Author: Sarah Whitman

The ABA Section of Dispute Resolution is seeking law student applicants for unpaid internship positions in Washington, DC for Summer 2010.

Section interns focus on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) research under supervision of an attorney. Interns may research and draft memos on emerging critical issues as well as the use of ADR in institutions such as corporations, government agencies and associations. Interns may also be assigned to draft updates on state and federal ADR legislation and cases.

Applicants must submit a resume and cover letter indicating their interest in the field of dispute resolution to David Moora at [email protected] by February 28th.

Alliance for Peacebuilding – Membership Intern

Contact:
Chic Dambach
[email protected]
http://www.allianceforpeacebuilding.org

The Organization:
The Alliance for Peacebuilding, a membership-based network of organizations and professionals devoted to applied conflict prevention and resolution, is seeking an intern to assist in membership development, coordination and communication.

Internship Description:
The intern’s primary responsibility is to assist the Administrative Assistant and other staff to: 1) communicate and share information with organization members, 2) research potential and current members, and 3) website updates and management.

Qualifications:
Undergraduate coursework, some completed graduate coursework preferred
Strong computer skills, including internet research
Experience with website design/management
Enthusiasm and commitment to the organization’s mission
Proactive, independent and team-oriented work ethic
Excellent writing skills and attention to detail
Interest/background in peacebuilding, conflict resolution or conflict prevention.

Time Commitment: 25-35 hrs/week – will accommodate flexible schedule with the possibility of working remotely

Compensation: Unpaid

How to Apply:
Send letter of interest and a CV to Chic Dambach at [email protected].

Consensus Building Institute

238 Main Street, Suite 400
Cambridge, MA 02142
617-492-1414; Fax: 617-492-1919
[email protected]
www.cbuilding.org

Managing Directors: David Fairman and Patrick Field
Founder and Senior Advisor: Lawrence Susskind

Contact: Ed Minor
617-844-1113
[email protected]

The Consensus Building Institute (CBI) is a not-for-profit organization that provides dispute resolution services and undertakes dispute systems analysis and design activities for public agencies in the United States and overseas. CBI’s public dispute resolution work in America focuses on 1) consensus building in politically-charged value-based disputes concerning matters of public policy, 2) strategies for building agency capacity to employ a full range of neutral services, and 3) the evaluation of agency-sponsored mediation efforts. CBI’s international work is concentrated on 1) preventative mediation in settings in which ethnic conflicts are of great concern, 2) the design of “informal parallel negotiations” in multilateral contexts in which formal negotiations are too highly constrained to be effective, and 3) strategies for building agency and NGO capacity to use a full range of neutral services.

Interns have an opportunity to work directly with senior practitioners and to participate in CBI’s theory-building activities. Please send a resume along with a cover letter stating your specific interests and skills by fax, mail, or e-mail to the attention of Ed Minor.

Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service (FMCS)

2100 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20427
Tel: (202) 606-8100
Fax: (202) 606-4251
http://www.fmcs.gov

Contact: Dan Ellerman, Human Resources Director, FMCS National Office
(202) 606-5460
[email protected]

For over 60 years, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) have delivered neutral and confidential conflict resolution assistance to the nation’s unionized workplaces. The FMCS was created by Congress as an independent federal agency by the Taft-Hartley Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947. Our staff of highly-trained, professional mediators provides conflict resolution services to the nation’s employers and their unionized employees. The core mission of FMCS is to help employers and unions avoid costly work stoppages and minimize their potentially devastating effects on regional and national commerce. Our goal is to prevent or minimize interruptions to the free flow of commerce that grow out of labor disputes and to improve labor-management relations. The central activity of the Agency is collective bargaining mediation, a voluntary process in which mediators serve as third-party neutrals to facilitate the settlement of issues in the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements. In FY 2008, FMCS mediators were actively involved in over 4,800 collective bargaining contract negotiations in every major industry throughout the United States.

As a Federal Mediator (trainee), you will be called upon to learn and provide all the mediation services described above. Further, you’ll become an important component of the country’s best-trained staff of mediators and conflict resolution professionals. This is a premium employment opportunity available to a select few who are interested in a long-term career in the field of labor-management conflict resolution.

Harvard Mediation Program

002 Austin Hall
Harvard Law School
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: (617)495-1854
Fax: (617)496-2294
http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/clinical/hmp/

Contact: Maureen Griffin
[email protected]

The Harvard Mediation Program (HMP) is a student practice and clinical organization of Harvard Law School. HMP offers mediation training and practice opportunities to a small number of community members in addition to its students. Trainees will co-mediate under the supervision of an HMP court liaison in one of the Boston area’s small claims court sessions every other week for two semesters. Trainees are required to complete HMP’s 32-hour training prior to mediating in court.

