IMA 2023 Annual Conference

"Building Excellence Beyond All Limits"

Thursday, September 21, 2023

8:00 a.m. - Amy Clark, CDFA - “Emotions and Money Negotiations”

Money is an emotional, personal issue, and it means something different to everyone. This session will focus on ways to help people with their “why” around money and also break down the numbers in divorce to help them see the big picture of the division of assets.

9:00 a.m. - Linda Fieldstone, Sue Bronson, and Janet Caufield - “Eldercaring Coordination: Idaho’s Powerful Tool for Older Adults in the Middle of Family Feuds”

Conflict within a family can have enormous effects on the health, well-being, safety, and even capacity of an elder. Eldercaring coordination is a court-ordered dispute resolution process developed specifically for families in conflict regarding the care and safety of an aging loved one. Idaho has been at the forefront, with highly trained eldercaring coordinators ready to serve. Learn the difference between elder mediation and eldercaring coordination and how eldercaring coordination can benefit not just older adults but all the generations in the family.

10:00 a.m. - Kristin Olson, CPM - “Conflict on Campuses”

Learn how Boise State University (BSU) is working to provide support to students who are experiencing conflict with their peers, staff, and faculty. With the development of a pilot conflict support enter (i.e., formerly the Conflict Management Resource Center) in the fall of 2020, BSU has been providing a space for students to talk freely and openly about their needs, interests, opinions, and point of view will addressing mutual concerns. This center is clearly providing a needed area of support as there were 400+ conflict contacts made in the 2022-2023 academic year alone! This session will review the development of the center and outline the challenges, growth, and future visions for this work in the field of conflict management within the BSU campus setting.

11:00 a.m. - Colby Jones, JD - “How to Work with Attorneys in Family Law Mediations”

Learn how to engage attorneys in family law mediation in a productive way. Understand what attorneys look for in mediators, from memorandums of understanding to property and debt schedules. Knowing what will help attorneys resolve cases will lead to better mediator-attorney relationships, help build a better brand, and ensure that your mediated cases will not fall apart upon attorney review.

12:00 - 1:00 p.m. - Lunch Break

1:00 p.m. - Benjamin Earwicker, PhD - “Power Dynamics in Online Mediation: Recognizing, Addressing, and Diffusing Power Plays in the Virtual Environment – 45 minutes

In this training by Dr. Ben Earwicker, Idaho Human Rights Commission Director and Mediator, participants will explore models of power and power dynamics in the context of mediation, particularly in the online and remote environments. Models of power dynamics will be applied to specific situations in online and in-person mediation, and participants will consider how to recognize, acknowledge, and address power imbalances, bullying, stalling tactics, and other barriers to effective mediation. Case studies will be presented and discussed to illustrate effective methods for addressing power imbalances, and participants will learn critical skills for improving mediation facilitation and handling difficult or challenging interpersonal interactions in mediation.

2:00 p.m. - Bryan Nickels, JD and Leslie Hayes, JD - “All About the Idaho Office of Administrative Hearings”

This presentation will generally cover the functions of the newly formed Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), which is charged with conducting contested case proceedings and other functions for almost all of Idaho’s agencies. In particular, the presentation will focus on OAH’s “permissive” functions, which include providing ADR services that may be requested by Idaho agencies, including for matters that may not even arise under the Administrative Procedure Act. This will include OAH’s current organizational plan for providing such services, OAH’s experience and future plans for the provisions of such services, and OAH’s revision of the Idaho Rules of Administrative Procedure, including those sections which address ADR.

3:00 p.m. - Stephanie Blondell, JD - “Lessons from the World of Clinical Education: Skills Building Drills for Mediators”

Many new mediators tend to make archetypal “new mediator” mistakes. Join Professor Stephanie Blondell as she reflects on her 25-plus years of teaching mediators in clinical education. We will focus on the skills that make the difference. Specifically, what are the most underutilized skills (interest identification and reframing), and what are the most overutilized mediator lines? What are the "slam dunk" mediator techniques that build rapport and close deals?

Friday, September 22, 2023

8:00 a.m. - Jeremy Graves, PhD - “Intergenerational Leadership”

Currently five generations are engaging in the workplace with differences in understanding of terms, ideals, work ethic, and values. Leading and building a multi-generational team will be a necessary tool for the changing tapestry of our newly evolving borderless workplace. This interactive workshop explores the dynamics and strategies of leading and building this diverse workforce by leveraging differences, finding common ground, and celebrating the strengths of a multi-generational team. Ready or not, the Internet Generation (Gen Z) is here with a new approach to life, learning, and leadership. They are working with, and sometimes leading, people who see the world completely differently. This workshop will help you explore these differences, practice empathy, and embrace a new viewpoint while strengthening your approach and capacity to influence and lead effectively.

10:00 a.m. - Monica Kales - “Reflective Practice for Mediators”

Mediation is lonely work. Most of us work as solo practitioners and just a lucky few of us have opportunities to debrief our work with peers. We may come away from a session feeling surprised, puzzled, inadequate, or otherwise, even if the case ended in agreement. This session will highlight the importance of engaging in self-reflection to continually improve mediator skills, quality of service, and ultimately to increase self-awareness of why we make the process choices we do.

11:00 a.m. - Terry W. Petty - “Conflict Models: Escalation & De-escalation”

This session is designed to introduce the professional mediator to useful “models” of conflict theory, strategies, and approaches to help diagnose a conflict and direct toward a peace-full solution. A Model is designed to simply complex concepts and can define key components, identify patterns, interpret important data, and predict an outcome.

12:00 - 12:30 p.m. - IMA Annual Membership Meeting 

12:00 - 1:00 p.m. - Lunch Break

1:00 p.m. - Carol Barkes, CPM - “Ethics Scenarios and Tabletop Exercise”

In this session, participants will be led through actual scenarios which have tested mediators’ ethics “out in the wild.” The analysis of these scenarios via small group discussions will allow mediators to think through the “right answers” to each situation. As is common with ethical issues, the “right answer” will likely vary between individuals so these nuances will be discussed for a deeper understanding of the “grey” of ethical decisions.