Ana-Lisa Gertner, a coach for FamilyKind, is a Family Mediator and Divorce Coach at Manhattan Mediators, and a Director at the Center for Mediation and Training in Manhattan. As a mediator she helps families going through conflicts and disagreements arrive at solutions without having to go to court. She has experience mediating a wide range of family conflicts, including parent- adolescent conflicts. In addition to helping couples separate and divorce, Ana-Lisa also works with couples in marital mediation, using mediation techniques to improve the relationship and to help people stay together.
Dr. Randy Heller received her doctorate in Family Therapy from Nova Southeastern University wrote her dissertation on the Role of the Mental Health Professional working in Collaborative Divorce and has multiple publications on this topic. Dr. Heller has held multiple positions as an Educator, Exceptional Student Specialist, and Couples, Marriage and Family Therapist. Randy is licensed both as a Mental health Counselor and Marriage and Family Therapist in Florida, New York, and Connecticut. She also works as a Florida Certified Supreme Court Family Mediator, Qualified Parenting Coordinator, Reunification Specialist, trained Hypnotherapist, and Founder and Clinical Director of The Family Network, Collaborative Counseling Center for Positive Growth and Change, established in 1994. Dr. Heller served as a Board member for The Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals (FACP) for over 15 years, was both Vice President and Past President of The Collaborative Family Law Professionals of South Florida for four years, now serves as a Board member of the New York Association of Collaborative Professionals (NYACP). Randy is an active Committee member of FACP and IACP. Dr. Heller also wrote and teaches a semester graduate course in Collaborative Divorce to MFT grad students at Nova Southeastern University, in its eighth year, out of which she developed and directs the Veterans Collaborative Pro Bono Clinic. She is also a National trainer and presenter on all family matters related to peaceful resolution of conflict. Randy is passionate about peacemaking, and works and plays in Mid-town Manhattan, where she enjoys wandering in the park, people watching, and spending time with her family.
Rich Heller serves at FamilyKind as a parent coach, parenting coordinator, and parent education teacher. No stranger to conflict, Mr. Heller is a child of divorce, has been divorced and successfully remarried. He is a “Conflict Coach” who works with people engaged in high levels of conflict so that they can create cooperation out of conflict. He works with individuals and couples, focusing on how they can have a relationship that works with minimum friction and maximum support for their children. Mr. Heller also helps organizations and businesses transform destructive conflict into a vehicle for change and innovation.
He graduated from Vassar College with a Bachelor of Arts degree and received his master’s degree in social work from Hunter College. He then trained to become a mediator with the Center for Understanding in Conflict and trained to be a parent coordinator through the Association for Family and Conciliation Courts. Mr. Heller is a Certified Professional Coach, and an ELI Master Practitioner.
Diane Hessemann, LMSW, a parenting coordinator, coach, GoodTalk4Parents facilitator and parent education skills educator for FamilyKind, is a social worker with more than 30 years of experience working with families. She held administrative positions in both the foster care and domestic violence systems prior to becoming a City University of New York Adjunct Professor of Human Services.
Diane also teaches online for the Fordham Graduate School of Social Services. She has been an active member of the Appellate Division First and Second Department’s Mental Health Panel since 1996 where she serves families who are struggling with divorce and separation issues, provides therapeutic supervised visitation services, home assessments and parenting coordination services. Diane has additional training from the Ackerman Institute in divorce mediation as well as in the areas of domestic violence and addiction.
Rachel Levenson, PhD, is a parent coach for FamilyKind and a Clinical and Forensic Psychologist in private practice in New York City. Rachel has expertise in the evaluation and treatment of couple and family conflict, including issues such as separation, divorce, and custody arrangements. She is an expert clinical and forensic diagnostician: she has specialized training in assessment practices, including the use of psychological testing measures.
She also has specialized training as a Family Court evaluator and consultant and extensive testimony experience. Rachel is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Ferkauf Graduate School, where she serves as an instructor and clinical supervisor. She is a member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. Rachel was trained at Columbia University and Ferkauf Graduate School.
Divorce & Family Mediator and Coach; Psychotherapist; Social Worker
Stephanie is a licensed master social worker, psychotherapist, and mediator, with 25+ years of experience. She's trained at Columbia University School of Social Work, The International Trauma Studies Program and The Center for Mediation and Training. Stephanie has lived and worked all over the world including the US, UK, Middle East, South America, and the West Indies. She is passionate about providing therapeutic support to families and their children by providing supportive mediation, parenting coordination and coaching support.
