Certificate in Family Mediation

What they teach at SCS
Family Mediation Fundamentals

Current role
Anisa serves as a Board Member with the Association of Family & Conciliation Courts – Ontario (AFCC-O) and served as Chair and long-time Board Member with Peel Family Mediation Services. She co-founded and spearheaded the Peel Family Mediation Annual Domestic Violence Symposium (2011-2017).

Education
An Accredited Family Mediator, Anisa holds a Masters of Social Work degree and brings over 20 years of experience in the field of conflict resolution, mediation, negotiation and training.

Professional experience
Anisa has particular expertise in dispute and conflict resolution, intimate partner violence, family justice, custody assessment, mental health and parent-child relations. Anisa serves as the Family Mediator and Settlement Conference Facilitator for Legal Aid Ontario, Peel and York Regions. Previously, she worked for Blue Hills Child and Family Services; a registered Ministry of the Attorney General Family Mediation Services Provider, and at the Superior Court of Justice in Newmarket as a Family Mediator and Information Referral Coordinator.

Anisa is an active member of the Ontario Association of Family Mediation, Ontario College of Social Workers, Ontario Association of Social Worker and Social Service Workers, Association of Family & Conciliation Courts – Ontario and Academy of Professional Family Mediators.

What they teach at SCS
Assessing and Screening for Domestic Violence

Current role
Archana is a Certified Family Law Specialist and accredited Family Mediator practicing in Toronto, who brings over 20 years of international experience in family dispute resolution. As a Panel Lawyer for the Office of the Children’s Lawyer, Archana has worked on issues of gender-based violence, child abuse and child protection through representing primarily vulnerable populations including immigrants, refugees, women, and children in high conflict family matters and at all levels of the court system. She believes that culturally appropriate services are crucial for families navigating any dispute resolution process and that diversity and inclusion are key to advancing peace.

Education
York University – Osgoode Hall Law School
Master of Laws – LLM, Dispute Resolution

Federation of Law Societies of Canada
Bachelor of Laws

Professional experience
Archana is a member of the leadership team of Mediators Beyond Borders International, an international NGO that holds consultative status with the United Nations. She currently serves as a Board Member with the Association of Family & Conciliation Courts – Ontario. Archana is a co-author of the book “Domestic Violence in Immigrant Communities: Case Studies,” which examines the experiences of immigrant and refugee women who have experienced domestic violence, based on analysis of closed legal cases filed in Ontario family courts. Archana’s awards and distinctions include “The Volunteer Service Award” from the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration.

What they teach at SCS
Advanced Family Mediation

Current role
Christine Dwivedi, M.A., LL.M. (Candidate), Q. Med., AccFm., is a skilled mediator, and communication coach specializing in family-based dispute resolution.

Education
Christine holds advanced certifications in mediation, family law arbitration, and conflict management, with a Master’s degree and ongoing legal studies in dispute resolution. Christine has completed studies at York University, Harvard Law school’s Program on Negotiation, Royal Roads University and Humber College.

Professional experience
With extensive experience in negotiation and over 1,000 hours of facilitation, she helps clients achieve mutually beneficial agreements through culturally informed and collaborative approaches that draw on a variety of modalities. Founder of West End Mediation, Christine is recognized for her expertise in conflict resolution, restorative justice, and interpersonal communication. She is an adjunct professor, a co-chair in mediation leadership, and a sought-after instructor.

What they teach at SCS
Family Law

Current role
Ivana Vaccaro is a partner at RV Law LLP and has been practicing exclusively in the area of family law since she was called to the Ontario Bar in 2004. She has been a longstanding member of the Family Lawyers Association and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. She is also a member of the Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario, Ontario Association for Family Mediation, and the Canadian Italian Advocates Organization. She is also a Coach and Advisor for the Law Society of Ontario, a presenter for the Mandatory Information Program, and a member of the Board of Directors for The Redwood, a shelter for women and children fleeing abuse.

Professional experience
Ivana appears in both the Ontario Court of Justice and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in the Greater Toronto Area on a variety of family law issues ranging from parenting and residential arrangements to support and division of property. She is the founder of Mediated Family Results Inc., a separate family dispute resolution service through which she offers family mediation, arbitration and parenting coordination services to families who choose to resolve their disputes outside of the court process.

What they teach at SCS
Family Mediation Fundamentals

Current role
Jennifer is an Accredited Family Mediator (AccFM) who specializes in online dispute resolution. Through her private mediation practice, she provides end-to-end separation services and mediates in all areas of family law including parenting plans, support, equalization of net family property and property division.

