East Bay Community Mediation, A Brief History...

Conciliation Forums of Oakland (CFO) opened its doors for service in 1983 in North Oakland by a group of dedicated communty volunteers and later found a home in beautiful Preservation Park. For the last 20 years, in addition to providing a wide range of conflict resolution services, CFO pioneered both school-based and parent-teen mediation programs in Alameda County.

The Berkeley Dispute Resolution Service(BDRS) opened its doors for service in 1988. A blue ribbon committee of the Mayor and the City Manager discovered that conflict in Berkeley had impaired civility and brought gridlock to some aspects of civic life. It recommended that the City provide initial funding requested by a group of citizens who had begun the process of founding an independent, community-based conflict resolution program. Financial support and enthusiasm from the City of Berkeley enabled BDRS to get off to a fast start.

In June 2003, after many years of ongoing collaboration and sharing volunteers and resources, the staff and Boards of both BDRS and CFO began a process to explore formally consolidating the operations of both organizations into East Bay Community Mediation (EBCM) by February 1, 2004.

With a diverse group of volunteers whom we train in communication and conflict resolution skills, EBCM continues to mediate disputes between neighbors, friends, family, landlords and tenants, and those in business relationships. Some disputes are resolved without formal mediation. We also facilitate meetings within and between organizations and groups. EBCM has also become respected for its high quality conflict resoution skills workshops and mediation trainings to individuals, corporations and city agencies.

EBCM is governed by a 7-member Board of Directors. We have 7 staff members, 9 volunteer office interns and 150+ volunteer mediators, facilitators and trainers. We receive funding from Alameda County through the Dispute Resolution Programs Act (DRPA), from the Cities of Berkeley, Oakland, Alameda, and from fees for services rendered and donations from private individuals and foundations.