PRESENTERS - BIOGRAPHIES: HONORABLE VERNA ADAMS Judge Adams has an A.B. degree (summa cum laude) from Wellesley College. She earned her law degree at Stanford University. Before her appointment to the Marin County Superior Court in 1999, Judge Adams practiced family law in the Bay Area. She was recognized as a Certified Specialist in Family Law by the State Bar Board of Legal Specialization in 1982. She was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America in every edition from 1993 until her appointment to the bench. When an attorney, Judge Adams was counsel in a number of significant family law cases, including Marriage of Epstein (1979) 24 Cal.3 d 76. She served as President of the Marin County Bar Association, chair of its Family Law Section, President of the Board of Directors of the Center for the Family in Transition, and board member of the Family and Children s law center. Judge Adams served as Marin County s Presiding Judge in 2008-2009. She is in her second term as Supervising Judge of the Family Law Division. She was chair of the task force that created the Legal Self-Help Center of Marin. She launched the first Interdisciplinary Settlement Conference program in California a project which makes family law experts and mental health professionals available to assist families involved in high-conflict child custody litigation. In 2011she was appointed by the Chief Justice of California to serve as one of 18 members of the Strategic Advisory Committee, tasked with analyzing and making recommendations for improvements to the Administrative Office of the Courts ANTHONY J. ALOIA, Ph.D. Practices in Torrance, California, specializing in custody evaluations, psychological testing, special master work, court-ordered counseling, and collaborative divorce coaching. A panel of judicial officers appointed him in 1990 as member of The Psychiatric Office Panel, L.A. Superior Court. He was coordinator of internship training at the California School of Professional Psychology, Los Angeles. He has done over 200 presentations and seminars on topics including psychological testing, custody evaluations, mediation, collaborative divorce coaching, child specialist consultation, and child psychology. COMMISSIONER LOUISE BAYLES-FIGHTMASTER * JD, CFLS Commissioner Bayles-Fightmaster was appointed to the Sonoma County bench in August 2004. She is currently assigned to the Family Law Division and hears the AB 1058 Child Support Calendar, manages the case management program, and some other general Family Law cases. She is a member of the Elkins Family Law Task Force and the Elkins Family Law Implementation Task Force. She also serves on the AOC Family Law Resource Guideline Project which has been ongoing since 2005. Prior to her appointment to the bench Ms. Bayles-Fightmaster was the Family Law Facilitator for the Sonoma County Superior Court from September 1997 until August 2004. She has been active in the statewide education and development of self-help services for self-represented litigants. As the Family Law Facilitator Ms. Bayles-Fightmaster was part of the team that drafted CRC 5.35 - Minimum Standards for the Office of the Family Law Facilitator. She is a Certified Family Law Specialist and trained mediator. She practiced in the areas of Family Law and Estate Planning and Probate for fifteen years before going to work for the Sonoma County Superior Court in 1997. She serves as commissioner in Sonoma County. Prior to being appointed to the bench, she was a Certified Family Law Specialist in private practice. MICHÈLE M. BISSADA, * JD, CFLS Michèle Bissada, a partner at Flicker, Kerin, Kruger & Bissada, LLP, was admitted to the California State Bar in 1994 and has been a Certified Family Law Specialist since 2004. She specializes in high-asset family law cases, including complex custody and financial litigation, consulting mediation, collaborative law, and serving as a mediator. Michèle acts as Judge pro tem for the Santa Clara County Superior Court and San Mateo County Fee Arbitrator. She served as 2011 San Mateo County Bar Association President. Additionally, serves as a Board Member of Overcoming Barriers, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children maintain healthy relationships with both parents in a high-conflict divorce. She is a long standing member of the Collaborative Practice San Mateo County, an interdisciplinary group of professionals committed to the Collaborative Divorce process and helping families in resolving disputes with integrity and preserving family relationships. Michèle is Board Member of the San Mateo County Legal Aid Society. She received the Legal Aid Society s 2010 Dorothy M. Wolfe Award for her pro
bono efforts. She is currently serving a 3-year term with the Conference of California Board Associations (CCBA) as Regional Director and helps to coordinate the groups Legislative Day in Sacramento each spring. ELLEN BRUNO Producer, Director, Editor of Split, a Film for Kids of Divorce, Ellen Bruno is an award winning documentary filmmaker based in San Francisco. With a background in international relief work, Ellen s films have focused on issues at the forefront of human rights, including sex trafficking in Burma, political prisoners in Tibet, the social alienation of people with leprosy, and genocide in Cambodia. Ellen earned an MA in Film at Stanford University. She is the recipient of Guggenheim and Rockefeller Fellowships, a Goldie Award for Outstanding Artists, an Alpert Award for the Arts, an Anonymous Was a Woman Award for the Arts, and was an Artist-in-Residence at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. EMBERLY C. CROSS * JD, MSW & COORDINATING ATTORNEY Emberly Cross has been the Coordinating Attorney at the Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic in San Francisco since 1996, help survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking obtain restraining orders and child custody and support orders. She obtained her law degree and her Masters of Social work degree from the University of Michigan. Prior to working at CROC, she was in private practice in family law in San Francisco. Before practicing law, she was on staff at the University of Michigan s Assault Prevention and Awareness Center in Ann Arbor, where she directed the sexual assault and dating violence crisis line and the sexual assault emergency response team on campus. She has served on the Board of Directors of W.O.M.A.N., Inc. in San Francisco, which provides a 24-hour crisis line and non-shelter based counseling to domestic violence survivors. She has volunteered with domestic violence and sexual assault crisis lines and emergency response teams in San Francisco and in Michigan. Emberly currently sits on the California Judicial Council s Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee and on the Administrative Office of the Court s Violence against Women Education Project Planning Committee. She has been a member of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence s Public Policy and Research Committee since 1995 and co-chaired its Children Witnessing Domestic Violence subcommittee. She routinely conducts trainings on restraining orders as well as domestic violence legislative and social science updates in the Bay Area and throughout California. DAVID DONNER * JD Practices family and juvenile law in San Francisco with an emphasis on custody matters. He prosecuted cases on behalf of the Department of Social Services in the 1980s and has sat as a judge pro-tem in dependency matters since 1999. He practiced with the San Francisco City Attorney s Office for five years, worked as an associate handling civil rights and municipal liability matters for four years, and has been in private practice since 1995. He has extensive experience in representing minors per Family Code 3150 and authored the chapter on de facto parent status in the CEB Juvenile Dependency Practice. He has extensive trial and litigation experience in high conflict custody and related matters in state and federal courts and has an active ADR practice focusing on mediation and parenting coordinator cases. LESLIE M. DROZD * Ph. D. A licensed psychologist and marriage, family, and child therapist in Newport Beach, CA. She is the editor of the International Journal of Child Custody and coeditor with Kathryn Kuehnle of Parenting Plan Evaluations: Applied Research for Family Court (Oxford University Press). She has coedited other books on relocation, psychological testing, and child sexual abuse and written chapters on domestic violence, treatment of trauma, alienation, and unification therapy. Dr. Drozd has been a child custody evaluator for over 20 years, trains other evaluators, and serves as a consultant to attorneys and as a testifying expert in family law matters. She helped write the AFCC Model Standards for conducting child custody evaluations and for those parenting plan evaluations involving allegations of domestic violence. She also works clinically with families in the various stages of divorce, conducting co-parenting therapy, family therapy, and unification therapy, as well as acting as parent coordinator. Dr. Drozd has spoken at conferences on these topics in US, Canada, and Europe.
JUDGE RICHARD DUBOIS A Family Law Judicial Officer with the San Mateo Superior Court for 14 years. During that time he has presided over numerous settlement conferences, hearings, trials and emergency proceedings dealing with polarized parents doing emotional damage to their children in the process. STEVEN FRIEDLANDER * Ph. D Mr. Friedlander is a clinical psychologist in private practice with offices in Marin and San Francisco Counties. His practice includes psychotherapy and psychological testing with children, adolescent and adults; consultation to other professionals; parent consultation and co-parent counseling; mediation; child custody evaluations; and special master/parent coordination in high conflict post-divorce cases. He has a special interest and expertise in interventions when a child is resisting or refusing contact with a parent. He also conducts evaluations in civil cases and consults to attorneys and other professionals in child custody matters. Dr. Friedlander is Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco. FREDERICK J. GLASSMAN, JD A veteran of 35 years of litigation, now focuses his practice exclusively on resolution-oriented approaches to family law disputes with over 10 years of experience handling in excess of 200 collaborative cases. Fred is the President of the statewide collaborative organization, of Collaborative Practice California (CPCal) in 2013-2014, and immediate past President of the Los Angeles Collaborative Family Law Association (LACFLA) from 2007-2012. Fred served on the Board of Directors for California Dispute Resolution Council (CDRC) from 2008-12. He was an Official Observer to the Drafting Committee on the Uniform Collaborative Law Act for the Uniform Law Commission, and authored the articles entitled The Uniform Collaborative Law Act Today and Tomorrow and Collaborative Law - What s Next for the Family Law News Official Publication of the State Bar of California Family Law Section. He has authored a trilogy of articles for Thomson Reuter s Inside the Minds series culminating with the State