
ELENA KOLTSAKI
President
Elena is a lawyer-mediator, a lead mediation trainer at the Athens Mediators’ Training Institute, a former member of the Mediators’ Accreditation Committee and a Member of the Preparatory Legislative Committee for the Reform of Mediation at the Greek Ministry of Justice. She is the co-owner of Greek Mediation Institute, one of the leading Greek organizations for the promotion of mediation and works as a mediation expert on several international projects with ADR Center – Member of JAMS International (Italy). Elena holds a PhD in Law, has long experience in counseling, negotiations and litigation and is an Expert Advisor to the Hellenic Parliament for many years. She is an accredited Civil/Commercial, Family and Workplace Mediator (UK, USA, Greece) with extensive advanced training in mediation and negotiations (UK & USA – Harvard Negotiation Institute). She teaches law subjects in Greece and Cyprus, acts as a lecturer in national and international trainings and has trained over 1000 mediators internationally. She sits as a Vice President, International of the Executive Committee of International Academy of Dispute Resolution (Chicago) and has an active role as a judge and coach in international student competitions. Elena works in English/French and has a good understanding of German/Spanish.
Read MoreELENA KOLTSAKI
President
Elena is a lawyer-mediator, a lead mediation trainer at the Athens Mediators’ Training Institute, a former member of the Mediators’ Accreditation Committee and a Member of the Preparatory Legislative Committee for the Reform of Mediation at the Greek Ministry of Justice. She is the co-owner of Greek Mediation Institute, one of the leading Greek organizations for the promotion of mediation and works as a mediation expert on several international projects with ADR Center – Member of JAMS International (Italy). Elena holds a PhD in Law, has long experience in counseling, negotiations and litigation and is an Expert Advisor to the Hellenic Parliament for many years. She is an accredited Civil/Commercial, Family and Workplace Mediator (UK, USA, Greece) with extensive advanced training in mediation and negotiations (UK & USA – Harvard Negotiation Institute). She teaches law subjects in Greece and Cyprus, acts as a lecturer in national and international trainings and has trained over 1000 mediators internationally. She sits as a Vice President, International of the Executive Committee of International Academy of Dispute Resolution (Chicago) and has an active role as a judge and coach in international student competitions. Elena works in English/French and has a good understanding of German/Spanish.
Ken Frank
President Elect
Kenneth Frank holds a J.D. from the University of Colorado and a Master’s Degree in Conflict Resolution from Columbia College.
Read MoreKen Frank
President Elect
Kenneth Frank holds a J.D. from the University of Colorado and a Master’s Degree in Conflict Resolution from Columbia College. He is the director of the undergraduate degree program in Conflict Resolution and Legal Studies at Brenau University and received the Ann Austin Johnston Outstanding Faculty Award. He is chair of the International Intercollegiate Mediation Tournament Board and has been a trainer/consultant for organizations as diverse as the Atlanta History Center, Boys and Girls Clubs, and the United Methodist Church.He is a registered neutral with the State of Georgia as well as a co-founder of Transforming Mediation LLC.

Susan Sloane
Secretary
Susan Sloane graduated from Boston University School of Law in 1972. She worked first for Choate, Hall & Stewart in Boston, then moved to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
Read MoreSusan Sloane
Secretary
Susan Sloane graduated from Boston University School of Law in 1972. She worked first for Choate, Hall & Stewart in Boston, then moved to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office where she was an Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Division and then Chief of the Division of Public Charities. After the birth of her two children she began her own practice in family law. Susan took a 40-hour mediation training and began practicing mediation in the early 1990’s. After seeing first-hand that mediation could resolve many differences more successfully and with less stress and expense than litigation could, she decided to forsake litigation and she has now limited her practice to mediation. Susan also taught Legal Research and Writing for many years, first at Boston University School of Law and then at Northeastern University School of Law where she became Director of Legal Research and Writing and Co-Director of the Social Skills in Legal Context Program. Susan has co-coached Mock Mediation Teams from Boston University and Northeastern University School of Law for many years. She is also a member of the Mediator’s Panel at the Cambridge Dispute Settlement Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she volunteers to mediate disputes for low-income residents.

