Respectful Conversations is a facilitated discussion series focused on sociocultural issues that tend to create division, fear, anger, and hatred. Our aim is not to discover which side of the debate is right or true but rather to help both sides better understand one another through respectful conversations. When we learn the beliefs, goals, fears, and values of those who hold opposing viewpoints, the path toward re-humanization and compassion becomes clearer, leading to greater likelihood of collaboration and compromise. If you’d like to participate, either as an observer or a participant in the conversation, please email us with your topic of interest.

This program is a way to help new peacebuilders get that experience by offering free or low-cost relationship conflict resolution or transformative mediation services to those experiencing protracted conflict in their lives. All cases are facilitated by new mediators who finished graduate school and their 40-hour mediation training within the last 2 years. The clinic is uniquely focused only on transformative mediation, which helps parties find how to rebuild trust, communicate more effectively, and establish a healthier relationship. We do not handle any legal or financial cases, and we do not handle workplace conflicts or disputes. This program is offered via video conferencing in order to be available to anyone, anywhere. If you are experiencing relational conflict with a friend, family member, neighbor, community member, or another individual with whom you’d like to repair the relationship, get in touch!

Reports of angry customer confrontations are at an all-time high in America. A recent poll of food service workers found that 39% were considering quitting over concerns of hostility or harassment from customers, and over 80% had witnessed such behavior from customers. Add to the fact that, last year alone, the FAA reported over 2,000 unruly passenger confrontations. But the toxicity from these interactions doesn’t end once the confrontation is over. Because these days, everything that happens is recorded. And everything that is recorded… is put onto the internet. Customer freak out videos go viral every week. These viral confrontations often leave a trail of broken lives, confusion and anger in their wake. For the angry customers themselves, they are now branded as a villain online and have opened themselves up to immense criticism. It can destroy personal and professional lives in the blink of an eye- with friends, family members and coworkers turning on them. And for the businesses themselves, the employees and owners have been dragged into an emotional fracas that too leaves a dark mark. It is an embarrassment and hardship to all parties involved. So, how to get the understanding, transformation, and resolution that these escalated confrontations created? How to fix this growing crisis? Learn more about the Customer Compassion Project.