In October 2019, we held our 9th Annual Midwest Mediation Conference at the Holiday Inn Indianapolis Airport. This two-day conference gave insightful information all about mediation, from mediation meetings and elder mediation to trauma-informed mediation and ethics. Our guest speaker was Zena D. Zumeta, internationally known as both a mediator and trainer of mediators.
“Zena was a great presenter — extremely knowledgeable and had a very relaxed attitude and tone when presenting.”
Zena D. Zumeta is president of the Mediation Training & Consultation Institute, Zena Zumeta Mediation Service, and The Collaborative Workplace in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Drawing from her extensive background as a trainer, mediator, facilitator, and consultant, she has taught at Hamline University School of Law, and is an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University School of Law’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, and Cooley Law School. Ms. Zumeta is the recipient of many awards including the John Hayes Distinguished Mediator Award from the Association for Conflict Resolution and the Family Mediation Council-Michigan Lifetime Achievement in Mediation Award.
“Excellent presentation — I had looked for some videos of how experts handle mediation. Zena’s videos were great. Good mix of video, presentation and participatory practice skills.”
Our 2019 Midwest Mediation Conference was a two-day event lasting from 9 am to 3 pm each day with breaks and lunch. Zena Zumeta broke down mediation into bite-sized chunks. On the first day, Ms. Zumeta introduced pre-mediation meetings and the purpose, research, pitfalls, remedies, and structure of pre-mediation meetings. Then, videos were shown from attorney conference calls and individual calls to give the attendees real-life examples.
On the second day, the conference dug deeper into mediation, discussing trauma-informed mediation. Trauma can take a variety of forms, but a common result of trauma is its effect on a party’s decision-making abilities. Trauma-informed mediation is focused on outlining tactics to us in mediation when one (or both) parties have been impacted by trauma. Ms. Zumeta continued sharing knowledge with the group by demonstrating techniques for trauma-informed mediations, plus the ethics of confidentiality and legal advice behind the practice.
“Zena is terrific — knowledgeable, enjoyable, kind, helpful, down to earth, clear, well-spoken, very pleasant presence. So pleased to have her back!”
Whether you are looking to enhance your skills or interested in becoming a mediator, our conferences are designed to educate professionals about the mediation process. We look forward to seeing you at the next one!