Anthony Baldassano
Treasurer
Anthony J. Baldassano has extensive experience in tax services, business coaching, and financial consulting, including business and estate planning, business evaluation, and management services. His experience includes a broad range of industries, including: real estate, wholesale distributors, trucking companies, retailers, contractors, education, chemical companies, contract manufacturers, farming, restaurants, and business services. Mr. Baldassano has provided extensive tax and accounting services for estates and trusts.
Anthony graduated cum laude in May 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Northern Illinois University. After several years as a Financial Analyst for a Fortune 500 company, he graduated from DePaul University with a Master of Science degree in Accounting. Before going into practice for himself, Mr. Baldassano worked for a Big Six accounting firm, managed a tax department for a privately held chemical company, and was an operations manager for a business start-up.
Anthony J. Baldassano holds a Certified Public Accounting certificate from the State of Illinois and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
To broaden his financial background, Mr. Baldassano has passed the Investment Advisor licensing exam and holds the Professional Financial Specialist (PFS) credential, issued only to Certified Public Accountants.
Anthony is also a Small Business Advisor for the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Harper College. At the SBDC, Mr. Baldassano counsels entrepreneurs and leads financial workshops to help businesses start, grow and prosper.
His interests include community and professional events, church ministries, and enjoying time with his wife and three young children.
Read MoreAnthony Baldassano
Treasurer
Anthony J. Baldassano has extensive experience in tax services, business coaching, and financial consulting, including business and estate planning, business evaluation, and management services. His experience includes a broad range of industries, including: real estate, wholesale distributors, trucking companies, retailers, contractors, education, chemical companies, contract manufacturers, farming, restaurants, and business services. Mr. Baldassano has provided extensive tax and accounting services for estates and trusts. Anthony graduated cum laude in May 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Northern Illinois University. After several years as a Financial Analyst for a Fortune 500 company, he graduated from DePaul University with a Master of Science degree in Accounting. Before going into practice for himself, Mr. Baldassano worked for a Big Six accounting firm, managed a tax department for a privately held chemical company, and was an operations manager for a business start-up. Anthony J. Baldassano holds a Certified Public Accounting certificate from the State of Illinois and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. To broaden his financial background, Mr. Baldassano has passed the Investment Advisor licensing exam and holds the Professional Financial Specialist (PFS) credential, issued only to Certified Public Accountants. Anthony is also a Small Business Advisor for the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Harper College. At the SBDC, Mr. Baldassano counsels entrepreneurs and leads financial workshops to help businesses start, grow and prosper. His interests include community and professional events, church ministries, and enjoying time with his wife and three young children.

Teresa Frisibie
Vice President, USA
Teresa is the Director of the Dispute Resolution Program at Loyola University of Chicago School of Law where also teaches mediation advocacy and negotiation skills.
Read MoreTeresa Frisibie
Vice President, USA
Teresa is the Director of the Dispute Resolution Program at Loyola University of Chicago School of Law where also teaches mediation advocacy and negotiation skills. Formerly a partner at the law firm of Foran & Schultz, Of Counsel to Davis McGrath and DeGrand & Wolfe, she has been a mediator for more than 20 years and is experienced in disputes involving employment matters, partnership and business disputes, real estate, trusts/estates, personal injury, wrongful death and other emotionally – charged matters. She also consults with businesses and nonprofits in workplace conflict management. Based on peer reviews, Leading Lawyershas named Teresa a Top Ten Illinois Women Neutral and an Illinois Leading Lawyerin ADR in the categories of international, employment and commercial litigation. A frequent speaker and writer on ADR, and columnist for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, she has trained law students, lawyers, executives, physician leaders and judges in mediation and international arbitration in the United States and Europe. Teresa is a member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, and is on the panel of neutrals at ADR Systems of America and National Arbitration and Mediation. She is also a certified mediator for the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois Law, Chancery and Probate Division mediation programs, and a member of the Association of Attorney Mediators. She was named a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in 1997, and has served as executive director and a panel member for the Chicago International Dispute Resolution Association (CIDRA).