of Collaborative Law, Past, Present & Future, in 2012. He is a recipient of the 2008 State of California Collaborative Practice Eureka Award for distinguished service. Fred has been selected by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America and named in Southern California s Best Lawyers 2009 through 2013 exclusively for family collaborative law as well as for mediation. He is listed in Martindale Hubbell s Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers with their highest AV-rating in legal ability and ethical standards. LYNN R. GREENBERG * Ph.D. Specializes in work with children and families involved with the courts. She provides parenting coordination, expert witness and consultation services, custody evaluations and evaluations of alleged abuse, forensic consultation, and (of course) specialized treatment for court-involved children and families. She has written and presented both locally and nationally on forensic psychology, professional ethics, child custody evaluation, valid interviews of children, and court-related treatment. Dr. Greenberg served on the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Task Force which created the AFCC Guidelines for Court Involved Therapy. She has served in leadership roles in the American Psychological Association s Society for Family Psychology and has been recognized both local and nationally for her interdisciplinary work on issues affecting court-involved families. HONORABLE MARY ANN GRILLI * JD, CFLS Superior Court Judge, County of Santa Clara. Currently assigned to the Family Court calendar, handling all aspects of family law matters, including dissolution, legal separation, parentage, domestic violence, child and spousal support, custody, and visitation. Past assignments have included criminal Domestic Violence and Probate, which included trusts and estates, guardianships, conservatorships, adoptions, name changes, and LPS conservatorships, Graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in Criminology and has a law degree from Santa Clara University. Practiced Family Law for 19 years prior to appointment to the bench as Family Court Commissioner in 1993. Elected to the Superior Court and took office in January, 1997. She is a Certified Family Law Specialist. Served as President of the Palo Alto Area Bar Association while in practice. She is a past chair and an advisory member of the Judicial Council Family and Juvenile Advisory Committee, Chair, Domestic Violence Education Project Committee, member, California, member of the board of AFCC California (Association of Family and Conciliation Courts) and is past chair of the Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Council. Voted
Outstanding Family Law Judicial Officer by the State Bar Family Law Section, 1998. Awarded Donald King Award as Outstanding Family Court Judge, March, 2006, and DVLSR Vision Award for 2007. COMMISSIONER DAVID HAET * JD, CFLS: Commissioner Haet has served in a Family Law assignment on the Solano Superior Court bench since 1989. He has been a Certified Specialist in Family Law since 1980 and is a graduate of King Hall, UC Davis School of Law and UC Santa Cruz. He was in private practice with offices in San Francisco prior to his appointment to the Bench. The State Bar Family Law section honored him as Family Law Judicial Officer of the Year in 2008. Additionally, Commissioner Haet has been a panelist/lecturer at American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, CJER, Family Law Institute, Judicial College Facilitator and Task Force on Domestic Violence Conference. Membership to the following organizations: (Advisory) Judicial Council of California; Advisory Committee on Family & Juvenile Law, Judicial Council; Member/Liaison Governing Committee, CJER; Chairperson Family Law Committee, California Judges Association; Family Law Committee, California Judges Association; President California Court Commissioners Association; Board of Directors, California Court Commissioners Association. BRUCE HARSHMAN * Ph. D Dr. Bruce Harshman is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice in Los Angeles. He is a registered Child Custody Evaluator and had conducted over 375 evaluations. He specializes in brief and family systems therapy for high conflict families, parent-child and parent-adolescent problems, including reunification therapy. Dr. Harshman has lectured at the national, regional, and local AFCC conferences and for AOC. Enclosed is a list of professional activities. Current Member of the Association for Family and Conciliation Courts; Member of the Custody Committee, Family Law Section, State Bar of California; Clinical Member, California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists & American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy; Former Director of Research for cardiovascular disease at the HLC Center, Glendale, CA; Former Talk Show Host for the radio program "Family Forum", weekly show on KGIL radio; Past President/CEO, Community Behavioral Care, Inc., Sherman Oaks, CA; Member of the Founder's Committee to establish Vital Options, an organization for young adults with cancer (1983-1984); Past President, Board of Directors, San Fernando Valley Educational Center; Past Member, Board of Directors, HLC Center, Glendale, California; Past Executive Member, Public Information Committee, California State Psychological Association. FREDERICK HERTZ * JD Frederick Hertz graduated from Berkeley Law School in 1981, clerked with the Minnesota Supreme Court, and subsequently received a Master's Degree in Urban Geography from the University of California, Berkeley. Mr. Hertz currently