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What do Car Break-ins and Loud Parrots Have to do with ADR? Get to Know RSI’s New CEO

Just Court ADR, July 23rd, 2024

Last month, RSI welcomed Heather Fogg as RSI’s new Chief Executive Officer. Heather comes to RSI with an extensive background in court-connected alternative dispute resolution and research. Her expertise includes directing court mediator excellence programs; managing a state court’s ADR data collection tool; and designing and delivering restorative justice practices across a diverse range of sectors. Heather has guided the evaluation, design and data analysis of grant-funded ADR programs; coordinated workshops and training sessions for court ADR program managers, mediation trainers and mediators; and led and mentored scores of researchers and ADR practitioners. For more details on Heather’s background, read her bio on RSI’s website.

RSI CEO Heather Fogg stands beside James Doyle. They were co-presenters at the Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution Conference in Maryland in June 2024.
RSI CEO Heather Fogg presented with James Doyle at the Center for ADR’s 2024 Annual Conference in Maryland in June. The topic for their presentation was “Ethical Strength Training: Reps and Sets for Everyday Mediator Ethics.”

Recently, Heather sat down for a Q&A to help us begin to get to know the person behind the resume, including what led her to a career in ADR, what motivates her, and some of the aspects of conflict resolution she is passionate about.

How were you first introduced to alternative dispute resolution, and what drew you to it as a career?

I first learned about alternative dispute resolution when leading discussion sections for a course in Criminal Justice 101. The text we used had a brief section about restorative justice, referred to as victim-offender mediation. The process was described as a chance for the people most directly impacted by what happened to come together with a mediator to talk about: 1) what it was like for each of them, and 2) what they each needed in order to make things better. That made so much sense to me — focusing the problem-solving and decision-making on those who were the most familiar with both how the event itself, as well as any effort to resolve it, would affect them personally. I’ve been fascinated by this approach to engaging with conflict and addressing harm among people ever since.

It’s also deeply personal for me. People have broken into two of my homes and two of my cars (all four instances at different times and states). I know the fear, grief and anger those experiences brought to me and my family. I know the challenges we faced in trying to understand the criminal and legal system to make the aftermath of those experiences better. I have no idea why people chose our house or my car, or what conditions in their lives brought them to make this choice. I can see how having an expanded variety of options to meet directly with one another through alternative dispute resolution can bring a different kind of closure, accountability and healing to people who seek them. That’s part of why I have focused my work on seeing what’s possible when we create these opportunities for people who want them.

What appealed to you about working at RSI specifically?

So many things! One thing that has been very important to me is that whatever I’m choosing to give my time and attention is actionable, implementable and purpose-full (yes, you’re seeing that correctly; I wrote it that way intentionally). That’s something I see in everything RSI does, from gathering resources to be shared broadly, to answering compelling research questions, to providing direct services where they might be sorely needed.

Are there any “big questions” related to court-based ADR that interest you in particular?

There are so very many; I’m struggling to name just a few! And admittedly, some may not be so big. I’m very curious about some of the more practical and logistical aspects of court-based ADR, such as: What impacts will changes in technology continue to have, and how will our standards of practice continue to change to meet them? How does the setting where court-based ADR takes place impact how people react and respond within it? And what can we as ADR practitioners learn from the variety of ways people interact with conflict, in order to support them well?

You recently presented at the Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution’s Annual Conference. Can you tell us a little about the topics and how/why you decided to present on them?

Heather Fogg, right, and Kendra Jobe co-presented “Take Two Sessions and Call us Next Time: How Might our Prescriptions for Conflict Engagement Miss the Mark?” at the Center for ADR Conference in June.

