Irvine – The nonprofit JAMS Foundation announced today that it has selected 10 fellows from more than 100 applicants for the 2012 Weinstein International Fellowship program. The program, named to honor the contributions of JAMS mediator Hon. Daniel Weinstein (Ret.), provides opportunities for ADR professionals from throughout the world to learn more about dispute resolution in the United States. Under the guidance of JAMS and seasoned JAMS panelists, Weinstein Fellows pursue projects of their own design that advance ADR practices in their home countries.
“We’re thrilled to see the pool of ADR specialists from around the world grow deeper and more competitive each year,” said Judge Weinstein, a retired San Francisco Superior Court judge and a member of the JAMS Foundation Board of Directors. “It’s an honor to assist so many talented people to further their careers in ADR.”
“These JAMS Fellows will play a leading role in advancing the effective use of ADR worldwide,” said Chris Poole, JAMS president and CEO. “We thank Judge Weinstein for his generosity and support for this program and are excited by the talent and knowledge each of the fellows possesses.”
“Now in its fourth year, this class of Fellows includes a broad group of nationalities and experience,” said Jay Folberg, executive director of the JAMS Foundation. “We appreciate the level of discussion and sharing that results from such a diverse group of people and look forward to the opportunity to learn from them.”
In the coming months, those selected will arrive in the U.S. to begin their fellowships, which will last from one month to one year, and each will be based in a JAMS Resolution Center. In addition to their affiliation with JAMS, most fellows will have other commitments, including participation in university-based dispute resolution programs. The following individuals have been selected for the 2012 Weinstein International Fellowship program.
- María Rosario García Alvarez (Spain) – Ms. Alvarez serves as the President of the Second Section of the Labor Division of the Madrid High Court of Justice. During her fellowship, she will study at UC Hastings Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution as a visiting research scholar and attend ADR courses at the Gould Center for Conflict Resolution at Stanford Law School. Ms. Alvarez intends to broaden her understanding of effective models of court-connected ADR and develop best practices for the management of an ADR service provider in Madrid.
- Ivan Bimbilovski (Macedonia) – Mr. Bimbilovski is a certified mediator and vice dean of the Faculty of Law at the European University in the Republic of Macedonia. Following his fellowship, Mr. Bimbilovski plans to establish law school mediation clinics and provide mediation training for ADR professionals. He also plans to work with the government and judiciary to encourage mediation and reform Macedonia mediation laws.
- Olurotimi Williams Daudu (Nigeria) – Mr. Daudu works as a principal judicial officer and special assistant to the President of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria. While in the United States, Mr. Daudu will attend trainings to develop his expertise in ADR and mediation. Following his return, he plans to work to provide greater access to justice in Nigeria through the establishment of ADR centers under the auspices of the National Industrial Court.
- Thierno Diallo (Senegal) – Mr. Diallo is the general manager of the Mediation, Arbitration, and Conciliation Center in Dakar, Senegal. He plans to use his fellowship to master mediation procedures in order to train mediators in Senegal and the west-African sub region. Additionally, he would like to introduce mediation as a mandatory course for law students in collaboration with the Faculty of Law at the University of Dakar.
- Livia Angela Giordano (Switzerland) – Ms. Giordano is an employment attorney in Zurich and LL.M candidate in dispute resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law. Following her fellowship, she plans to open an ADR training center. Her long-term career objective is to work in the diplomatic field in order to contribute to peaceful conflict resolution and international understanding.
- Kathy Alicia Maria Gonzales (Trinidad) – Ms. Gonzalez is the founder and CEO of Janus Conflict Management Services. She intends to use her fellowship to continue her advanced studies in conflict analysis and resolution at Nova Southeastern University and to develop her skills as a mediator. She will research successful court-connected mediation programs in the U.S. in order to design a dispute resolution system to be used in family courts in Trinidad & Tobago. She will also study other uses of mediation, such as prisoner re-entry mediation in order to develop similar programs throughout the Caribbean.
- Enga Kameni (Cameroon) – Mr. Kameni is an attorney with Jing and Partners and a doctoral candidate in international arbitration at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Upon his return from the United States, Mr. Kameni will develop a training manual on arbitration and mediation to be used by law schools and bar associations in the English-language provinces of Cameroon. Mr. Kameni also hopes to further promote the use of ADR in Cameroon and neighboring West African countries as a viable alternative to violent conflict.
- Lejla Bratovic Mavris (Bosnia-Herzegovina) – Ms. Mavris is the Director/Co-Founder of Global Majority, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of nonviolent conflict resolution through education, training, mediation and advocacy. Ms. Mavris intends to utilize the knowledge she gains through her Fellowship to mediate cross-border disputes and promote the use of mediation as a preferred method of conflict resolution internationally.
- Tolegen Myrzabayev (Kazakhstan) – Mr. Myrzabayev is an attorney in Kazakhstan and a recent LL.M graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. During his Fellowship, Mr. Myrzabayev will attend Columbia Law School as a visiting scholar to conduct research on international arbitration. Upon his return to Kazahkstan, he will establish a training center for mediators and teach an ADR course to law students. He will also research and present results of a study on U.S. court-annexed arbitration through a series of publications and presentations to legal professionals in Kazakhstan.
- Blažo Nedić (Serbia) – Mr. Nedić is the director of Partners for Democratic Change Serbia and the regional mediator for the World Bank Group for Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzogovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Albania. His fellowship will help further his efforts with the national Chamber of Mediators to promote and develop commercial mediation in Serbia. Mr. Nedić also intends to develop training courses and a curriculum on ADR for legal professionals.
About the JAMS Foundation (www.jamsfoundation.org)
The nonprofit JAMS Foundation is the largest private provider of ADR-related grants in the world. The Foundation was established in 2002 by JAMS, The Resolution Experts, the premier provider of alternative dispute resolution services worldwide, and is funded by JAMS mediators, arbitrators and employee associates who contribute a percentage of their income. The JAMS Foundation has provided more than $4 million in grant funding since its inception. Founded in 1979, JAMS and its more than 280 full-time mediators and arbitrators are responsible for resolving thousands of the world’s most important cases.