practices real estate and non-traditional family law in Oakland, California, with a practice focusing on the formation of property co-ownership and premarital agreements and the resolution of property and financial disputes between families, spouses and domestic partners, business partners, friends, and unmarried couples, both same-sex and opposite-sex. He provides transaction and negotiation counsel and also serves as a mediator and arbitrator in these areas. Mr. Hertz writes and speaks nationally on the laws affecting unmarried couples. He is the author of Legal Affairs: Essential Advice for Same-Sex Couples (Owl Books 1998), the co-author of two Nolo Press books: A Legal Guide for Lesbian and Gay Couples and Living Together: A Legal Guide for Unmarried Couples, and author of the Nolo Press book Making it Legal: A Guide to Same-Sex Marriage, Domestic Partnerships & Civil Unions. He is also the author of the American Bar Association treatise Counseling Unmarried Couples: A Guide to Effective Representation. Mr. Hertz has appeared as a panelist for the California Continuing Education, Rutter Group, The California CPA Foundation, California State Bar, and Bar Association of San Francisco and American Bar Association programs. He has also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, the Today Show, All Things Considered, and Talk of the Nation, and is often quoted in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Advocate, and other national publications. MELISSA HINES Ph. D Received her BA from Princeton University and her PhD from UCLA, both in Psychology. She undertook postdoctoral training in the Brain Research Institute at UCLA and has been pursuing research on neuroscience and behavior, particularly in the context of gender, for over 30 years. She is Past-President of the International Academy of Sex Research, was the Director of the Behavioral Neuroendocrinology
Research Centre in London, UK, for ten years, and is the author of the book, Brain Gender, published by Oxford University Press. She is currently Professor of Psychology, in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge, where she directs the Gender Development Research Group. KRYSTAL CALLOWAY JAIME * JD EDUCATION: University of California, Davis School of Law, Davis, CA Juris Doctor, 2002 Sacramento Consumer Attorneys Association Award, 2002 Order of the Barristers, 2002 National Mock Trial Team, 2001 and 2002 Southern California College, Costa Mesa, CA Bachelor of Science in History/Political Science, Magna Cum Laude - December 1997 Dean s List, 1996-1997 Presidential Scholarship 1995-1997 EXPERIENCE: Supervising Attorney Jul. 2008 to Present UC Davis Family Protection & Legal Assistance Clinic Supervise certified law students in representing low-income victims of domestic violence in both their family law and restraining order actions. This position involves legal, educational, and administrative duties. Administrative duties include responsibility for operating the day-to-day structure of the Clinic. Educational duties include developing the curriculum and providing students with a basic understanding of family law and the impact of domestic violence on family law matters. ATTORNEY: Feb. 2005 to June 2009 Represented individuals in every aspect of their family law matters in Yolo and Sacramento counties. Represented plaintiffs in their personal injury actions throughout northern California. Worked on a contract basis, providing support for the UC Davis Family Protection and Legal Assistance Clinic attorney on an asneeded basis. (Michael Jansen) Performed all tasks required of a personal injury and family law attorney. Prepared cases for trial, performed legal research, drafted various legal pleadings, attended hearings and depositions. Interviewed clients and other witnesses PROFESSIONAL AFFLIATIONS & VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: Performed all tasks required of a personal injury and family law attorney. Prepared cases for trial, performed legal research, drafted various legal pleadings, attended hearings and depositions. Interviewed clients and other witnesses. MEMBER: Various dates to Present Sacramento County Bar Association The mission of the Sacramento County Bar Association is, To enhance the system of justice, the lawyers who serve it, and the community served by it. I have been a member of the Sacramento County Bar Association in years when work and time commitments have allowed. STAN J. KATZ * Ph. D: Dr. Katz is a clinical and forensic psychologist practicing in Beverly Hills who has conducted over 1000 psychological evaluations in family law, juvenile, criminal and civil proceedings. He taught in the graduate school of social welfare at UCLA and held positions at UCLA NPI, Children s Hospital of LA, Children's Institute International and The Maple Counseling Center. He is the author of three books and was awarded an Emmy for his work on NBCs Starting Over. ROBERT L. KAUFMAN * Ph. D, ABPP A psychologist in Oakland and San Rafael, CA who is board certified in forensic psychology and who has worked in family law for over 20 years. In that arena, he performs child custody evaluations, does mediation and co-parent counseling, conducts psychological and neuropsychological assessments and also offers consultation to attorneys. For many years, he has presented workshops at professional conferences, including AFCC, and has authored several journal articles in family law. He has also served on the Board of the Family and Children s Law Center in San Rafael, including three years as its president and has been on the editorial board of the Journal of Child Custody.
