the last 30 years as a Professional Agrologist, helping agricultural producers find solutions to their management, environmental and production challenges, I've recently found a new passion: helping people find creative solutions to their conflicts by building understanding through constructive communication, mediation, relationship building, conflict & communication coaching, group facilitation and multi-stakeholder consultation.

My focus is on workplace and land/resource use conflict resolution throughout Western Canada.

At the same time I am still a licensed Agrologist with active interest in the following areas: getting science-based information about agriculture to the public; rural/urban relationship building by developing better understanding between the urban consumer and rural food producer; agricultural livestock welfare; role of livestock grazing in ecology of native grasslands and sustainable agriculture.

Although Diane E. Tucker is a relative newcomer to ADR in the Lower Mainland, she gained significant experience as an arbitrator in San Francisco for the State Bar of California and the Better Business Bureau, and as a mediator for the Superior Court of San Francisco. Diane is a member of BCAMI; she is an arbiter with Just Resolve, an online dispute resolution service based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In addition, Diane is a Certified Information Privacy Professional for both Canada and the US, and retains her license to practice law as a member of the State Bar of California. She is the sole proprietor of DET et al., a consulting business providing domestic and international privacy and dispute resolution services. Diane's background includes positions as in-house counsel in the electronic entertainment, enterprise software and food industries as well as adjunct faculty teaching law, paralegal and business students.

Elton Simoes is an accomplished, Arbitrator, Mediator, Negotiator, Consultant and Business Executive with extensive and global experience in business, negotiation, arbitration, mediation and dispute resolution systems design.

Having lived and worked in Canada, United States, Europe, and Latin America, Mr. Simoes demonstrated outstanding record of leadership; creative problem-solving; sound business acumen; legal and dispute resolution skills and knowledge, in different organizations across multiple functions, geographies, languages, cultures, and technologies.

As an ADR professional, Elton Simoes possesses extensive experience in commercial arbitration, mediation and Med.-Arb., particularly in the areas of intellectual property, media, entertainment, sports, and international disputes. Mr. Simoes has worked as a consultant in the designing of dispute resolution systems, to either avoid or minimize litigation costs, saving time and effort in commercial disputes involving consumers, shareholders and other stakeholders.

Mr. Simoes led businesses that generated in excess of US$ 250 million in annual revenues, consistently and frequently delivering double digit growth, and successfully managing important global media brands (e.g. Disney and Playboy), as well as local brands.

Elton Simoes held several senior, high profile, corporate positions, such as Vice President at The Walt Disney Television International; Board Member Representative at HBO Latin America, Managing, Director Sports and Pay-per-view, at Globosat; and Managing Partner at Playboy do Brazil.

Joan lives in Cobble Hill on Vancouver Island with her partner and 4 footed friends. She is a mediator, arbitrator and Parent Coordinator with 35 years of experience working with families, high conflict individuals and community. Joan has experience planning national and provincial conferences and looks forward to working with the BCAMI Symposium team in planning this exciting opportunity.

Brenda Hooper is a conflict management expert who works with individuals, organizations and families using a variety of dispute resolution methods such as Conflict Management Coaching, Mediation and Relationship Awareness Training.

Brenda received her Certification in Conflict Resolution from the Justice Institute of BC in 1998 and has gone on to receive National & International designations in mediation, coaching and training. She is a Director of the British Columbia Arbitration and Mediation Institute and a Roster Member with MediateBC.

Brenda operates her private practice in Conflict Management in Delta BC and provides in-person or distant coaching & mediation services throughout North America.

Joan Braun is a lawyer, social worker and mediator in Vancouver, British Columbia. She was called to the bar in 2001, obtained a Master of Social Work degree in 2007 and a Master of Law degree in 2005. Her graduate studies focused on mediation. In addition to academic qualifications she has extensive experience as a mediator. She is the author of publications on mediation topics and is a regular speaker at professional events. Joan also has more than six year's experience in executive management in legal sector organizations. Most recently she led organizations that had a strong focus on older adult issues. While in that role, Joan realized the value of using mediation to resolve disputes between older adults and their families. She subsequently expanded her private practice to include elder mediation services. Joan is currently the chair of the Association for Conflict Resolution's Elder Mediation Section. She is the past chair of the Canadian Bar Association's National ADR Section.

