Kathy Jaffe Mediation Services, LLC conducts negotiations between parties on issues involving:

• Divorce
• Collaborative law
• Mediation
• Family
• Stepfamilies
• Same-sex unions
• Workplace
• Community
• Personal injury
• Restorative justice [victim-offender]
• Small claims
• Landlord/tenant
• Elder care
• School

Kathy has conducted presentations, mini-conferences, trainings, coaching, consulting services, and workshops for corporations, municipalities, police departments, health-related and educational facilities, and the Archdiocese of the State of New York. She has taught peer-mediation programs in Rockland, Westchester and Bergen County school districts.

20 Years of Professional Experience

Kathy Jaffe Mediation Services, LLC, Pomona, NY
Founding Partner. Full-time mediation practice with 20 years' experience facilitating negotiations between parties on family-related and other issues.

United States Postal Service, New York, NY
Mediator. Mediate Equal Employment Opportunity complaints within the Postal Service Resolve Employees Disputes Reach Equitable Solutions Swiftly [REDRESS] program.

Key Bridge Foundation 2nd Judicial Department, New York, NY
Mediator. Mediate Americans with Disabilities Act complaints for the United States Department of Justice.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, New York, NY
Mediator. Resolve employment discrimination disputes involving federal sector employees.

State of New York Unified Court System Ninth Judicial District
Arbitrator. Render decisions on matters involving matrimonial fee disputes.

Volunteer Counseling Service, New City, NY

• Family Court Project. Attended hearings to promote agency visibility in the courtroom. Interviewed judges and reported findings to VCS student group.
• Peer Mediation Program. Trained students in the elementary, middle, and high school level on how to mediate interpersonal conflicts within their school.
• Mediator. Mediated cases referred from small claims and family court involving landlord/tenant, small claims, family, and criminal court issues.
• Community Outreach Program. Educated the public, business, and court system about mediation. Investigated and collected data regarding new programs. Wrote a proposal for a divorce mediation program. Implemented mediation services in the small claims courts around Rockland County.

Online Ombuds Office, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Amherst, MA
Mediator. Mediate e-commerce disputes online through the Ombuds Office in a pilot project for E-Bay.com and Transecure.com.

Associations & Certifications

• Association for Conflict Resolution; Advanced Practitioner Member. (A merger organization of AF, CREnet, and SPIDR)
• New York State Council on Divorce Mediation; Accredited Member.
• New York State Council on Divorce Mediation; Board of Directors.
• New York State Council on Divorce Mediation; Accreditation Review Board.
• New York State Unified Court System; Certified Member.
• Family & Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York; Member.
• National Institute for Dispute Resolution; Member.
• New York State Dispute Resolution Association, Inc; Member.
• Rockland Municipal Planning Federation Planning/Zoning Certification.
• Mental Health Coalition of Rockland County; Treasurer.
• National Association of Social Workers; Member.
• Notary Public.

Specialized Training

• Collaborative law training.
• Advanced mediation skills for United States Postal Service.
• Coaching; Fred Pryor training.
• Mediating Americans with Disabilities Act disputes; Key Bridge Foundation for the United States Department of Justice.
• John Haynes advanced divorce mediation.
• Mediating employment disputes; Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
• Multi-party collaborative problem solving; Center for the Environment, Cornell University.
• Matrimonial fee dispute arbitrator; State of New York Unified Court System, Ninth Judicial District.
• 40-hour divorce mediation; Center for Mediation & Training.
• Community mediation; Office of Court Administration, Unified Court System of the State of New York.

Training Experience

Brown, Brown & Associates, Inc., Hempstead, NY
Trainer. Train employees working for Consolidated Edison on issues involving diversity, anger management techniques, enhancing communication, listening, and conflict resolution skills; promote team-building techniques; and identify different behavioral styles in the workplace using Personal Profile System.

Resolve It, Inc., Bronx, NY
Trainer. Trained employees from Co-op City. This training discussed sexual harassment and discrimination. Understanding cultural diversity issues, anger management techniques, and communication and conflict resolution skills were also taught.

Mental Health Association, Pomona, NY

• Trainer: Managing Anger Workshops. Trained participants how to understand and express anger. Participants were also taught listening, communication, and conflict resolution skills.
• Trainer: Preventing Violence in our Schools. Trained participants on how to identify the triggers of violence and the dynamics of bully/victim relationships. Participants also learned how to recognize the signs of potential violence in schools and ways to make schools safe.

Montclair University, Montclair, NJ
Trainer. Trained participants in communication, conflict resolution, and problem-solving techniques. Participants were also taught how to accept and recognize differences of others in a mediation session, while retaining their neutrality.

Rockland Community College, Suffern, NY
Trainer. Trained students and teachers to understand diversity. Discussions included race, religion, class, ethnic, gender, and sexual orientation.

Other Media

Co-authored articles on divorce mediation, workplace, family, and aging parent conflicts for Hudson Valley, NY and Bergen County, NJ. Interviewed for Divorce Magazine, The Daily Freeman Newspaper, New Paltz, New York and The Journal News, Rockland County, New York. Interviewed on Lite FM and WRKL radio regarding the benefits of mediation. Co-hosted live radio talk show, Conflict Negotiators, for Jukebox Radio 103.1 FM.

Education

Master of Social Work, Fordham University
Bachelor of Social Work, Ramapo College

Licenses

Licensed Master of Social Work

Notary Public

Please email us or visit our website for additional information.