The Mediation Society hosted the first Bay Area Mediation Summit (BAMS) at Nixon Peabody in San Francisco on May 15.

More than 20 organizations were invited to participate in an informative afternoon of speakers, panel discussions and networking to share information about issues of concern to courts, mediation organizations and businesses, private mediators, and community mediation providers.

Keynote speakers focused on the core concepts of mediation, the education of mediators, and mediation as a business. Panels addressed mediator competence, diversity, and the structure of a mediation practice.

Several panelists on BASF’s Mediation Services panel were active participants in producing the summit:

Fred Hertz introduced the keynote speakers; Steve Schrey introduced a survey of the Bay Area mediation landscape; Patricia Prince reported on mediation organizations; Marc Fong discussed issues of concern to private mediators; and Claudia Viera facilitated the panel about diversity. Several more BASF panelists were in attendance for the afternoon.

Yolanda Jackson, Executive Director of BASF and JDC, spoke on the panel addressing diversity in the profession and the diversity of clients/parties in mediation. In addition, Carole Conn, LRIS/ADR Director, and Marilyn King, ADR Manager and Coordinator of the Mediation Services Program, attended the summit.