Education
Jennifer holds a diploma in Social Service Work from Seneca College, a certificate in Family Mediation from York University, a certificate in Online Dispute Resolution from Osgoode PD and a certificate in Family Arbitration from the National Family Law Arbitration Course.

Professional experience
Jennifer brings over 20 years of experience working in front line social service settings including working in shelters for victims of domestic violence, as well as over a decade of experience in family law. Through her experience supporting families going through the family court system, Jennifer has seen firsthand the devastation that divorce and litigation can have on families.

Current role
Mary-Anne has served as the Executive Director of the Ontario Association for Family Mediation (OAFM) since 2015. As an OAFM Accredited Family Mediator, Intergenerational Mediator, and Child Protection Mediator in private practice, she works to bring peaceful resolutions that have helped hundreds of families adapt to challenges and changes across the life cycle. Mary-Anne is a roster mediator for the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) and the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services. She also serves as an Assistant Trainer in the Intergenerational Mediation program at OAFM. In 2020, in response to the global pandemic, Mary-Anne became a Certified Online Mediator.

Professional experience
Mary-Anne is passionate about promoting public access to justice, and has been a facilitator for the Home Court Advantage Summit, as well as the Legal Innovation Zone’s technology initiative to expand equitable access to alternative and non-adversarial services for families. Mary-Anne is a regular guest on the Mediation Station radio program and presenter at various institutions, including Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario, Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative, Osgoode Hall Law School, and the International Federation on Ageing. She is also a contributing author to three books, Living Together, Separating, Divorcing: Surviving During a Pandemic, Family Conflict During a Pandemic: Stories of Struggle and Hope, and Grief and Fatigue: Families and the Pandemic.

In 2014, Mary-Anne received the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship in recognition of her volunteer contributions to St. Joseph’s Maternal Health Support Program. Mary-Anne supports diversity and equality as an ally always, and as a volunteer for Toronto PFLAG. She served as a Panel Member on the City of Toronto Committee of Adjustment, is the past Chair of the ADR Institute of Ontario’s Family Section and past Board Member of the OAFM from 2009 – 2014.

Teaching philosophy
Mary-Anne’s teaching philosophy is all about creating a welcoming and supportive space where students feel safe to ask questions, share ideas, and grow with confidence. She engages with students through open conversations, real-life examples, and collaborative learning so they feel both encouraged and equipped to succeed.

What they teach at SCS
Family Relations
Advanced Family Mediation
Assessing and Screening for Domestic Violence

Current role
Mandy has been a member of Ontario Association for Family Mediation (OAFM) since 2018. She is a Registered Social Worker, Family Mediator, Child-Inclusive Mediator, Voice of the Child Practitioner, Triple P – Family Transitions Facilitator and she has an 80-hour simulated role play course approved by OAFM in her private practice Resolution Room Inc.

Professional experience
Mandy is on the rosters for Community Counselling Center of Nipissing, Thunder Bay Counselling, Children’s Community Network and Family Services Ottawa as a Child Protection Mediator and/or Family Group Conference Coordinator and also serves as an off-site mediator for the court-connected program with Peel Family Mediation Services.

Mandy practices exclusively in areas of supporting families through separation/divorce and advocating for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). She has a strong passion for developing new approaches to managing conflict and bringing in the voices of children and youth into the conversation while ensuring the safety and well being of families and children. Mandy has a strength-based approach with anti-oppressive practices ensuring an inclusive, welcoming and understanding environment for all clients.

Teaching philosophy
Mandy’s teaching philosophy is to discuss real-life scenarios and experiences to prepare students for the reality of the mediation world. She enjoys more interactive conversations than lectures because she finds it is easier to absorb as a student in conversation rather than slides.

What they teach at SCS
Family Law

Current role
In practice since 2000, Neeraj practices in Toronto as a family lawyer and family mediator, helping couples who are cohabiting or separating to come to their own durable legal agreements through collaborative negotiation.

Neeraj has mediated a wide variety of cases from the very simple to the very complex in all aspects of family law including property division, spousal/child support, parenting plans, prenuptial agreements and cohabitation agreements.

Education
A graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School, Neeraj has volunteered as a coach with Riverdale Mediation and the Law Society of Ontario. He currently Co-Chair of the Mentor Program for the Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario.

Professional experience
In his first five years of practice, Neeraj practiced law with Legal Aid Ontario, West Scarborough Community Legal Services, and the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General. In 2005, he made the decision to become a sole practitioner focusing exclusively on collaborative family law and family mediation. In addition to maintaining a busy practice, he has sat on the Board of Collaborative Practice Toronto and has served as a Roster Mediator with Mediate393, which provides government-funded family mediation services.