NEGOTIATORS - Key Persons

Alasdair MacKinnon has over 30 years experience in the conflict resolution field. Alasdair served in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for over 20 years and was trained in negotiations. He then worked for 10 years with the Natural Resources Conservation Board often mediating land use issues in the agricultural sector in Alberta. Alasdair has a Certificate in Conflict Management in Mediation and Negotiation and a Certificate in Arbitration through the Alberta Mediation and Arbitration Society. Alasdair has a B.A. from Mount Allison University and a Certificate in Environmental Management from the University of Calgary. Alasdair is nationally recognized as a Chartered Mediator and a Registered Family Mediator and is Past President of the Alberta Family Mediation Society.

Biography Elmer Goble has been mediating general/civil, EEO, special education, church, community, youth and deprivation cases since 1995. More recently he added divorce and family mediations to address the growing need. Elmer continues to teach mediation, conflict resolution, and facilitation to thousands of people in hundreds of classes throughout the US and in foreign countries through the Justice Center of Atlanta. He has been a distinguished instructor there for over 10 years and conducted mediation training for all branches of the military, the US State Department, UDSA organizations, state departments of education, Veterans Affairs, the US Mint and the NSA. Elmer is a trained facilitator, with expertise in coaching executives in business development, team development and strategic planning.

Biography Jill, having spent most of her working life as an RN in various disciplines, is the newest member of The Negotiators. She was also a Nurse Educator for the University of Alberta School of Nursing for nine (9) years. As far back as the 1970's Jill was a union rep in British Columbia and was introduced to high-level mediation and negotiation. Jill retired in 2010 and soon after took up dispute resolution as her next career. She was an intern for the ADR Institute of Alberta (ADRIA), completing her Conflict Management Certificate and then her mediation training in 2012. She was also a Board Member for the St. Albert Further Education Association and presently the Edmonton Lifelong Learners Association, associated with the University of Alberta Extension.. Jill believes that the relationship between health care providers, patients and families is the cornerstone of healthcare. She believes that better communication in the healthcare system is paramount. Jill is a natural mediator. She brings to the team a great deal of wisdom and life experience in stressful and life-altering situations. Her stability and compassion are a rock for emotional people during difficult times - whatever the scenario. However her expertise in the public service, as an instructor and in union negotiations serve her well with The Negotiators.

Jim Reiman serves as an arbitrator and mediator in both North American and international disputes. He also serves as a board director of public and private domestic and international businesses. Mr. Reiman is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a Board Leadership Fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors. He practiced law in US law firms for 18 years and has served as a business executive and board director for 15+ years. As an attorney, Mr. Reiman handled directly or led teams of attorneys negotiating and documenting complex business transactions, complex financings, and real estate development and construction projects. He also led, as "billing partner," teams of attorneys resolving patent and intellectual property disputes and transfers (both domestic and international), private equity transactions, strategic partnerships, corporate restructurings, and mergers/acquisitions, as well as exit strategies, generational transfers, and partnership dissolutions of smaller businesses.

Job Titles:

• Founder of Charles

Kelly Charles-Collins is the founder of Charles-Collins Law, PA, boutique employment litigation and human resources consulting firm. Attorney Charles-Collins has extensive experience representing management in diverse industries, including those of Fortune 500 companies, in labor and employment matters. Her practice focuses on employment litigation, supervisory training, and counseling employers on day-to-day human resources issues including compliance with laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the American with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, The age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act. Attorney Charles-Collins also represents individual employees who believe they have been discriminated against by their employer. Additionally, Attorney Charles-Collins is an Arbitrator on the Employment, Commercial and Consumer Arbitration Panels of the American Arbitration Association and a Faculty member at the University of Phoenix and in the next few months will complete the certification process to become a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator. She has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1995 and the Georgia Bar since 2003. Attorney Charles-Collins earned her Juris Doctorate from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, California and her M.B.A. from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. She enjoys shopping, traveling and spending time with her family and friends. Attorney Charles-Collins is an avid community volunteer and is also very passionate about inspiring others, particularly young people, and enjoys volunteering as a Miami-Dade County Teen Court Judge and as a Board Member on the Miami-Dade Economic Advisory Trust's Youth Action Committee. Attorney Charles-Collins is married and has one child, a son.

Biography Kevin handles The Negotiators construction and property related disputes. Kevin's background is architecture and after completing post-graduate studies in Construction Law had a career designing and managing building projects in twenty countries over three continents; in particular, actively resolving construction related disputes, all too common in the industry. Kevin is a qualified arbitrator through Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute of Alberta (ADRIA), is a board member on the Alberta Arbitration and Mediation Society (AAMS), and most recently, with the role out of prompt payment legislation in Canada, he has attained certification through the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) as a construction dispute adjudicator. Kevin is well placed to resolve disputes related to payment, as well as increase in scope of work, differing conditions, course of construction insurance, and many other facets of construction and property.

Maria Ceballos-Wallis has been practicing multilingual communications since 1990. She speaks fluent English and Spanish. As a Mediator, Maria provides custom services to her clients including bilingual mediations and translation services. She has trained in civil, divorce, domestic violence, special education and juvenile delinquency and deprivation mediation at the Justice Center of Atlanta and Atlanta Divorce Mediators. She is a Certified Court Interpreter (FL/GA) and translator, interpreting at all levels of court, among other venues, and provides bilingual (Spanish/English) mediation services for The Justice Center of Atlanta, private clients and individual county court systems in Atlanta. She has received diversity training through "Bridging the Gap" and mental health training through the Georgia Department of Health and Developmental Disabilities. She is on the board of Directors of the Atlanta Association of interpreters and Translators and a member in good standing of the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution.

Job Titles:

• Master
• Member of the Association for Conflict Resolution

Biography Melissa is a master conflict resolution specialist, mediating since 1992 and actually training mediators since 1998. She is skilled at insurance cases, probate, divorce, custody, adoption, education, employment disputes, family, deprivation and juvenile issues. Melissa received her Masters of Science in Social Work Treatment from the University of Tennessee and worked in residential treatment facilities, for schools and crisis services and in counseling. Melissa is an advanced practitioner member of the Association for Conflict Resolution, and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. She mediates in several states, and is expert in other forms of alternative dispute resolution. Melissa helps people through many mediums, including: radio, television, direct service and training. Oh, she was also a sports anchor for CBS News in Atlanta.

Job Titles:

• Managing Director