Community members may apply to become members of HMP. The first of two basic trainings for the 2009-2010 academic year will take place on October 3, 4, 17 and 18, 2009. The second basic training will be scheduled for February 2010. To receive an application, please go to the Harvard Mediation Program’s website, http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/clinical/hmp/. The training fee is $600.00 or $300.00 for full-time students. HMP mediators provide their services on a volunteer basis.

Insight Collaborative

47 Winter Street, 8th Floor
Boston, MA 02108 – 4774
Tel: (617)948-0006 or 1-800-440-1070
Fax: (617)249-0725
http://www.insightcollaborative.org

Insight Collaborative is dedicated to resolving conflict and improving relationships around the world. Through conflict management education and dispute resolution services, we maximize the ability of individuals and organizations to promote peace, operate efficiently, and to effect positive change. As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, we provide services and partnership opportunities to individuals, governments, intergovernmental organizations, nonprofits, educational institutions, foundations, and other underserved populations.

Insight Fellowship Program: Developed to foster a community of global-minded individuals prepared to contribute more effectively to their local, national, and international communities, the Program awards one-year Fellowships to exceptional individuals to:

Study and promote effective conflict management
Make international humanitarian contributions
Pursue self-reflection and personal development

The Fellowship includes a $25,000 expense allowance to support multiple placements totaling one year, typically in 3-4 month blocks. (Each Fellow is required to repay the amount of the $25,000 allowance used through individual fund raising efforts, regenerating the funds to ensure support for the next Fellow. This “pay forward” approach instills the values of sustainability and non-profit entrepreneurship.) The first three months take place at the Boston offices of the Insight Collaborative, where Fellows advance their understanding of the theory and practice of effective negotiation, communication, and mediation. The remaining nine months of the Fellowship are divided into foreign placements proposed by the Fellow.

International Center for Conciliation (ICfC)

P.O. Box 15001,
Boston, MA 02215
(617)353-4428
http://www.CenterforConciliation.org

Contact: Cathi Stewart, ICfC Office Manager
617-353-4428
[email protected]

The International Center for Conciliation (ICfC) aspires to create lasting peace in conflicted communities worldwide. Most conflict resolution efforts attempt to set the past aside. However, the past is never over; historical grievance is ever available to stir up conflict even when present interests in cooperation are strong. ICfC encourages conflicted parties to examine root causes of historical grievances and humiliation with honesty, patience, and empathy. Dialogues create a safe space for people from conflicted groups to share their fears, needs, and hopes while maintaining focus on concrete community development goals. ICfC trains local community leaders and professionals in a unique narrative approach to their shared histories. This helps them build social cohesion within their communities by addressing history, memory, and identity in their work.

Massachusetts Department of Education (Bureau of Special Education Appeals)

350 Main Street
Malden, Massachusetts, 02148
(781) 338-6402
http://www.doe.mass.edu/bsea/

Contact: Richard Connolly

The Bureau of Special Education Appeals (”BSEA”) conducts mediations, advisory opinions and due process hearings to resolve disputes among parents, school districts, private schools and state agencies. The BSEA derives its authority from both federal law and regulations (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, “IDEA”) and Massachusetts law and regulations. A parent or a school district may request mediation, advisory opinions and/or a hearing at any time on any matter concerning the eligibility, evaluation, placement, individualized education program (IEP), provision of special education in accordance with state and federal law, or procedural protections of state and federal law for students with disabilities. A school district may not request a hearing on a parent’s failure or refusal to consent to initial evaluation or initial placement of a child in a special education program. In addition, a parent may request a hearing on any issue involving the denial of the free appropriate public education guaranteed by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Mediations, advisory opinions and hearings are conducted by impartial mediators and hearing officers who do not have personal or professional interests that would conflict with their objectivity in the hearing or mediation. The BSEA consists of eight hearing officers, all of whom are attorneys, eight mediators, a coordinator of mediation, a scheduling coordinator, support staff, an assistant director and a director. The BSEA is located with the Massachusetts Department of Education, but is independent from the Department.

Massachusetts Office of Dispute Resolution

University of Massachusetts, Boston
100 Morrissey Blvd.
McCormack Bldg. 1st Floor, Room 627
Boston, MA 02125
617-287-4040; fax: 617-287-4049
www.umb.edu/modr

Executive Director: Susan M. Jeghelian
[email protected]

Deputy Director: Loraine M. Della Porta
[email protected]

The Massachusetts Office of Dispute Resolution & Public Collaboration (MODR), formerly a state agency, is now a free-standing institute of the University of Massachusetts Boston. MODR’s mission is to promote and facilitate the use of conflict management and collaborative practices to address contentious issues related to economic development, environmental resource management, land use, agriculture, transportation, housing, healthcare and other community objectives. MODR works with government agencies, businesses, non-profits, and citizens to establish effective systems to prevent and manage conflict and to facilitate collaboration and consensus-building across sectors, jurisdictions, interests, and issues.

