Who We Are
What inspired the formation of CDRC was the idea that people should have an informal, quick and inexpensive option for dealing with conflict. Mediation offers that opportunity by providing people with a neutral third party who helps them have the most productive conversation possible. CDRC chose to be community-based, recruiting and training community volunteers to act as its mediators. The community members trained in mediation skills would be able to put those skills to use in all of their interactions, not just in the formal mediations held at CDRC.
Several things came together to allow a smooth start for CDRC. New York State's court system was encouraging communities to start mediation centers. By providing mediation as an alternative or adjunct to court action, the courts hoped to focus its resources on the situations that required judicial intervention to resolve. No one in Tompkins County offered mediation, and Cornell University's Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy (CRESP) was willing to sponsor this work.
So in September of 1983, CDRC began as a project of CRESP with a $20,000 grant from the Unified Court System of New York. Co-founders Jeff Furman and Judy Saul split one full-time staff position. They recruited a group of willing volunteers, brought in a trainer from an existing mediation center in Syracuse and trained CDRC's first mediators.
CDRC's history has been marked by many milestones, including:
Though we've grown, CDRC's mission is essentially unchanged. We understand the ways in which conflict makes each of us less than our best selves. By fostering constructive responses to conflict, we help people get clear about their own needs, the perspectives of others and, weighing both, make the best decisions they can. Thirty Plus years has proven that talk works!
Several things came together to allow a smooth start for CDRC. New York State's court system was encouraging communities to start mediation centers. By providing mediation as an alternative or adjunct to court action, the courts hoped to focus its resources on the situations that required judicial intervention to resolve. No one in Tompkins County offered mediation, and Cornell University's Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy (CRESP) was willing to sponsor this work.
So in September of 1983, CDRC began as a project of CRESP with a $20,000 grant from the Unified Court System of New York. Co-founders Jeff Furman and Judy Saul split one full-time staff position. They recruited a group of willing volunteers, brought in a trainer from an existing mediation center in Syracuse and trained CDRC's first mediators.
CDRC's history has been marked by many milestones, including:
- 1992: began Parenting Plan Mediation, allowing separated or divorced parents to work together on parenting plans
- 1996: began to offer services to organizations, community groups and local government, assisting them in more effectively responding to conflict
- 1997: became a three-county agency, providing services in Chemung, Schuyler and Tompkins Counties
- 1999: began offering in-court mediators in Small Claims Court
- 2006: began Wise Talk, mediation services targeted to elders, their families and caregivers
- 2009: longtime founder-director Judy Saul moved on after 26 years at the helm. Paula Wright, current Executive Director came aboard to build upon Judy’s incredible legacy
- 2010: Dr. Joseph Folger, co-author of The Promise of Mediation: the Transformative Approach to Conflict, presented an all day workshop for CDRC’s volunteer mediators.
- 2011: A year of challenge when we were informed of a 63 percent reduction in state funding from our major source of income, the NYS United Court System.
- 2012: CDRC and Greater Southern Tier BOCES began training groups of high-school seniors in the skills of conflict resolution which has expanded to include elementary students as well
- 2013: CDRC celebrated its 30th Anniversary
- 2014: CDRC became an affiliate member of the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation, www.transformativemediation.org
- 2016: Welcomed 7,244 visits to CDRC’s website this year including visitors from Brazil, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom and India
- 2018: began Conflict Coaching services
- 2019: partnered with AmeriCorp to provide Restorative Justice services in the Elmira City School District
- 2019: began the state-wide Presumptive ADR Program Initiative in Tompkins County Family Court which was duplicated in Chemung County in 2020.
- 2020: began a Presumptive ADR Program in Chemung County Family Court
- 2020: began offering virtual services including the use of Zoom for mediations, conflict coaching, and facilitation services
Though we've grown, CDRC's mission is essentially unchanged. We understand the ways in which conflict makes each of us less than our best selves. By fostering constructive responses to conflict, we help people get clear about their own needs, the perspectives of others and, weighing both, make the best decisions they can. Thirty Plus years has proven that talk works!