Brian Luther, JD brings a strong legal and leadership background to his role as MwB faculty. He has spent the past 11 years managing a team of attorneys who prepare online case law enhancements for LexisNexis, a leading legal research corporation. Brian's experience with LexisNexis honed his extensive project management and advanced communications skills. Brian is also a Certified Mediator and, prior to his corporate work, was a municipal court mediator, specializing in domestic and neighbor relations disputes. His mediation work has shaped his enthusiastic dedication to peaceful conflict resolution.
Alison Taylor, MA has over 30 years of experience performing divorce mediation in the public and private sectors, and has served for ten years as the Training Coordinator at the Clackamas County Family Court Service, supervising professionals and graduate students in the only on-going internship program in Oregon. Ms. Taylor was formerly an associate faculty member and instructor for the Master's in Conflict Resolution program at Antioch University. She has taught classes on ethics and law, and clinical counseling supervision at Lewis & Clark College, as well as general mediation classes at Marylhurst University. She has also taught all the required minimum qualifications courses for Basic/Civil and for Domestic Relations Custody and Parenting mediators, plus negotiation and other classes for business applications through Portland State University.
Alison has been the Executive Director for the Oregon Family Institute, a think-tank for innovative programs for courts and families, since 2003. Alison is a Licensed Professional Counselor, and since January 2006 she has offered couples counseling, mediation, parent coordination and collaborative custody evaluation services in a limited private practice from her Hawthorn Farms offices in Hillsboro, Oregon. She also provides consultation and supervision with other professionals.
James (Jim) Siefken, MA, has been working in the construction industry for over 30 years. His duties have ranged from laborer to Project Manager in the Federal Government, State Government, and on private sector projects. Jim earned a Bachelors Degree in Construction Management and a Masters of Education in Organizational Performance and Change.
Jim has been mediating since 2001 and enjoys bringing the parties' situations to positive solutions. Jim's experiences are not limited to construction; they also include workplace issues, homeowner association issues, community cases, and landlord tenant issues.
To quote Jim, "Conflict is all around us, and I believe that if we can't effectively deal with conflict, then we cannot progress as a society."
Chris Cosgrove, MA brings her creativity and a passion for teaching to her role as an instructor and Administrator of Mediators Without Borders. Chris has a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Utah. She currently attends the University of Colorado working on her Master’s Degree in Instructional Design for eLearning.
Chris’ vast experience in the field of conflict resolution includes clinical and medical social work, nursing home administration, restorative justice counseling, and substance abuse counseling. Her experience in on-line learning brings our team an engaging spirit with experience and passion for the inAccord Mediation process.
Lynn Lee, MA graduated with a degree in Education from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and a Master’s Degree in Education Administration from the University of Colorado. She taught special education in Widefield, Colorado for 15 years and then began her work in Restorative Justice. Lynn first volunteered in Restorative Justice as a community member, then worked as a victim advocate with those going through the restorative justice process and now facilitates restorative justice conferences. She also works as a coordinator for restorative justice programs in both Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs, Colorado, working for the schools as well as the courts. Lynn is co chair of the Manitou Springs Restorative Justice Project and chair of the Pikes Peak Restorative Justice Council. She also, through her business, Pikes Peak Restorative Practices, offers training in restorative justice for community volunteers, students and facilitators. Most recently, Lynn has been working with the Colorado Dept. of Corrections in a small pilot program bringing victims and offenders together to begin healing from violent crimes
Rebecca Daniels has been teaching for Mediators without Borders since 2007 and was recently named Teacher of the Year for the company. She brings dedication and inspiration to her role in guiding students successfully through the MwB coursework. Rebecca has been teaching online for over 15 years through various universities.
Rebecca holds a Master of Arts Degree in Organizational Management, a BS in Public Administration and Natural Resource Management from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, with studies in Ecology and Environmental Science. Rebecca maintains her Mediator Practitioner Certification by attending national mediation conferences. With a variety of career experience over the past 20 years, she and her husband, US Navy, Ret., currently share their home with two personable cats. Her three adult children are starting their own families.
Shauna Rienks, P.hD. is a Statistician and Researcher for Mediators without Borders. Shauna works as a Research Associate for the federally funded Fatherhood Relationship and Marriage Education (FRAME) project in the Psychology Department at the University of Denver. She is originally from Trinidad, CO and earned her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Princeton University.
After earning her secondary education teaching certificate in the state of New Jersey, she was selected to work for the Princeton-in-Asia program and taught English at a university in South Korea for 5 years before returning to Colorado to earn her M.A. and Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Denver. Her research utilizes an ecological systems theory approach to examine how family processes, school contexts, and individuals’ characteristics (such as gender, ethnicity, and culture) interact to produce both positive and negative social, educational, and mental health outcomes. She joined Mediators without Borders in 2011 and is thrilled to have has earned her mediation certification. She looks forward to utilizing her training to help Mediators without Borders achieve the goal of Sustainable Peace. She lives in Brighton with her husband and two young daughters.