Ana Khurtsidze
Vice President International Education
Ana Khurtsidze is lawyer, trainer and mediator based in Georgia. She is the Dean of the Law School at The University of Georgia.
Read MoreAna Khurtsidze
Vice President International Education
Ana Khurtsidze is lawyer, trainer and mediator based in Georgia. She is the Dean of the Law School at The University of Georgia. Ana has been working in education field and have taught at several universities since 2003. She has been delivering trainings with 15 years of experience. Her area of academic research is commercial mediation. She has been and still is involved in legal and judicial reforms of civil and commercial law and in improvement the organizational culture and the ways of responding to grievances in offices. Ana is state accredited mediator for collective labor disputes in the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia and has accreditation trainings in ADR expertise as certified trainer of Mediators Association of Georgia. She is the member of Global Mediator Panel of UN. Since 2021 Ana is the Vice President International Education of INADR -International Academy of Dispute Resolution. She participates regularly in International Competitions both as a professional judge and as a coach representing university teams. Ana is the Arbitration and/or Mediation Consultant of UNDP project “Enhanced Mediation and Arbitration for Fairer and Faster Commercial Dispute Resolutions”. Ana is the second term elected member of Ethics Committee of the Georgian Bar Association. Besides native language, she is fluent in English and Russian.
DEREK P. AUCHIE
V.P. MEMBERSHIP
Professor Derek P Auchie is a qualified Scots lawyer, an academic and a tribunal judge. He holds a Chair in Dispute Process Law at the University of Aberdeen (AU) in Scotland. He teaches the law of evidence as well as mediation, arbitration theory and practice and negotiation and is Programme Director of AU’s LLM Dispute Resolution. He has been appointed as a mediator and arbitrator in a number of disputes. Derek has chaired hundreds of hearings, and so has extensive adjudication experience. He has coached student teams in international mooting (legal case presentation) competitions, as well as having experience of hosting such competitions. He has participated as a judge in these competitions too. Derek has extensive experience of delivering judicial training. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and a Senior Fellow with JAMS. Derek has published books, chapters and articles in the areas of evidence and judicial and non-judicial process. Derek sits as a legal member on two Scottish tribunals, and acts as in-house adviser (on policy, training and case management) for one of those tribunals. He is a managing editor of the Journal of Enforcement of Arbitration Awards. In his former career as a lawyer, Derek represented clients in a wide range of Scottish civil and criminal courts and tribunals.
Read MoreDEREK P. AUCHIE
V.P. MEMBERSHIP
Professor Derek P Auchie is a qualified Scots lawyer, an academic and a tribunal judge. He holds a Chair in Dispute Process Law at the University of Aberdeen (AU) in Scotland. He teaches the law of evidence as well as mediation, arbitration theory and practice and negotiation and is Programme Director of AU’s LLM Dispute Resolution. He has been appointed as a mediator and arbitrator in a number of disputes. Derek has chaired hundreds of hearings, and so has extensive adjudication experience. He has coached student teams in international mooting (legal case presentation) competitions, as well as having experience of hosting such competitions. He has participated as a judge in these competitions too. Derek has extensive experience of delivering judicial training. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and a Senior Fellow with JAMS. Derek has published books, chapters and articles in the areas of evidence and judicial and non-judicial process. Derek sits as a legal member on two Scottish tribunals, and acts as in-house adviser (on policy, training and case management) for one of those tribunals. He is a managing editor of the Journal of Enforcement of Arbitration Awards. In his former career as a lawyer, Derek represented clients in a wide range of Scottish civil and criminal courts and tribunals.

Agnieszka Majka Góra
VP of Education, International
Agnieszka Gora is a mediator, a negotiation and mediation university lecturer and a practicing lawyer in Poland.
Read MoreAgnieszka Majka Góra
VP of Education, International
Agnieszka Gora is a mediator, a negotiation and mediation university lecturer and a practicing lawyer in Poland. She is a summa cum laude graduate from the Faculty of Law at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. During the course of her education, Agnieszka has completed the American Law Program co-organized by the Columbus School of Law, CUA in Washington, USA, as well as the European Law Program at HU Utrecht in the Netherlands. In the field of mediation, she has been trained in Poland and abroad including UK, Austria, USA, and India. Additionally, Agnieszka took part in ICC Arbitration and the ADR Training Program, yet still continues to develop her knowledge and skills in ADR. Through her participation in premier mediation international events and competitions in Europe, America and Asia, she has gained extensive expertise in mediation. In these events, Agnieszka fulfilled the roles of an organizer, a judge, and also a participant. This keen interest in ADRs resulted in Agnieszka and her team winning 17 awards. Since then, she has continued her involvement in mediation through organizing mediation and negotiation training programs in Poland and abroad, as well as by coaching a negotiation and mediation student team at the Jagiellonian University in Poland. She is a co-founder of SOLVO- Mediation and Negotiation Advisory, and a member of mediation NGOs and various projects that include the International Dispute Resolution and Leadership Council ‘Teen peer mediation in schools’. In her spare time, Agnieszka enjoys skiing, watching good movies and practicing competitive Latin ballroom dance.