“Rooted in Peace” conference brought New York’s dispute resolution community together to honor its history, celebrate today, and invest in the field’s future.
ALBANY, NY, UNITED STATES, October 22, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The New York State Dispute Resolution Association (NYSDRA) brought together dispute resolution professionals, community mediators, court leaders, educators, attorneys, volunteers and emerging practitioners from across New York and beyond for its 2026 Annual Conference, “Rooted in Peace: One Tree, Many Branches,” held October 8–9 virtually and at The Desmond Hotel in Albany.
The two-day conference combined professional learning with reflection on the people and institutions that helped shape community dispute resolution in New York. More than 20 sessions explored issues ranging from artificial intelligence, ethics and polarization to practitioner well-being, emerging generations in ADR and community-based peacebuilding.
Day Two became a particularly meaningful celebration of the field’s history, present and future.
The conference brought together several distinguished figures whose contributions reach back to the formative years of community dispute resolution in New York. Among those honored were Andrew Thomas, founding President of NYSDRA’s Board of Directors, Co-Chair of the National Association for Community Mediation, and co-founder of Rochester’s Center for Dispute Settlement—New York’s first community mediation center; Tom Christian, founding State Director of New York’s Community Dispute Resolution Centers (CDRC) Program in the early 1980s; Mark Collins, who devoted more than 30 years to advancing alternative dispute resolution within the New York State Unified Court System; and John McCullough, one of the CDRC network’s longest-serving Executive Directors. Also in attendance was Mark Kleiman, founding Executive Director of Community Mediation Services in Queens and recipient of the 2011 Lawrence H. Cooke Peace Innovator Award. Together, these pioneers represent an extraordinary legacy of leadership and commitment that continues to inspire the practitioners,
Lisa M. Courtney, Esq., Director of the Division of Alternative Dispute Resolution for the New York State Unified Court System, offered remarks reflecting on the stewardship and evolution of dispute resolution within the courts, the groundwork that led to ADR becoming its own division within the Unified Court System, and the continuing development of the field.
The luncheon also honored 30 years of NYSDRA’s administration of the Lemon Law Arbitration Program, with Mel Goldberg of the offering a poignant tribute to the program’s history and to treasured colleagues who helped shape it.
A centerpiece of the Celebration & Awards Luncheon was the 30th anniversary of the Andrew Thomas PeaceBuilder Award, established in 1996 to recognize individuals and organizations whose work exemplifies a sustained commitment to peacebuilding and constructive conflict resolution.
In a particularly fitting moment, Andrew Thomas, NYSDRA’s founding Board President and a pioneering leader in community mediation, personally presented the 2026 award bearing his name to the Maryland Judiciary’s Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office (MACRO).
Lou Gieszl, Assistant State Court Administrator for Programs for the Maryland Judiciary and longtime leader in MACRO’s development, traveled to Albany to accept the award on the organization’s behalf, while members of the MACRO team joined the celebration virtually from Maryland.
The award was represented by a distinctive plaque depicting the Haudenosaunee Tree of Peace, whose symbolism of peace and unity held special meaning during a conference centered on the theme Rooted in Peace: One Tree, Many Branches.
The Tree of Peace also connected the award to its own beginnings. The first Andrew Thomas PeaceBuilder Award was presented in 1996 to Tekaronianeken Jake Swamp, Sub-chief of the Wolf Clan of the Mohawk Nation, giving the 30th-anniversary presentation particular historical resonance.
The luncheon then turned from honoring the field’s history to investing in its future with the public launch of the Lawrence H. Cooke Dispute Resolution Legacy Fund, NYSDRA’s campaign to establish a $1.5 million permanent endowment over three years to support community-based dispute resolution throughout New York State.
Named in honor of former New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge Lawrence H. Cooke, whose vision helped lay the foundation for New York’s Community Dispute Resolution Center Program, the Fund is designed to create a lasting resource to help sustain accessible community dispute resolution for generations to come.
The Honorable Lawrence K. Marks, former Chief Administrative Judge of the New York State Unified Court System and Campaign Chair for the Legacy Fund, addressed conference attendees by video about the importance of preserving and strengthening Judge Cooke’s vision for the future.
The launch also included the unveiling of NYSDRA’s Founding Donor Tree, created to recognize the individuals and organizations whose early commitments helped establish the Fund. Each named leaf represents a Founding Donor, transforming the conference’s tree imagery into a visible representation of the community investing in the future of dispute resolution.
“This conference gave us an extraordinary opportunity to bring generations of the dispute resolution community together,” said Theresa Hobbs, J.D., MBA, LPEC, Executive Director of NYSDRA. “We honored the people and organizations whose vision helped build this field, celebrated those carrying that work forward today, and took an important step toward ensuring that community-based dispute resolution remains strong and accessible for generations to come.”
The conference also marked 30 years of NYSDRA’s administration of New York State’s Lemon Law Arbitration Program, with Melvin Goldberg of the New York State Attorney General’s Office joining the celebration and sharing reflections on the program’s history and longstanding partnership with NYSDRA.
The conference’s educational program was anchored by keynote presentations from Susan Guthrie, Esq., founder of Guthrie Consulting & Media, who explored the essential human dimensions of dispute resolution in an era of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence, and Bill Doherty, Ph.D., Co-Founder of Braver Angels, who addressed polarization and practical ways to engage constructively across differences.
The conference concluded with an interactive gathering and reception that gave attendees an opportunity to continue conversations with presenters and colleagues and strengthen connections across New York’s dispute resolution community.
The New York State Dispute Resolution Association (NYSDRA) is a statewide leader in dispute resolution and access to justice. NYSDRA supports New York’s network of Community Dispute Resolution Centers serving all 62 counties and provides education, professional development, resources and opportunities for collaboration across the dispute resolution field. Through mediation, arbitration, restorative practices, facilitated dialogue and other conflict resolution processes, New York’s CDRCs help individuals, families and communities address conflict.
Theresa Hobbs
NYSDRA
+1 518-687-2240
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Instagram
Facebook
X
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability
for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this
article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Media gallery