MODR services include mediation, regulatory negotiation, policy dialogue, systems design and research, conflict assessment, convening and facilitating public participation, education and training, collaborative problem-solving, public and private sector consensus building, and public deliberation. Services are provided through highly-experienced, qualified conflict resolution and collaboration practitioners who are staff or affiliates of MODR. MODR practitioners have knowledge, skills and competencies working within legal and regulatory frameworks at all levels of government and in addressing issues at the community level. In addition, MODR works with centers, institutes and academic programs at the University of Massachusetts, including the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies, the College of Public and Community Services, the Urban Harbors Institute, the Center for Social Policy, and the Graduate Programs in Dispute Resolution.

From time to time, MODR offers internships for graduate students and law students interested in the field of dispute resolution and collaborative governance. Arrangements for internships are flexible and projects on which interns work may include assisting with: program development and administration; project management; data collection, analysis and reporting; research; preparation of case studies; and special projects.

Welcome to the 2010 PON Online Internship Fair

Welcome to the 6th Annual Program on Negotiation Internship Fair! This year, rather than having a fair on campus, we are having a “virtual” internship fair with all of the opportunities posted here on our website from February 25th through March 11th, 2010. We hope that this new format will help spread information about our participating organization’s programs and reach many more students, including the over 1000 students that are now a part of our Student Interest Group!

The organizations listed engage in a full range of dispute resolution activities and require the services of experienced and specialized student interns. The purpose of the listing is to help students looking for internship opportunities or short work assignments identify possible positions in the Boston Area and beyond. The mission and activities of each organization are described, as are the roles and duties an intern might be expected to perform.

Finally, there is information about the conditions of work, including remuneration, reimbursement of expenses, or volunteer status and time commitment required. Students must contact these organizations and negotiate their own work arrangements. Interns may find themselves gaining experience in one or more of these areas: general dispute resolution; environmental and public policy; consumer, labor, and community issues; and court-related activities.

Please note that the inclusion of an organization does not guarantee that it will have internship positions available at all times. The information provided about each organization and their opportunities is subject to change without notice.

Each organization’s listing includes the address, telephone number, fax and/or e-mail, and often a website, as well as the name of a person to contact.

Internships by Organization:
The Alliance for Peacebuilding
The American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution
The Carter Center
Community Dispute Settlement Center, Inc.
International Center for Conciliation
The Massachusetts Department of Education – Bureau of Special Education Appeals
Mediation Works Incorporated
Mediators Beyond Borders
National Institutes of Health Office of the Ombudsman
Program on Negotiation Summer Fellowships

or Click here for a list of all of the opportunities.

Mediation Works Incorporated (MWI)

4 Faneuil Hall – Fourth Floor
Boston, MA 02109-1632
617-973-9739 x22
800-348-4888
617-973-9532 fax
www.mwi.org

Mediator / Executive Director: Charles P. Doran
[email protected]

Mediation Works Incorporated (MWI) is dedicated to providing innovative dispute resolution services and training to corporate, institutional and individual clients seeking to resolve difficult disputes.

MWI’s Training Programs include public and private “in-house” basic and advanced mediation and negotiation training programs, a “Train the Trainer Institute” and other dispute resolution workshops and seminars.

Internship opportunities include program development, research and administrative support. Opportunities to observe and mediate cases are available upon successful completion of MWI’s Mediation Training Programs.

Mercy Corps

The Roger Fisher House
9 Waterhouse St.
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 354-5444
www.mercycorps.org

Contact: Jenny Vaughan, Program Officer
[email protected]

Mercy Corps is a relief and development organization that works amid disasters, conflicts, chronic poverty and instability to unleash the potential of people who can win against nearly impossible odds. Our mission is to alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression by helping people build secure, productive, and just communities. Our peaceful change programming is a large part of our approach, and was enhanced by our 2004 merger with Conflict Management Group (CMG), a long-time leader in the conflict resolution field founded by Harvard Law School Professor Roger Fisher.

Mercy Corps’ staff is dedicated to improving methods of negotiation, conflict management, and cooperative decision-making as applied to issues of public concern. We are engaged in training negotiators, consulting, process design, facilitation, consensus-building, and mediation for Mercy Corps program staff, as well as with partners around the world. The merger provided a unique opportunity for integrated programming in conflict affected and developing countries in which we combine methodology developed by CMG based on years of research at Harvard University with practical international experience from Mercy Corps’ extensive track record of working in conflict and transitional environments to provide emergency relief, promote economic development, and encourage civil society and peacebuilding initiatives.

Applications and information about internships at Mercy Corps’ Cambridge office or other offices can be found at www.mercycorps.org/volunteer. Each summer Mercy Corps also selects a small number of interns for overseas assignments; more information can be found at the same website.