I have been mediating for 17 years (since 1999) and have become a Chartered Mediator in 2003. I have been involved in family mediations as well as civil court, neighborhood, workplace and oil and gas mediations, and First Nations settings.

While most of my mediations start face-to-face, or alternatively, shuttle and telephone mediations, I have moved into blended practice, with online mediation added for increased service delivery. As member of the associate faculty at Royal Roads University I offer ongoing training for MediateBC in facilitating technology assisted, synchronous online mediations.

Apart from my private mediation and coaching practice, I have overseen the implementation of civil court mediation programs for the Department of Justice (Provincial and Queen's Bench Courts, Alberta), been an oil and gas industry mediator for the Energy Regulator (formerly ERCB), and recently completed a contract for the ADR Institute of Alberta in the position of Executive Director. Currently I am an Associate at Fairway Dispute Solutions, engaging as senior negotiator in high conflict family issues. I hold a B.A. in Justice Studies and a post-graduate certificate in the NeuroScience of Leadership.

Rich is a certified business coach and trainer with FocalPoint Business Coaching – Powered by Brian Tracy. He has coached, trained, consulted and presented to owners, leaders and team members from more than 15 countries worldwide.

He is an accomplished entrepreneur and sales & marketing professional with over 20 years of experience. He specializes helping professionals and practice owners attract new clients scale their business and automate parts of their operations.

When he isn't working with clients, Rich enjoys riding, running, skiing and soccer. He has been married to his wife Tricia for close to 20 years. They have two children and in live in beautiful Langley, British Columbia, Canada.

Peter Austin is a qualified Appraiser (AACI) and Chartered Arbitrator. In recent years he has specialized in Property Tax appeals and lease and strata arbitrations, acting as expert witness as well as arbitrator.

Mr. Austin has served on several Strata councils, professional and non-profit boards, including membership of the advisory committee to the Civil Resolution Tribunal, BCAMI Board and the Property Tax Association (National president in 2000).  He has a degree in Real Estate and has lectured at Langara College and UBC.

Kari D. Boyle held various leadership positions with Mediate BC Society for the past 10 years and continues to use her legal, mediation and management experience to improve BC citizens' access to viable and affordable conflict resolution options. She is also the Coordinator for the new BC Family Justice Innovation Lab. Previously, she practiced corporate commercial litigation in Vancouver for 14 years, worked inhouse for 6 years specializing in legal services management, led mediation research initiatives at UBC, and provided support to the Civil Justice Reform Working Group and the initiative to create a new set of Supreme Court Civil Rules in British Columbia.

Kent Woodruff practises in Kamloops.  For the last 24 years he has restricted his practice to ADR in both the arbitration and mediation areas and sits as a BC Crop Insurance Appeal Arbitrator with over 90 arbitrations. He regularly organizes seminars for corporations on the power of consensus and mediation and uses both Arb-Med and Med-Arb dispute resolution when requested and when appropriate.

Bob Davidson has extensive experience in business, with a focus on business development, marketing and sales. He specializes in feasibility, strategy and planning, and is a dedicated problem solver. He has a unique ability to translate complex technical concepts into layman's terms, which allows him to be the nexus between diverse groups of people to facilitate success.

Throughout his career, Bob has been a master at developing and nurturing long-term relationships. Personal contact and building relationships has been a constant element in his business development – in any situation.

Silver Beach Consulting brings together business acumen, economic development, First Nations engagement, government relations and expertise in the energy sector.

Bob works with First Nations and non-Aboriginal businesses to develop effective working relationships and identify mutually beneficial economic development opportunities.

An accomplished speaker and Distinguished Toastmaster, Bob volunteers as a public speaking coach.

