Meet our Faculty

Rebecca Daniels – 2010 MwB “Teacher of the Year”

Rebecca 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.

Alison Taylor, MA

Alison will be providing online teaching services through Mediators Without Borders as of 2010. She 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.

Brian Luther, J.D.

Brian brings a strong legal and leadership background to his role as MwB Legal Officer. 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.

Brian and family reside in Boulder County, CO., where he enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, and gardening. Brian is also a writer, who covers the Boulder Sustainable Food scene in an online column, as well as a musician and singer who performs in local venues with his band. Brian brings the same spirit of collaboration, innovation, and imagination to his role with MwB.
Brian’s Testimonials

Monica Evans

Monica Evans, MBA, is a new Instructor for Mediators without Borders. Monica resides in Dallas, Texas, and brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to MwB. She has a Master Degree - Advanced Practitioner of Mediation. She also has a Bachelor Degree in Sociology, and a Bachelor Degree in Organization Management, as well as various other professional certifications. She will be instrumental in supporting training campuses in conjunction with the centralized, online and on ground dispute consultation forum (MwB), where mediators can provide assistance in conflict events around the globe.

Monica is employed by Allstate Insurance as a Litigation Adjuster, and has participated in hundreds of mediations throughout Texas. Monica understands the challenges associated with distance learning, as she earned her MBA from Colorado Technical University Online – and is committed to assisting her students in successfully completing their studies.

Gary Crist

Gary is a Nebraska native who now lives in Windsor,CO with his wife, Joni , and their two dogs.  Gary has provided online training services through Mediators Without Boarders since January of 2009.  He is a trainer for the CORE, Divorce, and Internship and Career Development courses. Gary has owned and operated a mediation business since 1997.  He has provided mediation to business such as the U.S. Postal Services, eBay, and several human service agencies in both Colorado and Nebraska. In the last few years Gary has focused his attention on helping families involved in the child protection system through mediation and family group conferencing.

Gary’s background and formal education is in the area of social work. He has over 22 years of experience working with families in the area of child protection and criminal justice.  Gary worked for 5 years as the coordinator for the child protection and juvenile justice State of Nebraska training academy.  This background has allowed Gary to help families work through family conflict and divorce by utilizing the mediation process. Gary also finds value volunteering and giving back to the community. He provides pro-bono mediation services with the Fort Collins Neighborhood Resource Mediation Program and writes a weekly parenting advice column for three northern Colorado newspapers.

James (Jim) Siefken

Jim Siefken 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 private sector projects. Jim has earned a Bachelor’s 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; but also include workplace issues, homeowner associations, community cases and landlord tenant issues. He is currently the Mediation Coordinator for the city of Fort Collins, Colorado. 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."

Lynn Lee

Lynn joined the MwB faculty in August of 2010. She is the Chair of the Pikes Peak Restorative Justice Counsel and Coordinator of the Manitou Springs Restorative Justice Project. As chairperson, she has been instrumental as a member of the steering committee for the Pikes Peak Restorative Justice Symposium. In Manitou Springs, Lynn works with the court as well as the Manitou Spring School District in coordinating and facilitating restorative justice conferences.
Trained in mediation and restorative justice, Lynn has facilitated scores of cases in both schools and the legal system. Previously Lynn participated as a community volunteer for 5 years in restorative justice for Workout, Ltd. and then worked as the victim advocate to victim/offender restorative justice conferences. Lynn received her BA from Wayne State University in education and her MA in education administration from UCCS. She worked as a special education teacher for Widefield School District for 15 years.

Annie Cohen

An effective and dedicated instructor, Annie has been teaching for MwB since the fall of 2009 and has certifications in CORE Mediation, Workplace Mediation, and Divorce and Parenting Time Mediation. She has over twenty years of experience working with conflict intervention in a variety of multicultural communities.

Annie has a wide range of experience in problem solving among students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community members. Her career as an educator has called upon the same communication, trust-building and solution-coaching skills that make for a successful mediator. The many challenges of negotiating complex issues inherent in multilingual and multicultural settings developed and honed such necessary skills. Currently, Annie mediates in the community of Colorado Springs, in the Small Claims Court of El Paso County and for the Better Business Bureau of Colorado Springs.

Guest Faculty

Shauna Ries, LCSW, MFT, MDR

Shauna brings an impassioned vision and constant optimism to her role as CEO of Mediators without Borders. She believes strongly in the principles and intentions of MwB as the team moves forward with its model for economic sustainability in the field of conflict resolution. Shauna brings over thirty years of combined work and experience in management and executive levels of corporations and in the front lines as a family clinician and certified mediator. This unique combination of skill sets enables Shauna to build bridges among diverse communities and engage in personal interactions with compassion, all the while keeping the mission and vision of Mediators without Borders as a litmus test for all company endeavors and partnerships.

Shauna is a graduate of the University of Denver where she earned a master degree in social work. She completed her studies at DU with an 18 month post graduate study in Marriage and Family Therapy at the Denver Family Institute. Shauna completed mediation trainings through CDR and through a partnership program between Arcadia University International Peace and Conflict Studies Program and IADR/MwB. She became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and worked in private practice and at Project PAVE and Union Pacific Railroad as a mediator and family clinician. In 1994, Shauna founded RMA, a stress management and conflict management company offering individual and corporate training. In 2003, Shauna brokered a partnership between Arcadia University and RMA to offer a first of its kind graduate certificate program in alternative dispute resolution.
Shauna's testimonials

MwB Faculty Values

We share a common passion for peacemaking in the world,

We recognize that the dissemination of knowledge and skills in Mediation and conflict resolution will advance the cause of mankind for peace and prosperity,

We are called with individual purpose for a collective well-being and to exert our best individual and collective professional capacities to promote the vision of MwB in all nations and continents,

We recognize that the eradication of poverty is an essential foundation for peace in the world and,

We pledge and commit ourselves to the following principles:

• Do No Harm
• Aspire to the Unity Principle
• Honor our Commitments
• Create and Deliver an Educational Model for the Purpose of Global Conflict Resolution
• Teach with Reverence and Intention