Joelle Perez is a compassionate and experienced divorce mediation attorney who serves as a neutral third party, helping clients reach mutually agreeable settlements with dignity and respect. Her mediation style is rooted in creating a safe, supportive environment that prioritizes the emotional and financial well-being of both spouses—and their children.
Having personally navigated divorce mediation, Joelle brings a unique and deeply empathetic perspective to her work. She understands firsthand the emotional challenges her clients face, which allows her to approach each case with sensitivity, insight, and a genuine commitment to helping families transition with care.
Joelle is the founder of Peacemaker Divorce Mediation, a practice dedicated to guiding clients through the divorce process in a cooperative, amicable, and cost-effective way. Her mission is to help individuals move forward with clarity, control, and compassion.
In addition to her private practice, Joelle is a leader in the field of divorce mediation. She is the Past President of the New York State Council on Divorce Mediation, the former Chair of the Council’s Nominating Committee, and former Co-Chair of its Education Committee. She also serves as Program Manager for the Long Island Collaborative Divorce Professionals, working to advance collaborative approaches to family law.
Bess Steiger, LCSW is a social worker and family mediator in New York City and Westchester County. She provides divorce mediation, coaching and parenting coordination services for Family Kind. Bess is a partner with fellow Family Kind consultant Helise Harrington, JD at Hudson Mediation Group. Bess has worked extensively with families across the life span, and believes mediation offers a humane and constructive process for families to resolve disputes.
She trained in divorce and advanced divorce mediation through the Ackerman Institute for the Family and in parenting coordination through the Association of Family and Conciliatory Courts (AFCC). Bess is also certified as a Restorative Justice, Parent-Teen and Elder Care mediator. She received her BA (Honors) from Leeds University, UK and her MSW from CUNY Hunter College School of Social Work.
Ivy Woolf Turk is an ICF Certified Life and Professional Coach in private practice, a champion of freedom, an internationally recognized inspirational speaker, advocate, workshop innovator/facilitator and author. She is the founder of Project Liberation where she works with women across all stages of criminal justice involvement, and A Liberated Life, a workshop series for individuals, families or those who feel imprisoned in their lives in one way or another. She assists them in recognizing and disrupting the pathways that imprison” them and provides the trauma informed and work/life balance tools for healing. She is a consultant to the Justice Advocacy Group, LLC in Alexandria, VA., a Center for Social Innovation Agent of Change Fellow, a Founding member of the National Council of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls., and a Dignity Ambassador with #CUT50. She partners with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to conduct coaching groups in their Health Equity Centers.
Ivy has a unique perspective on incarceration, homelessness and re-entry. A former exec in the advertising and real estate businesses, she found herself caught up in a situation with criminal consequences and was sentenced to 5 years in Federal Prison. While incarcerated at Danbury Federal Prison Camp, Ivy taught GED English literacy, Yoga, Journaling and Meditation. She also co-created C.H.O.I.C.E.S, a group of Federal inmates that went out into the community to speak to youth about the consequences of poor choices. Finding all options foreclosed in the rigors of Re-Entry since her early release in 2013, Ivy has advocated for the needs of women from inside many prisons all the way to the White House. She has been featured in Forbes, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, NY1, The Telegraph, and many other publications.
Ivy is a proud mother of two amazing adult children and two adult step-children. She has a B.S. in Communications from Boston University and a CPC from Coaching for Transformation / Leadership that Works.
Meg Akabas is an IPE Specialist and SPF parent educator for FamilyKind. She is NYSPEP Certified Parenting Educator and the founder of New York City-based Parenting Solutions™, and the author of 52 Weeks of Parenting Wisdom: Effective Strategies for Raising Happy, Responsible Kids. She has 15 years of experience providing parenting education, leading workshops for parents and teachers on infancy through pre-adolescence, parent support groups for new parents, and one-on-one consultations. She created and teaches the Newborn Care and Parenting Guidance class for expectant parents, which she teaches at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. She serves on the NYSPEP Steering Committee and chaired the National Parenting Education (NPEN) Council. Meg received a Master degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Business in major of Business Administration, Nonprofit/Public Management and Marketing.
