About Us
Board Members
- President
Ms. Anne Bachle Fifer
Attorney/Mediator - President-Elect
Dr. Ian Borton
Aquinas College - Treasurer
Hon. William G. Kelly
District Court Judge - Secretary
Ms. Lynne Goede
The Employers' Association
- Directors
Ms. Christine Gilman
Legal Assistance Center - Det. Ed Kolakowski
Kent County Sheriff's Dept. - Ms. Kathleen Snapper
Former Business Owner - Ms. Cheri Stanton
Mercantile Bank of Michigan - Mr. Robert E. L. Wright
Attorney/Mediator
Staff Members
-
Executive Director
Jonathan Wilmot
-
Program Managers
Courtney Glover - Mary Campbell
- Gloria Anderson
The concept of a community resource for dispute resolution grew out of work done jointly by Calvin College and the Grand Rapids Community College Consortium in 1983. These organizations worked with the justice system, key agencies, and community leaders in the Grand Rapids area to create a vision for how disputes could be resolved outside of the courts.
The Grand/Kent Community Reconciliation Center first opened its doors in 1986. The unique organizational structure included a staff that coordinated volunteers and conduct training, while the actual mediation work was all done by volunteers who had been through extensive training. In the beginning, the center focused on reaching anyone in the community who had a dispute.
In 1988, Michigan enacted Public Act 260, which increased court filing fees to fund community dispute resolution centers across the state. A network of independent community mediation centers was set up to work in conjunction with the courts - especially Small Claims Court - to seek healthy resolutions to disputes while offloading work from the court docket. The Grand/Kent Community Reconciliation Center was the model for this statewide legislation.
In 1992 the organization began doing business under the name Dispute Resolution Center of West Michigan. The organization has continued to serve the courts and the community over the last 25 years. We mediate disputes in seven Michigan counties: Kent, Isabella, Lake, Montcalm, Mecosta, Newaygo and Osceola. Mediation is used to resolve many court cases and non-court disputes. Our training services in conflict resolution and mediation are available to schools, churches, companies and individuals who want to learn more about communication and problem resolution.