I am very fortunate and grateful to Marvin Johnson and Linda Sternberg of the Center for ADR for inviting me to present, and lucky to have incredible friends and colleagues, Kendra Jobe and James Boyle, to develop topics with me. Kendra and I have been working together for years, and one thing we often talk about is the great variety of approaches and processes we’ve learned within the umbrella of ADR — from restorative practices, to group facilitation, to different mediation frameworks. Rather than framing it as though there might be only one “best way” to practice, we invited practitioners to consider: How does the process (or framework within a process) you are the most enthusiastic about fit your own worldview, personality or perspective on conflict? The range of responses and reflections that practitioners offered, as well as the practical tips, techniques and strategies they shared, made the conversation very rich and informative.

The Maryland Standards of Conduct for Mediators is also near and dear to me. In a mediator ethics session, James and I invited mediators to consider how our ethical practice doesn’t come up only when a specific dilemma surfaces, but also in the everyday decisions and actions we take as mediators throughout the mediation process. It’s been important to me to think of any set of standards we use as a constant reminder about why I wanted to become a mediator in the first place: to hold a process where those most directly impacted by the outcomes would have full say and decision-making in what will happen next. I would like mediators to consider that such standards give us guidance in everything we do, say, don’t do or don’t say … and not just when we see a specific dilemma (that may make us suddenly remember to reread them and consider our role).

Is there a book on conflict resolution that you always find yourself recommending (and why)?

This is a wonderfully dangerous question to ask me because one of my favorite things to say is, “I just read {insert book title}, and now I’d love to talk with you about it!” My favorite books about any subject are those that invite the reader to upend their understanding and really look at something from a wholly different perspective. Among my favorite books to do just that in the conflict engagement field are “Justice As Healing: Indigenous Ways” by Wanda D. McCaslin; any of the number of books written by Rupert Ross; “The Outward Mindset” and “Anatomy of Peace,” both by the Arbinger Institute; and “The Conflict Pivot: Turning Conflict into Peace of Mind” by Tammy Lenski.

Have you had a chance to think about any short- and long-term goals for RSI at this point?

One of the things I like that I’m learning about with RSI is the goal to be intentionally reaching more people around the country. I would like to see us have a relationship with at least one court-connected ADR person in every state. So, if you’re reading this now, and you know someone in another state who we should be introducing ourselves to, drop me a line and help us connect (hfogg@aboutrsi.org). I would like RSI to connect with more people around the country who are interested in court ADR as much as we are!

Is there something you’ve learned since starting at RSI that surprised you?

One thing that has really stood out to me is how RSI has such a strong reputation for advancing court ADR that people regularly come to RSI with questions they’re pondering and ideas about how RSI can help them answer them. The depth of relationship and expertise that it shows about RSI is something I feel honored and proud to join.

What keeps you inspired and going when things get tough?

Oddly enough, it’s watching the animals* who live with me squabble, full-on fight, and then get over it, and often even snuggle immediately with each other again. It reminds me that maybe we can follow their example and find our way through conflict without permanently shutting one another out as well. (*Note, I live with seven indoor cats and three delightfully loud parrots. Knowing we can all successfully live together through our conflicts and spats … gives me hope.)

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New Board Member Nancy Welsh Discusses Fairness, Self-Determination in ADR

Just Court ADR, May 10th, 2024

In February, Resolution Systems Institute welcomed two new Board of Directors members to their first RSI board meeting. Recently we wrote a blog introducing you to one of them, University of Denver Law Professor Oladeji M. Tiamiyu. For this edition, we spoke with the other, Texas A&M Law Professor Nancy A. Welsh. 

Nancy Welsh is a member of the Board of Directors of Resolution Systems Institute

Nancy Welsh is the Frank W. Elliott, Jr. University Professor, Professor of Law and Director of the Dispute Resolution Program at Texas A&M University School of Law. She is a leading scholar and teacher of dispute resolution and procedural law. Prof. Welsh examines negotiation, mediation, arbitration, judicial settlement and dispute resolution in US and international contexts, focusing on self-determination, procedural justice, due process and institutionalization dynamics. Read more about Prof. Welsh’s background and find links to her work in her RSI bio.