Helmut Johannsen's legal practice includes all aspects of law and all types of contracts and projects relating to construction, engineering, procurement and infrastructure. He has acted as counsel on complex civil litigation cases and arbitrations, as well as sole arbitrator, dispute board member and chair of arbitration tribunals on disputes involving construction, engineering and technical matters. He also has considerable domestic and international experience in transactional work, including: strategic advice; risk mitigation; advising on project delivery systems; negotiating, drafting, tendering, awarding & interpreting contracts; insurance & bonding; and related mediation, arbitration & litigation for a wide range of projects including wind, thermal and hydro powerplants, transit projects, highways, marine facilities, pipelines, LNG facilities, and mining infrastructure. In addition to a lawyer he is a licensed Professional Engineer (BC) with a background in geotechnical, structural and municipal engineering. This complementary background, and ability to both read and understand technical drawings and specifications, is appreciated by clients, whether representing them directly or acting as arbitrator or other neutral in their disputes. He has represented owners and contractors in equal proportion over the years, as well as subcontractors, suppliers, architects and engineers, giving him a balanced perspective of the industry.

Helmut is a Chartered Arbitrator (ADR Institute of Canada), a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), Member of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation, a Fellow of the Canadian College of Construction Lawyers, a Fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers, a Fellow of the International Academy of Construction Lawyers, a Vice‑Chair of the International Construction Projects Committee of the International Bar Association, and a director of the BC Arbitration & Mediation Institute.

Assunta is a practicing lawyer, mediator and arbitrator. She has significant expertise in all aspects of family law and although her preference is to negotiate settlements, she is a skilled courtroom lawyer. She is currently diversifying her practice to include estates and general civil law. She speaks Italian and French, has a sound working knowledge of Spanish and is flexible in meeting her clients' needs. In addition to her law practice, Assunta teaches legal procedure at Douglas College and Vancouver Community College.

Edwin Knight became a paralegal in Ontario with two years of civil, family and mediation training though Humber College, Toronto. He moved from teaching high school law and theatre to paralegal litigation to mediation opening a practice in 2004 in Ontario.

In 2013 Ed added training through JIBC and through the Institute of Divorce Financial Analysts to become a CDFA and BC Comprehensive Mediator through Family Mediation Canada, and Mediate BC. In the last three years, Mr. Knight has prepared financial reports for lawyers and their clients, mediators and their clients, and for his own clients in his mediation practice, AlberniMediation & CDFA. On the strength of Ed's Dramatic Arts HBA and theatre training background, he has been working with Shaw TV to produce a Mediation Reality Show which will air several times a month and will provide the viewer with interactive options. Experts in mediation and Divorce Financial will be his guests and panel experts. Edwin has grown to believe and say,

"Get the numbers right first, then resolve." And "The half you get makes all the difference."

He will be presenting several family mediation case examples to illustrate these statements.

Christian has an extensive background contributing to organizations of all sizes. These include the Human Resources Management Association, Starbucks Coffee Canada, Best Buy Canada, Children's and Women's Health Centre of BC and Service Canada, formerly Employment and Immigration Canada.

While with the Human Resources Management Association, he led teams responsible for professional development, metrics and the office of the registrar for the CHRP designation. Christian was also responsible for government relations, starting the Association down its path to become a self-regulated profession. He has also appeared on dozens of radio, print and television features including the Vancouver Sun/Province, Globe & Mail, Business in Vancouver, Global News, CBC News, the Current, the Early Edition providing expert commentary on human resource related subjects.

In his previous roles he has been part of teams that developed a wide variety of solutions to a number of human resources challenges. And while in the certified environments he has negotiated, interpreted and managed within the parameters of many collective agreements, as well as represented each organization at numerous administrative tribunals, such as the Labour Relations Board, the Human Rights Tribunal and Small Claims.

Christian's education includes an undergraduate degree in business from Simon Fraser University, concentrating in Organizational Behaviour, as well as certifications in Mediation and Conflict Resolution from the Justice Institute of BC.

He loves music and cooking for family and friends and nothing provides him more pleasure than playing guitar with his talented sons after a good meal. Christian also volunteers his time coaching children in a community basketball league.

Combining his skills, experiences and training, Christian has recently created Forum HCM. A consulting practice committed to simplifying human resources solutions for small and medium sized businesses. He is dedicated to effective people management and will continue to research, write, speak to and deliver his experiences to make workplaces better.