Amy Carron Day is a legal educator for FamilyKind’s NYS Certified PEAP Co-Parenting Program, a mediator, and an Advisor. She has been a family and divorce mediator, as well as a Collaborative divorce attorney in New York for over 25 years. Ms. Carron Day has dedicated her private practice to educating clients with family and divorce disputes to help resolve them out of court in a peaceful, fair, and efficient manner. She has always been an active member of the New York State Council of Divorce Mediators and the Family and Divorce Mediation Council, along with the New York Association for Collaborative Professionals in New York City. Ms. Carron Day has worked extensively with children of divorce, as well as teaching conflict resolution skills to children in her volunteer work. She received a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies at Cornell University, and then a J.D. at Brooklyn Law School.
Lesley Ann Friedland is a family law attorney, mediator, and lifelong public servant with more than three decades of experience supporting families through times of transition. In 2012, she founded FamilyKind to provide families with access to affordable education, mediation, and support services during separation and divorce. Prior to launching FamilyKind, Lesley served for over 25 years in the New York City Family Court as a Court Attorney and Referee, where she handled custody, visitation, and child protective matters across all five boroughs. She also helped facilitate and create several impactful parenting education programs, including the NYS Parent Education & Awareness Program and Children’s PACT—a program designed to help children cope with divorce and separation.
Lesley has received the Kathryn A. McDonald Award for Excellence in Service to the NYC Family Court, and under her leadership, FamilyKind was named the Outstanding Organization by the American University Public Relations Student Society of America.She currently serves as Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the New York State Parenting Education Partnership (NYSPEP) and is active in many professional organizations committed to supporting families and advancing best practices in family law and mediation.
Lesley holds a J.D. from Antioch School of Law and a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College. Her dedication to helping families find clarity, connection, and peace remains at the heart of FamilyKind’s mission.
Stephanie Jones is a parent educator for FamilyKind NYS Certified PEAP Co-Parenting program and an IPE Specialist. She has over 20 years of experience as a parenting educator and family life consultant. She has a master’s degree in human development and family studies with a concentration in parent education. Additionally, she completed a post-graduate fellowship in infant-parent mental health/early relational health and has received training in an array of parenting programs. She uses strength-based, (bio)ecological, and trauma-informed approaches to working with families. She has experience developing curricula for families transitioning as a result of parental separation and divorce. Service is a hallmark of Stephanie’s life. She has served on numerous committees and chaired both the North Carolina Parenting Education Network and the National Parenting Education Network. She is a member of the Social Justice Committee and currently, the leader of her church’s Safe Environments Team.
Nancy Nybergh is a parent educator for FamilyKind NYS Certified PEAP Co-Parenting program. She is an NYS licensed psychoanalyst, certified Gestalt psychotherapist, and trainer. Over the past 35 years, Nancy has worked in corporate, nonprofit, and government venues mostly in a training capacity but also in various managerial and leadership roles while maintaining a private practice. Since 2007, Ms. Nybergh has been working full-time as a trainer at the New York City Department for the Aging and teaches NYS Teachers at My Teaching Success. Ms. Nybergh's keen interest in and passion for better understanding relationships, communications, and mindfulness inspires her current work. She received her Masters in Organization Psychology from New York University and completed a 4-year post-graduate program in Psychotherapy at The Gestalt Associates for Psychotherapy.
Authern believes that parenting education is the key for children and families to succeed. It is crucial to provide parent education courses that are trauma-informed, attachment theory-oriented, and ACEs-aware (Adverse Childhood Experiences). Based on their multilingual capacities and first-hand experiences adapting to American society as a young child, Authern aims to present a multiculturally competent, neurodivergent-inclusive, queer-normative, and gender-affirming space for all individuals to flourish. Authern is also an advocate for neurodivergence and queer normativity in the workspace. They incorporate these values into lesson planning for FamilyKind’s high-quality parent education courses. Authern acquired a B.A. from Hartwick College and is a master’s student at Adelphi University becoming a clinically Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC).
Lesley Ann Friedland is a family law attorney and mediator dedicated to public service. For more than two decades, Ms. Friedland served as a court attorney and referee for the NYC Family Court presiding over custody, visitation and child protective matters in all five boroughs. Recently Ms. Friedland served as the liaison between the Court and the Custody and Visitation Mediation Department in Kings County Family Court. She also facilitated the NYS Parent Education & Awareness Program and led the team that developed the children’s portion of the program. In March 2012, Lesley and a group of like-minded attorneys, mental health experts, and other seasoned professionals founded FamilyKind, a not-for-profit organization providing information and support services to families experiencing separation and divorce.