JOAN KELLY Ph. D Dr. Kelly is a clinical child psychologist, researcher, teacher, and consultant. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University. For 42 years, her research, practice, teaching and publications have focused on research in children s adjustment to divorce, custody and access issues, divorce and custody mediation, applications of child development research to custody and parenting plans, and Parenting Coordination. She has 95 publications, including Surviving the Breakup: How Children and Parents Cope with Divorce (Basic Books, 1980). Dr. Kelly was Founder and Executive Director of the Northern California Mediation Center for 19 years, and offered training programs in divorce and custody mediation and in Parenting Coordination. She was also a forensic expert, custody evaluator, therapist, consultant, and Parenting Coordinator in high conflict custody cases. Now retired from active practice, Joan continues to publish articles and chapters, and provides seminars, trainings, and keynote presentations here and abroad, and consultation to lawyers and parents. She was a member of both the American Psychological Association Task Force to Develop Guidelines for the Practice of Parenting Coordination, and the AFCC Task Force on Parenting Coordination. Dr. Kelly was elected a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, has received the Distinguished Mediator Award from the Academy of Family Mediators, the Distinguished Research Award and the Meyer Elkin Award from the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. Joan is Past-President of the Board of Directors of the Academy of Family Mediators. JENNIFER KRESGE Jennifer Kresge has undergraduate and graduate degrees in psychology and a Masters of Governance. She has been a mediator and clinician for more than twenty-eight years, resulting in expert awareness of the complexities of dispute resolution. Involved in post graduate research in neuroscience for more than fifteen years, she is known for bringing her background in neuroscience, and her experience and knowledge of systems thinking and psychology, negotiation and mediation, to provide skill based workshops and advanced training. She provides training nationally and internationally and serves as an adjunct professor in a variety of graduate programs. She has served as President on the board of directors for the Association for Dispute Resolution of Northern California (ADRNC), as well as for the state of California, County Boards of Education. She serves as the legislative representative on the Napa County Boards of Education, is on the Napa Valley Leadership Council, is licensed as a marriage, family and child therapist, in addition to being an active member of the Brainy Bunch. MICHAEL KRETZMER * JD, CFLS: Mike Kretzmer practices Family and Juvenile Dependency law in Manhattan Beach, California. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Secretary of the State Bar of California's Family Law Executive Committee and the Treasurer of the California Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. Mike has served as lead counsel in many custody, child abuse, contested adoptions and other family and juvenile court cases over the past 25 years. Mike has been principal counsel in more than 40 family and juvenile dependency appeals and has served as Minor's Counsel in hundreds of cases as well as serving as a Special Master in family law matters. He is a frequent speaker and writer on matters pertaining to custody, child abuse, trial advocacy and related topics. Tragically, having been released by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1973 (due to injuries and a devastating lack of talent) he has spent most of the last 40 years chasing the dream of being a teacher as well as a Family and Juvenile Court lawyer. MARY ELIZABETH LUND, Ph. D Dr. Lund has been mediating for over 25 years, has done over 600 custody evaluations, and has been part of a collaborative divorce group for over 10 years, making her one of the most experienced psychologists specializing in divorce in Los Angeles. After receiving her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from UCLA, she conducted postdoctoral research on children and divorce at the University of Cambridge, England. She trains not only mental health professionals, but also attorneys and judicial officers about children s needs in divorce and ways of resolving conflict. HONORABLE JAMES M. MIZE * JD, CFLS Judge, Sacramento Superior Court Presiding Judge, Sacramento Superior Court, 2008-2009 Assistant Presiding Judge, Sacramento Superior Court, 2006-2007
Supervising Family Law Judge, 2013 - present President, Anthony M. Kennedy Inn of Court, 2007-2009 President, California Judges Association, 2004-2005 Family Law Judge of the Year California State Bar, October 11, 2013 Judge of the Year Sacramento County Bar Association, September 24, 2009 Judge of the Year Capitol City Trial Association, December 10, 2009 Private Law Practice, Sacramento, 1974-2000 J.D., University of San Francisco, 1974 M.S.W., University of California, Berkeley, 1971 B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1968 Certified Family Law Specialist, 1989-2000 Chair, California Judges Association Family Law Committee, 2002 (Member 2002-present) Faculty, CJA Mid-Year program, Pro-Pers 2003 (Mid-Year Planning Committee 2003) Member, Judicial Council, 2004-2005 Member, Judicial Council Policy Coordination and Liaison Committee, 2004-2005 Member, Judicial Council Advisory