When/where were you first introduced to alternative dispute resolution?

I first learned about alternative dispute resolution when I was in law school. Frank Sander — one of the founders of the ADR movement (including the contemporary mediation movement) — was one of my law professors. He taught a course that I believe was called Alternatives to Litigation. That was where I first learned about mediation. I’m sure we also covered arbitration, but negotiation principles and mediation are what I remember best. I actually enjoyed the exam in that course — an unusual experience! — because we needed to think about what the parties wanted and what their underlying interests likely were. We also needed to think practically when different alternatives existed that might be responsive to their underlying interests. I found the problem-solving aspect of the course to be really exciting.

I also had the opportunity to take a mediation training when I was in law school and then to mediate in a small claims court.

What are some of the big questions related to ADR that interest you or that you are currently focusing on?

I’ve always been interested in the intersection between negotiation, mediation, arbitration and the courts, which, of course, is where RSI largely is located. I have been a big advocate of negotiation, mediation and arbitration when the parties have actually selected these processes, and when the processes have been managed in a manner that helps to ensure that people really have the opportunity to think and share what they care about, to think about what options might exist for resolution, to be fully informed, and to freely make their choices.

One thing that really excited me about negotiation and mediation was that it seemed as though — especially once you started asking about and looking at underlying interests — a whole new path to resolution opened up. I had gotten to a point where it seemed to me that when we were talking about the law, there was no path; there were only positions and legal arguments.

So when people are choosing negotiation or mediation, when they really have the opportunity to be informed and to explore what other options exist that can be responsive to their needs, I am entirely in favor of these processes.

When the mediation process is one in which mediators or lawyers decide that the parties are never going to be in direct contact with each other — putting them in separate rooms and with the mediator just shuttling back and forth — and when the focus of mediation is primarily on getting the parties to be more realistic in the way that the mediators and lawyers want them to be, I am less enthusiastic about the processes. Some reality-testing is almost inevitable, but the mediation process also should provide the opportunity for the parties to express what is really important to them, to be heard in a dignified setting, and to explore options that meet their needs. I care a lot about procedural justice and self-determination and have written extensively on both.

Importantly, we really don’t know what happens in most mediations. The courts don’t regularly collect or publish such data. Again, this is a world in which RSI operates; RSI has been involved in much more research and evaluation than a lot of organizations and encourages court-connected programs to evaluate and collect data. That is really important. How can you know what is going on if you don’t have any information?

Meanwhile, I know that a lot of the data we do have indicates that people are satisfied with the mediation process. So that’s important. I just think the process can be one that enables people to fully exercise self-determination consistent with the American ideal of democracy, that each of us is a thinking human being who can be educated and make good decisions. And then, of course, we also need data regarding the other dispute resolution processes.

What in your current academic work, if anything, relates to the work of RSI?

My academic work relates to RSI’s work because RSI does so much with data and evaluation, and a lot of my writing has been about mediation and court-connected processes, which are obviously core areas for RSI.

I wrote a series of articles (one of which is “But Is it Good: The Need to Measure, Assess, and Report on Court-Connected ADR”) that focus largely on the need for more data, for regular reporting by the courts regarding their use of dispute resolution processes. How many cases were eligible? How many cases actually went to these dispute resolution processes? Did they settle? On what terms? What were parties’ perceptions of the procedures and outcomes? And then I also have urged that courts have some responsibility to ensure substantive fairness in the aggregate, or at least some responsibility to ensure that there is not a systemic pattern of unfairness in outcomes.

What attracted you to/made you want to join the RSI board?

I have thought for a long time that RSI is a really wonderful organization and it’s doing important work. When I identify who is out there focusing on court-connected dispute resolution, helping to ensure that research is being done and that courts are getting the kind of assistance they need to provide good court-connected dispute resolution processes, RSI has been at the center of it. Jen Shack is a wonder. Susan Yates is a wonder.