She serves on the Family Court Custody and Visitation Advisory Committee and is a member of the New York State Bar Association, New York Women’s Bar Association (NYWBA), New York State Council of Divorce Mediators (NYSCDM), Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), The Interdisciplinary Forum on Mental Health and Family Law, and The Family Divorce & Mediation Council of Greater New York (FDMC).
In 2017, Ms. Friedland was the proud recipient of NYC Bar Association’s The Kathryn A. McDonald Award for Excellence in Service to Family Court. The award, given annually, recognizes the vital services of attorneys who work in the Family Court in New York City.
She also served as Parent Association President and was on the School Leadership Team for multiple NYC public schools. She graduated with a BA from Sarah Lawrence College and a JD from Antioch School of Law. Ms. Friedland was honored to be appointed to the Steering Committee of the New York State Parenting Education Partnership in 2024.
Dr. Randy Heller received her doctorate in Family Therapy from Nova Southeastern University wrote her dissertation on the Role of the Mental Health Professional working in Collaborative Divorce and has multiple publications on this topic. Dr. Heller has held multiple positions as an Educator, Exceptional Student Specialist, and Couples, Marriage and Family Therapist. Randy is licensed both as a Mental health Counselor and Marriage and Family Therapist in Florida, New York, and Connecticut. She also works as a Florida Certified Supreme Court Family Mediator, Qualified Parenting Coordinator, Reunification Specialist, trained Hypnotherapist, and Founder and Clinical Director of The Family Network, Collaborative Counseling Center for Positive Growth and Change, established in 1994. Dr. Heller served as a Board member for The Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals (FACP) for over 15 years, was both Vice President and Past President of The Collaborative Family Law Professionals of South Florida for four years, now serves as a Board member of the New York Association of Collaborative Professionals (NYACP). Randy is an active Committee member of FACP and IACP. Dr. Heller also wrote and teaches a semester graduate course in Collaborative Divorce to MFT grad students at Nova Southeastern University, in its eighth year, out of which she developed and directs the Veterans Collaborative Pro Bono Clinic. She is also a National trainer and presenter on all family matters related to peaceful resolution of conflict. Randy is passionate about peacemaking, and works and plays in Mid-town Manhattan, where she enjoys wandering in the park, people watching, and spending time with her family.
Rich Heller serves at FamilyKind as a parent coach, parenting coordinator, and parent education teacher. No stranger to conflict, Mr. Heller is a child of divorce, has been divorced and successfully remarried. He is a “Conflict Coach” who works with people engaged in high levels of conflict so that they can create cooperation out of conflict. He works with individuals and couples, focusing on how they can have a relationship that works with minimum friction and maximum support for their children. Mr. Heller also helps organizations and businesses transform destructive conflict into a vehicle for change and innovation.
He graduated from Vassar College with a Bachelor of Arts degree and received his master’s degree in social work from Hunter College. He then trained to become a mediator with the Center for Understanding in Conflict and trained to be a parent coordinator through the Association for Family and Conciliation Courts. Mr. Heller is a Certified Professional Coach, and an ELI Master Practitioner.
Diane Hessemann, LMSW, a parenting coordinator, coach, GoodTalk4Parents facilitator and parent education skills educator for FamilyKind, is a social worker with more than 30 years of experience working with families. She held administrative positions in both the foster care and domestic violence systems prior to becoming a City University of New York Adjunct Professor of Human Services.
Diane also teaches online for the Fordham Graduate School of Social Services. She has been an active member of the Appellate Division First and Second Department’s Mental Health Panel since 1996 where she serves families who are struggling with divorce and separation issues, provides therapeutic supervised visitation services, home assessments and parenting coordination services. Diane has additional training from the Ackerman Institute in divorce mediation as well as in the areas of domestic violence and addiction.
Carolyn Kalos has been a family lawyer in New York City for over 25 years allowing her to see the toll that divorce, custody disputes, and overall conflict can take on families. She has experience in all areas of family law, and an ability to understand and account for the needs of different parties in complex family dynamics. She is the founding partner at FamilyFriendlyMediation, where she is a mediator, parent coordinator, and divorce coach helping families in a less conflict-driven and more amicable way. Prior to working in the court system, Ms. Kalos was an adoption attorney. She has been a litigator, trial skills instructor, and adjunct professor, all in the area of family law. She is currently the Associate Director and Training Coordinator at the Center for Mediation & Training. Carolyn is also a volunteer mediator at NYLAG (New York Legal Assistance Group) and participates in the Mentorship program at FamilyKind where she serves on the NextGen Board. She went to the University of Michigan and Emory Law School.