Committee, Family and Juvenile Law, 2002-2008 Member, California Judges Association Board, 2002-2006 Member, CJER Family Law Committee, 2002-present Faculty, CEB, Developments in Family Law, annually, 1985 - present Faculty, Continuing Judicial Studies Program, Family Law Overview, 2000-2006, Team leader 2004-2010 Faculty, CJER Cow County Judges Institute, 2004 Faculty, BE Witkin Judicial College, 2003-2010 Seminar Leader, BE Witkin Judicial College, 2003-2004 & 2007-2008 Faculty, Family Law Institute, 2002-2008 Faculty, Domestic Violence Institute, March 2005, March 2006 FORREST "WOODY" MOSTEN, JD * CFLS A collaborative attorney (Certified Family Law Specialist) and mediator in Los Angeles who handles matters involving substantial assets and high conflict. He is a full time peacemaker and never goes to court on any case. He is in constant demand as a keynote speaker for Collaborative Law conferences and trains Collaborative Practice Groups worldwide in creative convening and agreement building strategies, ethics, format design,, current hot issues and future trends, and how to build a profitable peacemaking practice and most recently, has offered a Master Class for Collaborative Professionals nationwide with Pauline Tesler. He teaches Collaborative Law in law schools and is the ABA Chair on integrating Collaborative Law into law school curriculum. Woody is the author of four books, Collaborative Divorce Handbook (2009), Mediation Career Guide (2001),, Unbundling Legal Services (2000), and Complete Guide to Mediation (1997) and numerous articles on Collaborative Law, Mediation, and Unbundling.. He was the Guest Editor of Family Court Review s Special Issue on Collaborative Practice (April 2011) in which he authored an article on the future of Collaborative Practice. Woody has received numerous awards including the ABA Lawyer as Problem Solver Award and the ABA Lifetime Career Award for his contributions to unbundling, legal access and Collaborative law as well as Peacemaker of the Year Award from the Southern California Mediation Association and the Conflict Prevention Award from the LA Bar Association. Woody is a member of the faculty at UCLA School of Law and has taught at many law schools throughout the world. NANCY W. OLESEN * Ph.D. A licensed psychologist, who works with children and families. She has conducted hundreds of parenting plan and dependency evaluations over the past 25 years for courts in California and provided expert testimony in divorce and family law cases in California and other states. Dr. Olesen has taught many courses for professionals in the best practices in child custody evaluation in California, throughout the US, in Europe and in Asia. These courses include the mandatory training required in California for court appointed evaluators. In addition, she has conducted courses for judges, attorneys, and mediators on child custody special issues such as child abuse, alienation, domestic violence, and attachment.
DANIEL B. PICKAR * Ph. D, ABPP A forensic and child psychologist who conducts child custody evaluations, mediation, co-parent counseling, and consultation to attorneys. He has published numerous journal articles in the areas of child custody evaluation and mediation, and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Child Custody. For 12 years, he served as the Chief of Child and Family Psychiatry at Kaiser Permanente in Santa Rosa, California, as well as served as the Director of Postdoctoral Training in Clinical Psychology for 5 years. He has regularly presented workshops at national AFCC conferences. CHRIS PIGEON, PH.D A Marriage, Family & Child Therapist in the Rockridge Area of Oakland, California. She specializes in divorcing and separating families doing mediation, and Parent Coordination or Special Master work. Her experience of 30 years in the field has given her the gravitas to put her at the top of the list for every family law attorney who has a problem child custody case. KATHY RICHARDS JD An attorney practicing family law since 1997. She is best known by Bay Area Family Courts as Counsel for the Minor. Her practice of general family law matters includes representing children in divorce and separation cases, probate guardianship and dependency court. She has represented over 100 children so far in her career. JULIE SAFFREN * JD Julie Saffren is an attorney and DV educator in Santa Clara County, California, where she has practiced Family Law with a focus on DV issues since 2003. She has been a lecturer since 2006 at Santa Clara University School of Law, where she teaches Seminar in Domestic Violence and Family Law. She cocreated Domestic Violence Limited Scope Representation, an award-winning collaborative of the Pro Bono Project of Silicon Valley. DVLSR trains and mentors volunteer attorneys and law students to represent low-income litigants in civil domestic violence hearings. She is vice chair of the Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Council and has been a member of its Death Review Committee since 2011. From 2007 to 2010 she served on FLEXCOM, the Family Law Executive Committee of the State Bar, including a stint as Editor of the section s statewide publication, the Family Law News. She is currently a member of the Judicial Council of California s Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Board. She has trained attorneys, judges and mental health professionals on domestic violence matters, including Internet Abuse and High Lethality Issues, through the Santa Clara County