MwB Research Center

MwB is committed to supporting MwB clinics around the globe through an all green research center to be physically constructed in Boulder County, Colorado. Once operational, the MwB research center will serve as an international research center and a repository for electronically stored recordings of all MwB clinic mediations, which will be available for use by all MwB International Society members. The MwB green research center will employ the dispute resolution practice of partnering in its building process, and the research center partnering process will be studied from its inception and shared with the larger MwB global community of clinics.

The Research Center Vision

The all green research centre will serve as an educational campus for citizens and researchers dedicated to sharing unique ideas and diverse practices in the peaceful resolution of conflict. Mediators without Borders will establish a continuing action research link between the goals of green building and those of sustainable peace. The research campus will house a “Sustainable Partners” building, which will be home to partner programs for sustainable peace such as a designated partner for Green Building techniques. Our Green Building partner will be encouraged to use established Mediators without Borders clinics to share social and technical ingenuity with societies facing increasing scarcity of resources.

This “all green” research center will function as a global repository of research from a network of Mediators without Borders clinics around the world. The center will establish fellowships for research study and create a revolving international think tank for dispute resolution leaders. The physical campus will house a library, smart classrooms, computer lab, and technology center. The campus will also have housing for research fellows and conference attendees and a smart technology conference center that streams events and lectures to Mediators without Borders clinics around the world. The research center campus will be Green Globe Certified and work closely with the to employ leading edge green building technologies.

Mediators without Borders will be working with The Green Globe Program to assist with ongoing education and certification requirements. The Green Globe program traces its roots back to the United Nations Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992, where 182 heads of state from around the world endorsed the Agenda 21 principles of sustainable development. The Earth Summit was unprecedented for a U.N. conference, as it was the first time world leaders acknowledged, as a group, that consumption of non-renewable resources was leading to environmental degradation.

Since its inception, the Green Globe brand has represented the best in environmental responsibility. The brand and its associated programs hold even greater promise as the world further embraces the need for sustainability and response to global climate change as essential core values.

Our Research Advisors

Dr. Jonathan F. Ormes

Dr. Jonathan F. Ormes Jonathan Ormes is a Research Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and recently retired from a position as Director of the Denver Research Institute at the University of Denver.  He was appointed Director of DRI on Feburary 1, 2005.  Formerly Dr. Ormes was the Director of Space Sciences at the Goddard Space Flight Center from 2000 until 2004.  He was responsible for planning, organizing, and implementing the Center’s programs and research in space science.   He retired from the government in July 2004 to assume his current position of Research Professor at the University of Denver. 

Recently Dr. Ormes has turned his attention to understanding the issues involved in our stewardship of the planet, including global warming, species extinctions, land and water issues and how these issues are driven by increasing population and affluence. He joins MwB as a research advisor for grants and other relevant issues for the MwB Research Center planned for Boulder, Colorado.

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Barbara McCombs, PhD
Research and Organizational Advisor

Barbara shares a passion for creating learner centered environments for students and their teachers of all ages.  Her work with human motivation, learning, and development has contributed more than 35 years of research evidence of the power of these classroom and school practices to transform education for all.  Along with directing research and evaluation activities throughout her 40 year professional career, Barbara's vast experience and knowledge, grounds the Mediators without Borders Research Center on sound empirical and theoretical foundations.  This will carve the way forward on instructional frameworks for learner centered education, staff development strategies and community empowerment models.  On a personal level, Barbara enjoys music, gardening, cooking, and loving all our kids!