Our series, My Favorite Resource, features interviews with our ADR friends across the country to learn about their favorite ADR resources. This month, Resource Center Director Nicole Wilmet spoke with Christine Poulson, Executive Director at Resolution Virginia, to learn about her favorite resource.
NW: What is one of your favorite ADR resources?
CP: I have spent twenty years working in community mediation. My go-to resource is the National Association for Community Mediation’s email list-serve.
NW: Why do you value this particular resource?
CP: There are hundreds of not-for-profit dispute resolution centers across that country that are trying to attain similar goals. These centers have a wealth of experience and they generously share that experience through the NAFCM list-serve so that no one has to reinvent the wheel. If I am having a problem at a center, likely someone else has had that same problem and has found ways to resolve it. If I want to start a program that someone else has run for years, I can get their “lessons learned” and save myself some failure. Perhaps most importantly, the list-serve helps me to feel that I am part of a supportive community that celebrates my successes and keeps me going when things are difficult.
NW: How did you first learn about this resource?
CP: As a NAFCM member for many years, I learned about the resource when the NAFCM Executive Director suggested I ask a question of the membership via the list-serve.
NW: For those unfamiliar with this resource, what is one part of this resource you wouldn’t want someone to miss?
CP: I would hate for people to miss out on the camaraderie of the group. People well-known (and not-so-well-known) in the field give so freely of their experiences. It really is a wealth of information.
Those interested in subscribing to the NAFCM Network can do so by sending an email to: nafcm-network-subscribe@lists.riseup.net.
If you have a favorite resource you would like to share in an upcoming edition of our newsletter and on our blog, please reach out to our Resource Center Director and Court ADR Connection Editor, Nicole Wilmet at nwilmet@aboutrsi.org!