Bar Association; the Domestic Violence Council of Santa Clara County; the Family Law section of the State Bar of California; and CJER, the Center for Judicial Education and Research through the Administrative Office of the Courts. In 2009, she co-authored a domestic violence appeal, In re Marriage of Nadkarni. The published decision established a legal definition for abusive conduct that disturbs the peace under Family Code 6320. In December 2012, her article Professional Responsibility in Civil Domestic Violence Matters was published in the Hastings Women s Law Journal. MICHAEL A. SAINI * Ph. D An Associate Professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, and the Course Director of the 40-hour Foundations to Custody Evaluations at the University of Toronto. For the past 14 years, he has been conducting custody evaluations and assisting children s counsel for the Office of the Children s Lawyer, Ministry of the Attorney General, in Ontario. He has authored or coauthored 50 publications, including books, book chapters, government reports, systematic reviews and peer-reviewed journal articles. He is an editorial board member for the Family Court Review, the Journal of Child Custody, Research for Social Work Practice, and Oxford Bibliographies Online. As well, he is a peer reviewer for 10 peer-reviewed journals and 4 international funding organizations. LESLIE ELLEN SHEAR * JD, CFLS Ms. Shear has practiced family law in California since 1976. She limits her family court practice to representation and consultation in complex child custody, complex parentage and assisted reproduction, interstate and international jurisdiction (including Hague Abduction Convention and UCCJEA) cases, and court-appointed representation of children in family court. Leslie s appellate practice includes consultation with trial counsel in preparation for possible appellate review, and representation in appeals, writs, and
amicus curiae briefs in family law cases (including 18 published appellate opinions in the U.S. Supreme Court, California Supreme Court, and other appellate courts). Leslie is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Child Custody, and is guest-editing a special issue on international child custody. She is the author of the Chapter 4: Parenting Plans in CEB, California Child Custody Litigation and Practice (2006-2014). She is the past president of the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists, has played leadership roles in various family law organizations (including AFCC) over 36 years of family law practice, published many articles on family law issues, and regularly gives talks to local, state, national and international professional organizations. J. D., UCLA School of Law, 1976 * Admitted to State Bar of California, 1976 *Admitted to U.S. Supreme Court, 1989 * State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization: Certified Family Law Specialist, 1983 Certified Appellate Law Specialist * 2009 Fellow, International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. STACEY SHUSTER * PH.D A psychologist-mediator in private practice in San Francisco. She works extensively in many aspects of divorce, including as a co-parenting counselor, special master and collaborative divorce coach. She sees individuals of all ages, as well as couples and families in psychotherapy, with consultation with diverse populations, including gay/lesbian, monolingual Spanish speaking, children and adults. She teaches family therapy at the Department of Psychiatry at California Pacific Medical Center. Training of Psychiatry residents and Psychology interns in family therapy theory and techniques. Professional affiliations: American Family Therapy Academy; AFCC; Collaborative Practice of S.F. and S.F. Psychological Association. JACQUELINE SINGER * Ph.D. Forensic psychologist who specializes in complex family law, dependency and guardianship cases. She has conducted over 400 custody evaluations and 350 dependency cases and serves as a consultant in custody, dependency and guardianship cases. She has presented to local bar associations and ACSFL attorneys, and to mental health professionals on sexual abuse, alienation, move-away and psychological testing in custody cases and has provided training to dependency attorneys in California on dealing with difficult clients for the AOC. She has published in the area of psychological testing and custody litigants. MARJORIE SLABACH * JD, CFLS A Certified Family Law Specialist and retired San Francisco Superior Court Commissioner in the Unified Family Court. After fourteen years on the bench she is now a Private Judge doing case management and settlement conferences. Prior to her tenure on the bench she worked with teenagers as an English teacher for many years. She then chose to become a lawyer to represent parents and children in family law matters. Commissioner Slabach is a frequent lecturer and panel member educating attorneys and judges in the area of family law with a specialty in child custody. She is a board member of the California Chapter of the Association of Family Court Conciliation where she heads a task force to explore alternative models for serving families in the court system. She is a board member of Overcoming Barriers, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the child s relationship with each parent in high conflict cases. She was named the 2010 Judicial Officer of the Year by the Family Law Section of the State Bar of California. MATTHEW J. SULLIVAN * Ph.D. Is