What are you most looking forward to during your time on the RSI board?  

I think there are amazing people who are involved with RSI, so I’m looking forward to getting to know the staff and the board. I’m excited to be working with people on the board — some of whom I’ve known and respected for a long time, and others whom I’ve known by reputation but have never before met. It’s an honor to join them.

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Posted in Program Design, Program Management, RSI Board of Directors, RSI News, Welcome | No Comments »

New Board Member Oladeji Tiamiyu Talks Tech, ADR and More

Just Court ADR, March 19th, 2024

Resolution Systems Institute (RSI) recently welcomed two new members to its Board of Directors! Texas A&M Law Professor Nancy A. Welsh and University of Denver Law Professor Oladeji M. Tiamiyu attended their first Board meeting in February, and RSI is so grateful for their service. We’d like to help you get to know them, beginning this month with a Q&A with Prof. Tiamiyu.  

Professor Oladeji Tiamiyu is an RSI board member

Oladeji Tiamiyu is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Denver (DU) and an Expert Adviser to early-stage ventures at Harvard’s Innovation Lab. Before joining DU, he was a clinician at Harvard Law School’s Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program. His research interests focus on the intersection of technology and dispute resolution. Read more about his background and find links to his work in his RSI bio.

When/where were you first introduced to alternative dispute resolution?

Before I went to law school, I had some degree of concern that the courts were not always the best place to resolve conflict. And I fondly remember being in my criminal law class, one of my favorite classes in law school with Professor Jeannie Suk Gersen, and thinking about alternatives to the carceral state. Shortly after then, I took a law school negotiations class that served as a gateway drug to this field. Now when I think about ADR, it is no longer about being an “alternative” in the strict sense of the word, but instead being a complement to litigation, so there’s been some personal evolution in how I think about the field.

I understand that you have a particular interest in the intersection of technology and dispute resolution. What drew you to this combination of topics?

Yes, well, I don’t know the extent my interest would have developed without Colin Rule. I had my first conversation with him in 2019, and I left essentially salivating for more ideas. From an intellectual and practical level, Colin has shaped me and hundreds of thousands of others in thinking about technology’s role with ADR.

And a few months after this conversation, there was dramatic upheaval in the legal profession. The legal tectonic plates were shifting dramatically. With the pandemic, courts were closed. Mediators and arbitrators were staying at home. It probably was the first time some of my highly social mediator friends didn’t want to meet anyone in person. And it was during this time that technology’s role became more than an esoteric idea, but instead necessary to keeping the courthouse open, albeit virtually.

Maybe we’ll talk about this later, but I found a way to work at RSI during this moment of change. So if Colin was the first to spark my interest, I am indebted to RSI, Susan Yates and Erik Slepak-Cherney for giving me space to explore technology’s role on a practical level.

What are some of the big questions related to tech and dispute resolution that interest you?

There are many. One lingering question from COVID is whether the pandemic led to a permanent change in how dispute resolution is practiced. Are mediators and arbitrators comfortable in incorporating online processes? Is there a critical mass of parties and disputes seeking out online processes? There’s some amount of data to suggest the answer to both is yes, but as we have greater psychological and temporal separation from the pandemic, there will be greater clarity.

I also share a sentiment with many other ODR scholars about whether online process increases access to justice. I’ll go a step further in inquiring whether the relationship between parties fundamentally changes when engaging in online process. That is, do parties communicate differently, problem-solve differently, trust differently and build consensus differently when in an online space?

There’s also the question of the role of artificial intelligence in these systems. Nvidia, ChatGPT, and Brazil’s VICTOR have all expanded our horizons for what could be possible with AI. I’m excited to see who will be the Jen-Hsun Huang of the dispute resolution field that develops an application with AI to fundamentally change what is possible in ADR. 

The exciting part is that RSI is at a unique position to bring clarity to these questions.

What attracted you to/made you want to join the RSI Board?

