Jessica is a “connector” both personally and professionally. She acts as a bridge bringing parties to settlement in mediation, connecting workshop participants to new skills and concepts, helping group members work more effectively together and expanding people’s sense of common purpose and community.

After practicing for six years as an environmental attorney, Jessica was inspired by the idea of a more efficient, collaborative and economical approach to dispute resolution and discovered that she was naturally suited to the role of a mediator. She has maintained an independent mediation practice since 1994 and has mediated hundreds of cases in a wide variety of areas. She is particularly well known for her expertise in the areas of probate & estate, employment discrimination and business contracts. Attorneys who work with her report that:

“Jessica is highly empathic and able to connect well with clients in conflict, while also assisting them with practical decision making regarding settlement in light of the realities of litigation. She is sharp, knowledgeable and a true neutral with “a mediation style that is extremely successful.”

As a complement to her mediation practice, Jessica also provides facilitation services to larger groups who may be experiencing conflict or simply need a process manager to assist them with teambuilding, including clear development of goals and agenda, improved problem solving and decision making. She has worked with budgetary crises, neighborhood coexistence with entertainment centers, mall construction, development of federal regulations, water management, compliance with educational regulations, board governance and a variety of other issues. When Jessica works as a facilitator, she is often combining her mediation skills with her training strengths as entertainer, organizer and coach.   Groups who work with her report that:

“Jessica’s facilitation skills are nothing short of remarkable. She is strong, upbeat, fair, clear, and effective. She combines best practice tools and a disciplined approach with humor and a light touch to inspire and equip individuals to give their best to a group.”

A few years after she opened her mediation practice, Jessica began working as a trainer and was particularly inspired to find work that allows her to express the full range of her personality, using humor and interactive improvisational techniques to bring classes and workshops to life. She is now in great demand as a private instructor throughout the United States and internationally. She provides workshops adapted to the needs of different professionals (both in English and in Spanish) on negotiation, mediation, facilitation, leadership and influencing, communication skills, conflict resolution and other related topics.

Jessica is an Adjunct professor at a variety of Bay Area graduate schools, including the law schools at Stanford, Berkeley and Hastings as well as the Mills College MBA program. Leaders and participants familiar with her workshops report:

“Jessica is a Rockstar! and a tour de force. She has credibility, subject matter expertise, high end facilitation skills and truly the passion for the work she does. They also say that she is a truly gifted instructor who doesn’t lecture, but engages and inspires.”

When she is not working, Jessica is often gathering friends for gourmet meals and lively conversation. Drawn to Spanish culture, Jessica often spends a month each summer with good friends in southern Spain. She seeks to spread the sense of community and connection she finds in Spanish culture wherever she goes.