a native northern Californian, who received his A.B. from Stanford University and Ph. D in clinical community psychology from the University of Maryland in 1985. Since that time, he has been in private practice in Palo Alto, California, specializing in forensic and clinical work in the Family Courts. His full-time private practice focuses on work with high conflict shared custody situations. He serves in a variety of court-related roles, including mediator, co-parent counselor, Parenting Coordinator, testifying expert and consultant. He has written numerous articles and book chapters, presented and done trainings at national and international venues on topics such as high-conflict divorce, Parenting Coordination, child alienation, mental health consultation in family law cases and Court-involved therapy. He is currently serving on the editorial board of the Journal of Child Custody, serves on the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) international board of directors and the AFCC California board of directors. He was cochair of the AFCC task force, which developed guidelines for Court-Involved Therapists and served on the AFCC Task Force on Parenting Coordination, which developed the first guidelines for Parenting
Coordination practice. He served on the American Psychological and American Bar Association working group on legal and psychological interventions with children and families. He is the co-founder of Overcoming Barriers, Inc., which is a non-profit organization that has developed a variety of programs for high conflict shared custody arrangements. Dr. Sullivan received the 2012 Joseph Drown award for outstanding service to children, by the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, California chapter. ELAINE F. TUMONIS Elaine Tumonis graduated from the UCLA School of Law in 1986 and joined the Criminal Division of the California Attorney General s Office as an appellate lawyer. As a deputy attorney general, she handles felony criminal appeals and post-conviction habeas cases at all levels of the state and federal courts. Her noteworthy cases have included the Billionaire Boys Club murder case (which is still being litigated in federal court) and the first state appellate case involving the admissibility of DNA evidence. In addition to criminal appellate work, Ms. Tumonis has worked on international child abduction cases since 1988, when the U.S. ratified the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. She helped develop and implement procedures for handling, in California, requests to return abducted children pursuant to the treaty, and in 2000, she became the Statewide Child Abduction Unit Coordinator for the California Attorney General s Office. She and her colleagues work with U.S. State Department officials and local prosecutors to see that internationally abducted children brought into California are located and recovered. Ms. Tumonis is a member and former chair of the California Child Abduction Task Force, is a co-editor and contributing author of the Attorney General's Child Abduction Reference Manual, and trains deputy district attorneys and investigators throughout the state in handling Hague Convention cases. In 2001, 2006 and 2011, she served as a member of the U.S. delegation to international Special Commission meetings held in The Hague, Netherlands, to review the operation of the Hague Convention; she had attended the 1993 meeting as an observer. In 2012, she received the California Attorney General s Award for Excellence, in recognition of her international child abduction work. In 2002, she received the ICAN (Los Angeles Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect) Award for Outstanding Service to Children. DEBORAH WALD * JD Managing partner at Wald & Thorndal, a full-service family law practice based in San Francisco. Nationally recognized speaker on cutting edge family law issue including surrogacy, legal parentage and LGBT family law. She focuses on family formation (primarily adoption and assisted reproduction) and contested parentage matters. She is a member of the American Academy of Assisted Reproductive Technology Attorneys and the Family Law Executive Committee of the State Bar of California, and is Chair of the National Family Law Advisory Council of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Ms. Wald is Adjunct Professor, USF Law School, Member California State Bar Family Law Executive Committee, experience criminal defense attorney and co-founder Women Defenders. MARJORIE GANS WALTERS * Ph. D Ms. Walters is a private practitioner in Marin County specializing in the area of divorce. Recently her work has focused on facilitation of the repair and re-connection of parent/child family relationships that have been disrupted in the context of divorce. More broadly, she also does clinical work that involves consultation, assessment, treatment (individual, family, group), and supervision of other mental health professionals. Her forensic work includes mental health consultation to attorneys and child custody evaluation reviews. She has given court testimony as an expert witness in Marin, San Francisco, Sonoma, Contra Costa and Humboldt counties. In several research projects, she studied the characteristics of parents and children in high-conflict divorcing families, and the various components of situations that involve allegations of alienation. The results of these studies were published in various journals and presented in various national professional meetings.