RSI as an organization. We have done such important research over the years. We have collaborated with innovative courts. I’ve also been on the other side as an employee, and I personally know the integrity of the employees.

I am particularly honored to be joining RSI at this specific time of change. Susan Yates is one of the foremost thought leaders in our field. Judges know it. Academics know it. The American Bar Association knows it. As she leaves RSI, I was intrigued at being a steward for this great organization to ensure that we continue to do the important work our organization has historically championed.

What are your ADR-related courses or other activities at the University of Denver law school?

From my lens, everything I teach has an ADR bend to it. So much of the modern-day legal profession depends on ADR skillsets. As Arthur Miller described many years ago, settlement and negotiations cannot be separated from being a lawyer. So I teach Contract Law, Family Law, and a survey of ADR course. Yet with Contract Law, my students get an introduction to simulations for negotiating contracts that advance their client’s interests, or simulations that prepare them to negotiate out-of-court settlements when there is a breach of contract.

In Family Law, my students do simulations in mediating and negotiating agreements for child custody and alimony. Much of what I try to impart in all of my classes is that ADR skillsets will help my students be better client-centered lawyers.

You were a Public Interest Law Initiative Fellow with RSI in the past. Is there something you learned or experienced in that role that will help you in your work on the RSI Board?

Yes, I have tremendous admiration for the PILI fellowship and gratitude for Sidley Austin LLP for their active engagement in public interest work in both Illinois and nationally. I hope more law graduates practicing in Illinois recognize how special of a state Illinois is for building the infrastructure for PILI. Overall, my PILI fellowship informed some of my hopes and aspirations for the ADR field. It was through PILI that I met some of the nation’s leading dispute resolution practitioners based in Chicago.

But the most valuable lesson I learned from being a PILI Fellow has less to do with ADR. Because RSI is such a collegial and accessible non-profit, my time as a PILI Fellow helped me to appreciate the impact that non-profits can have. Fulfilling lawyering can be in a non-profit office as much as in a law firm or in a courtroom.

What in your current academic work, if anything, relates to the work of RSI?

Much of my research touches on topics that are highly germane to RSI. My research shares a fundamental commitment to exploring how best to leverage dispute resolution to promote access to justice.

What are you most looking forward to during your time on the RSI Board?  

Chicago is fortunate to have RSI, but RSI can and historically has had an impact in different corners of the country. So I am excited to see how our organization grows, especially in a time when there is a fundamental change in the legal profession. There are few other organizations with as sizeable of a network with the judiciary, legal profession and dispute resolution field. I’m excited to see how we can use all of these assets to introduce greater innovation for dispute resolution.

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Posted in Online Dispute Resolution, RSI Board of Directors, RSI News, Welcome | No Comments »

RSI Welcomes the Honorable Nancy Katz to its Board of Directors

Just Court ADR, August 12th, 2019

RSI is proud to introduce the Honorable Nancy Katz (ret.) to our Board of Directors! Since 2017, Judge Katz has been working with JAMS as a mediator and an arbitrator, having served for 17 years as an Associate Judge on the domestic relations bench in the Circuit Court of Cook County (Chicago), Illinois. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Katz served as Assistant General Counsel for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and as Project Director and Staff Attorney for Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago.

Judge Katz is active as an educator in family law issues for judges, attorneys and the public. As a Judge on a domestic relations calendar for 17 years, Judge Katz has substantial judicial and settlement experience in all kinds of family law cases. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers recognized Judge Katz in 2013 with its prestigious Samuel Berger award recognizing her “high(est) standards of integrity, courtesy, knowledge of family law and the extraordinary ability to solve human problems.” Judge Katz received her undergraduate degree from Northeastern Illinois University and her law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology.

RSI is proud to have Judge Katz join our Board and we hope you will join us in welcoming her to our organization!

Posted in RSI Board of Directors, Welcome | No Comments »

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