Randi L. Karmel is a matrimonial and family law litigator and mediator. She is also a parent coordinator, is certified to represent children in the First Department; and is certified to represent clients in Domestic Violence matters in the Integrated Domestic Violence Court. Representing children has given Ms. Karmel special insight as a parent coordinator and mediator.
Ms. Karmel has over 25 years of experience in and out of Court. Prior to opening up her firm, she was Deputy Inspector General at the Department of Investigation (and prior, Examining Attorney, She served as an Assistant District Attorney at the Kings County, District Attorney’s Office where she advanced through the Investigations, Felony Trial, Domestic Violence and Major Narcotics Bureau to name a few. She graduated from the Washington College of Law, American University and was offered a prestigious fellowship to work on Capital Hill in Washington, DC prior to entering law school.
Her main areas of practice are entirely Matrimonial and Family Law. Ms. Karmel is a member of the New York State Bar Association (Member, Executive Committee, Family Law Section), Brooklyn Bar Association (Member, Family Law Section and Chair of the Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee (2022, 2023, 2024), Part 137 Fee Dispute Arbitrator; She was also a former Trustee of the Brooklyn Bar Association; formally volunteered her time with Judges and Lawyer’s Breast Cancer Alert (past Member, Executive Committee).
Ms. Karmel has lectured for the Brooklyn Bar Association on Representing Children with Special Needs and Mediation for Lawyers. She also lectured with experts on Substance Abuse in custody matters.
Ms. Karmel believes in volunteering her time and resources and currently volunteers her time at the Women’s Bar Association, Pro Bono Project and at Savvy Ladies (Executive Board (past) and current member of Board of Directors and Gala Committee; Nominations Committee); She has recently been a guest on “Black Dad’s Unfiltered” and “How Not to Suck at Divorce” podcasts and has also been a guest on Journey Beyond Divorce and has worked with several financial divorce planners and divorce coaches.
Her work has been published in the following decisions and article: New York Law Journal Jin C., v. Juliana L., New York Law Journal: Mother is Barred From Citing Destroyed Diary in Custody Case; New York Law Journal Reported Case: LR v. AZ; article published in the Brooklyn Barrister, “Keeping Privileged Medical
Records Confidential. In addition to the above, Ms. Karmel has been quoted in various publications and television appearances and has been elected to Super Lawyers for over 10 years.
Virginia A. LoPreto, is a partner in LoPreto + Levy, LLP and has been practicing law for more than 30 years, representing parents and children in all aspects of matrimonial and family law matters including mediation, litigation, trial and appellate work. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (“AAML”) and sits on its Board of Managers for the New York Chapter. Ms. LoPreto is certified by the Law Guardian Panel for the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, and First Department, and is regularly appointed to represent children in high-conflict divorce cases. Ms. LoPreto is also an approved mediator to serve on the Court’s roster in the First Judicial District in the New York State Court Unified Court System. Ms. LoPreto served as President of the New York Women’s Bar Association (“NYWBA”) for two years. Previously, she served as co-chair of the Matrimonial and Family Law Committee for the NYWBA for four consecutive years.
Ms. LoPreto is in her second year as co-chair of the Interdisciplinary Forum on Mental Health and Family Law (“Forum”). The Forum is comprised of judges, attorneys and mental health professionals and provides education for its members in the area of child custody. Ms. LoPreto is a frequent presenter at Continuing Legal Education Programs, including those sponsored by the AAML and NYWBA as well as at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the Forum, the New York State Bar Association and The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. Ms. LoPreto graduated magna cum laude from Cardozo School of Law.
Divorce & Family Mediator, Coach and Parenting Coordinator; Psychotherapist; Social Worker
Stephanie is a licensed master social worker, psychotherapist, and mediator, with 25+ years of experience. She's trained at Columbia University School of Social Work, The International Trauma Studies Program and The Center for Mediation and Training. Stephanie has lived and worked all over the world including the US, UK, Middle East, South America, and the West Indies. She is passionate about providing therapeutic support to families and their children by providing supportive mediation, parenting coordination and coaching support.
Andrew Propper, a clinical and forensic psychologist, maintains a private practice in Manhattan, where he performs child custody evaluations for the Court and provides psychotherapy services. Dr. Propper served as an executive in the New York City Police Department’s Medical Division for 33 years, supervising psychologists and assisting the Director to administer the Psychological Evaluation Section. He is a long-time member of the American and New York State Psychological Associations.
