Note from the Board

I would like to extend a heartfelt Thanksgiving wish and express my deepest gratitude to all of our board, staff, and members. This Thanksgiving, I am truly thankful for the dedication and commitment that each one of you has shown in promoting peaceful resolutions and fostering understanding in our community. You are the driving force behind our mission, and your steadfast efforts deserve appreciation.

May this Thanksgiving be a time of joy, warmth, and gratitude for you and your loved ones. Thank you for being at the forefront of mediation and making a positive impact in the lives of so many.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kimberly Best

“Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.” -Oscar Wilde

Recent TAPM News

Thanks To Everyone Who Attended TAPM's Second Skill-Building Workshop: Understanding and Navigating Emotional Responses to Conflict

Thanks to everyone who participated in TAPM's second skill-building workshop on November 13th. This event, facilitated by Jen Comiskey, focused on addressing emotional barriers in mediation. Attendees watched skills demonstration videos and worked through an emotional toolkit workbook. This workbook, as well as the recording for this event, will be available soon on the member portal of the new website, www.tapmmediators.org. The small group conversations were a great opportunity for mediators to meet each other, share ideas and experiences, and offer mentoring advice. This event was approved for 2 hours of CME and 2 hours of CLE. TAPM looks forward to continuing this series of practical, skill-building events next year.

Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved

through understanding. -Albert Einstein

Upcoming TAPM Events

TAPM Speaker Series Presents:

Lisa Yamagata-Lynch, Brooke Wichmann, & Duren Thompson - On Dignity



December 4, 2023 (11am-1pmCT/12pm-2pmET, online via Zoom)

At 11amCST/12pmEST: Join us for a thoughtful discussion of dignity and conflict resolution led by Lisa Yamagata-Lynch, Brooke Wichmann, and Duren Thompson from the Ombuds Office at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. We all have an inherent value (dignity) that drives our need to matter and belong. Attending to feelings and experiences of dignity is crucial to building relationships of trust and mutual understanding. Violations of dignity are often the root cause of anger, resentment, mistrust, and destructive conflict. In this session, you will explore the importance of dignity in workplace relationships; discuss how to honor dignity & avoid violations; and strategize ways to uphold the dignity of yourself and others. This 90-minute interactive workshop includes self-reflection, breakout discussion, and action planning activities.

Objectives:

 o Understand human dignity as an inherent value and vulnerability at the core of how we find a sense of mattering and belonging in a community.

 o Examine beliefs and behaviors that honor dignity as well as those that can harm our own dignity and that of others.

 o Apply these concepts to university workplace scenarios.

 o Create an action plan for increasing dignity-consciousness to your own workplace interactions.

Speaker Bios:

Lisa Yamagata-Lynch

University Ombudsperson and Director

Lisa is the University Ombudsperson and Director for the Office of Ombuds Services. Lisa joined the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT) as a faculty in 2011. In 2019 she was appointed as the ombudsperson and was promoted to director in 2021. Lisa is a Certified Organizational Ombudsman Practitioner® (CO-OP) and a certified trainer in Crucial Conversations and Crucial Accountability. Additionally, she is a Tennessee Rule 31 General Civil and Family Mediator. As a faculty Lisa holds the rank of Professor in the Educational Psychology and Counseling Department, where she served as a program coordinator, associate department head, and director of graduate studies. Prior to joining the faculty at UT, Lisa was a faculty at the University of Utah from 2001 to 2004 as an Assistant Professor and Northern Illinois University from 2004 to 2011 as an Assistant and Associate Professor. Lisa received her doctoral degree in Educational Psychology as well as Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University, Bloomington. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from 聖心女子大学—The University of Sacred Heart in Tokyo, Japan.

Brooke Wichmann

Associate Ombudsperson

Brooke is the Associate Ombudsperson at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT). Having worked in the alternative dispute resolution field for more than a decade, she has extensive experience assisting with wide variety of interpersonal, procedural, and organizational challenges. Prior to joining UT, Brooke served as the Associate Director of Conflict Resolution Services at Colorado State University. She is a Certified Organizational Ombuds Practitioner® (CO-OP), a Cinergy Conflict Management Coach, a Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC), an MTI Workplace Mediator and Trainer, a trainer in Crucial Conversations, and an administrator of the Conflict Dynamics Profile. She also has in-depth practice and training in Social Justice Mediation and Non-Violent Communication. Brooke obtained an M.A. in Peace Education from the United Nations Mandated University for Peace and is working on a doctorate in Education and Human Resource Studies.

Duren Thompson

Educational Program Coordinator

As an instructional designer focused on systems-change initiatives, Duren has supported educators in K-12, adult literacy, and higher education to improve learner experiences and outcomes for over 20 years. Through state, regional, and nationally-funded projects, she has designed, lead, and supported educator professional development as a content expert in a wide variety of research-based topics focused on respectful, inclusive, engaging, and technology-enhanced learning experiences delivered via in-person, hybrid, and online modalities. An advocate for extended, job-embedded, and evidenced-based professional development, Duren is currently pursuing a doctorate in Learning, Design, and Technology and a Qualitative Research Certification at the University of Tennessee. She also holds both an MS in Education for Instructional Technology and an MS in Education –for Special Education from UTK, and a Certificate in Cognitive Coaching Foundations from the Thinking Collaborative. Her research explores experiences and support needs of professional developers for educators in adult foundational education.

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