Who We Are
Katharina W. Dress, MA
Principal Mediator, Facilitator, Conflict Coach, Trainer
Katharina W. Dress is a mediator, facilitator, conflict coach and trainer specializing in working with older adults and their families, home caregivers and aging services providers. She earned a Masters Degree in Communications from San Francisco State University in 1989 and received extensive mediation, facilitation and conflict coaching training, including in Elder Mediation and Empathic Communication (based on Marshall Rosenberg’s model of Nonviolent Communication).
Ms. Dress serves as a mediator on the Civil Court Mediation Panel of the Superior Court of Alameda County. Over the past 6 years, she has supported SEEDS Community Resolution Center (Alameda County) as community and civil harassment mediator, as well as Conflict Resolution Programs (Contra Costa County) as community, Elder, and court-based guardianship mediator.
During 25 years as a facilitator, Ms. Dress has guided large community-based organizations through highly emotional meetings and supported families facing challenging decisions associated with the aging process.
Ms. Dress is also an experienced trainer and coach for classes and workshops teaching skills in intercultural and/or empathic communication, conflict management, and mediating with older adults. In addition to leading her own training programs, she assists in trainings offered by other conflict resolution professionals and non-profit organizations around the San Francisco Bay Area.
Ms. Dress is a member of the American Society on Aging (ASA) and the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR), where she currently serves as Finance Chair of the Elder Mediation Section. She also is a founding member of the Points of Life Team, a collaborative of professionals serving the needs of a changing society throughout the San Francisco East Bay Area.
John G. (Jack) Elliott, MA, MFT
Mediator, Marriage and Family Therapist
Jack Elliott has been a licensed Marriage and Family therapist in California for more than 40 years and maintained a small private practice during this time, while primarily working for a number of community-based programs. He has assisted clients with mental and emotional challenges, helping them lead more stable and focused lives. For the past 25 years, he has specialized in grief work, facilitating grief-support groups, as well as working with grieving individuals.
Mr. Elliott earned his Master’s degree in Transpersonal Psychology at JFK University Orinda in 1999 and received a mediation certification in the university’s conflict resolution program. He has since utilized these skills as a professional family mediator for the Superior Court of Napa and the Probation Department of the County of Marin. For the past 10 years he also served as a volunteer mediator for SEEDS Community Resolution Center serving Alameda County.
Want to find out more about us and our approch to Elder Mediation? You’ll find answers to all your questions on “The Aging Boomers Radio Show” of 12/15/2012: http://www.seniorcareauthority.com/radio-show/katharina-dress-aging-in-harmony/
You have more questions or concerns? Contact us for a free consultation, so we can explore how we may support you and your loved ones or clients on the journey of AGING IN HARMONY.