Dr. Propper graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Syracuse University.
Bob Raymond, a parenting coordinator and coach for FamilyKind, is a licensed Psychologist in New York and New Jersey and has been in independent practice since 1981. In addition to being a Clinical Psychologist, he is a Certified Marriage and Family Therapist, and a Certified Psychoanalyst. He treats individuals, couples, and families, assisting clients in reaching their goals of achieving a better life, and ameliorating psychological problems. Bob has extensive forensic training and experience.
He is qualified as an Expert Witness in New York and New Jersey Courts, and has provided Expert Witness services to the New Jersey Board of Psychological Examiners. He has combined his clinical and forensic work by developing a specialty in Collaborative Divorce. Providing services as a Divorce Coach and a Child Specialist, Bob works with a collaborative team to assist clients in pursuing a redefinition of their family relationships. Bob is also a parenting coordinator, assisting court-ordered couples negotiate matters related to their children. He is a graduate of the City University of New York and earned his PhD from Alliant University, formerly the California School of Professional Psychology.
Jayne Roberman, a FamilyKind parenting coordinator and parent coach, is a licensed master social worker in private practice since 1993. As a parenting coordinator, She offers a non-adversarial child-centered approach to assisting separated and divorced parents in reducing conflict, resolving child-Ms. Roberman related disputes, and providing parenting education. Jayne also facilitates supervised and therapeutic supervised visitation and conducts clinical evaluations for the Courts in custody and visitation matters.
She is a long-standing member of the advisory committee for the Appellate Division First and Second Department’s Mental Health Professional Panel. Prior to becoming a solo practitioner, she worked with the Juvenile Rights Division of The Legal Aid Society, assisting attorneys in representing abused and neglected children in Family Court. For many years, Ms. Roberman was a member of the advisory committee and lecturer and facilitator of the PEACE and PACT programs. She received her master’s degree in Social Work from New York University.
Barbara Rothberg, a child inclusive mediator, parenting coordinator and Advisory Council member at FamilyKind, is a licensed clinical social worker and has been in practice for more than 40 years. She has additional training and certifications in Family and Couple Therapy, Mediation as well as Child Inclusive Mediation. Barbara has worked as family and couple therapist, mediator, parent coordinator with high conflict couples, and divorce coach/family specialist in conjunction with collaborative attorneys and other mediators. She has experience teaching couples therapy to graduate students, leading seminars and workshops at conferences and presenting to various organizations over the years. Barbara is a member of the Family and Divorce Mediation Council, where she is a board member, the New York Association of Collaborative Professionals, the Association for Family and Conciliation Courts, as well as the Gender Project at the Ackerman Institute. She received her doctorate in Social Work at The Graduate Center, Hunter School of Social Work.
Bess Steiger, LCSW is a social worker and family mediator in New York City and Westchester County. She provides divorce mediation, coaching and parenting coordination services for Family Kind. Ms. Steiger is a partner with fellow Family Kind consultant Helise Harrington, JD at Hudson Mediation Group.
She has worked extensively with families across the life span, and believes mediation offers a humane and constructive process for families to resolve disputes. She trained in divorce and advanced divorce mediation through the Ackerman Institute for the Family and in parenting coordination through the Association of Family and Conciliatory Courts (AFCC). Ms. Steiger is also certified as a Restorative Justice, Parent-Teen and Elder Care mediator. She received her BA (Honors) from Leeds University, UK and her MSW from CUNY Hunter College School of Social Work.
Lara Traum is a mediator with FamilyKind as well as a collaborative attorney, mediator, parenting coordinator, and partner at Roytberg Traum Law and Mediation, PC.. She serves families as an attorney in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and as a mediator internationally, in both English and Russian. Lara believes that conflict fatigue is lethal to restructuring families and helps parties explore creative options, reduce costs, and resolve their conflicts with dignity.
A fully out-of-court practitioner, Lara is a Board Member of the NYS Council on Divorce Mediation and an attorney-member of Long Island Collaborative Divorce Professionals. Lara was selected to the Matrimonial Mediation Rosters for the Supreme Courts in all five boroughs of New York City. Lara has authored numerous articles and book chapters on mediation and collaborative law, as well as the 2023 ABA Book Effectively Representing Clients in Family Mediation (coauthored with Forrest S. Mosten and Hon. Elizabeth Potter Scully), and she trains and lectures throughout New York and in California. Lara received her law degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, cum laude, with a Concentration in Matrimonial and Family Law, and her Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University.