Registration closes May 15, 2026 at 5PM Eastern.
Late registration unavailable.

About the Program

This year’s conference will focus on understanding and intentionally creating space for the diverse cultural, religious, and personal identities families bring into collaborative divorce and mediation. Through thoughtfully planned panels and discussions, participants will explore how culture, belief systems, tradition, and lived experience shape family dynamics, communication, and decision-making in conflict resolution.

The conference will include focused conversations on supporting families with special needs and navigating the role of culture and religion in family restructuring. These discussions are designed to deepen cultural awareness, strengthen professional competency, and equip practitioners with practical tools to support families with sensitivity, respect, and intention.

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Presentations

Ben Backes, LCSW, LADC: When Behavior Isn’t Resistance: Understanding Neurodiversity and Executive Function in Mediation and Collaborative divorce

Professionals working in collaborative divorce and mediation frequently encounter behaviors that can be misinterpreted as resistance, lack of cooperation, or conflict. In many cases, these behaviors are better understood through the lens of neurodiversity and executive functioning. This presentation will provide collaborative professionals with practical strategies to recognize common verbal and non-verbal cues associated with neurodivergence, including ADHD and autism, in both adults and children. Participants will learn how executive function challenges and stress responses can influence communication, follow-through, emotional regulation, and decision-making throughout the legal process. Particular attention will be given to situations in which parents disagree about a child’s needs or presentation. The session will also briefly explore the physiological stress responses that can affect both neurodivergent individuals and the professionals working with them, helping participants better understand how stress and overwhelm shape behavior, communication, and decision-making in high-stakes family situations.

About Ben Backes

Ben Backes is the Assistant Executive Director at Frankenberger Associates, a national learning and development organization specializing in executive function, social learning, and support for neurodivergent individuals and families. In this role, he helps design and oversee programs that provide practical, individualized strategies to improve communication, independence, and real-world functioning for children, adolescents, and adults.

In addition to his leadership work, Ben is a practicing psychotherapist, where he works directly with clients navigating life transitions, stress, and behavioral challenges. His clinical experience and program development work give him a practical perspective on how executive function and neurodiversity influence communication, decision-making, and family dynamics.

Ben regularly provides trainings and presentations to educators, clinicians, and community organizations on executive functioning, behavior, and real-world skill development, with a focus on translating complex concepts into practical strategies professionals can immediately apply.

He is also the co-founder and President of the Board of Directors of Winning Ways Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting individuals reentering society after incarceration.

Ben holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Southern Connecticut State University, and a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Fordham University.

Charlotte Ejderberg, MA Psy, MFT: Mini‑Workshop: Seeing What We Don’t Realize We See: Unconscious Bias in Mediation & Collaborative Divorce

About Charlotte Ejderberg

Charlotte Ejderberg is a certified co-parenting specialist with over 20 years of experience helping families turn separation into a new beginning. She works virtually with clients across the U.S. and worldwide, specializing in high-conflict divorce, parenting plans, and co-parenting after separation.

Randy J. Heller, Ph.D., LMFT, LMHC: Curiosity, Understanding, Empathy, and Collaboration in Family Law

Families navigating divorce face emotional, financial, and cultural complexities that extend beyond legal issues. A holistic, interdisciplinary approach, integrating legal, mental health, and financial professionals, provides comprehensive support that addresses the full picture. At the center of this work is curiosity. Through active listening, empathy, and cultural awareness, professionals can better understand what matters most to each family. When clients feel heard and respected, collaboration becomes possible and solutions become more sustainable.

About Randy Heller

Dr. Randy Heller earned her doctorate in Family Therapy from Nova Southeastern University, where her dissertation focused on the role of the mental health professional in Collaborative Divorce. Throughout her career, she has served in a variety of professional roles, including educator, exceptional student specialist, and couples, marriage, and family therapist (MFT).

Dr. Heller is licensed to practice in Florida, New York, and Connecticut. She is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator, Qualified Parenting Coordinator, Reunification Specialist, Certified Hypnotherapist, and the Founder and Clinical Director of The Family Network, a Collaborative Counseling Center for Positive Growth and Change, established in 1994.

Randy served for more than 15 years on the Board of the Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals (FACP), including terms as Vice President and Past President of the Collaborative Family Law Professionals of South Florida. Dr. Heller currently serves on the Boards of the New York Association of Collaborative Professionals (NYACP) and the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP), and is an active committee member of FACP, NYACP, and IACP.

Dr. Heller wrote and continues to teach a graduate-level semester course in Collaborative Divorce at Nova Southeastern University, now in its thirteenth year, teaching Couples, Marriage, and Family Therapists in training about ways to help peacefully restructure families through Collaborative Family Law as well as other ADR processes. Through this program, she developed and directed a Veteran Collaborative Pro Bono Clinic, guiding veteran families through the Collaborative Divorce process. She is also a national trainer and presenter on family-related issues focused on the peaceful resolution of conflict.

In addition, Dr. Heller has published numerous articles and book chapters on the role of the mental health professional in Alternative Dispute Resolution. Most recently, she co-authored an article in The Family Law Section’s Commentator, a quarterly publication highlighting current issues and developments for Florida family lawyers, based on data from a ten-year project that she co-chaired, analyzing outcomes in the Collaborative Process.

Randy is deeply passionate about her work, values teamwork, and is committed to “living in the solution to life’s challenges.” She brings this philosophy into her daily practice (and her life), consistently guiding her clients toward positive and constructive outcomes.

Lara Traum, Esq.: Culture, Religion, and Family Restructuring in Mediation and Collaborative Divorce

Grounded in practice from Queens, New York, one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse communities in the United States, this session explores how identity, culture, language, and power shape the lived experience of family conflict and resolution for adults, children, and extended family systems. Through real-world illustrations and facilitated dialogue, participants will examine how families experience conflict in multi-identity contexts, including immigrant family systems, faith-informed and interfaith households, multigenerational dynamics, language barriers, and cultural narratives around parenting, authority, and belonging. The session centers the emotional realities of parents and children navigating fear, transition, loyalty conflicts, and change. Integrating practitioner self-reflection with client understanding, this session explores how identity, assumptions, and power shape both professional practice and family experience. Designed for mediators and interdisciplinary collaborative professionals, this workshop offers practical, client-facing tools for building trust across difference and structuring culturally responsive processes.

About Lara Traum

Lara Traum, Esq. is a collaborative attorney and mediator at Roytberg Traum Law & Mediation, P.C., whose work centers on culturally responsive national and international family conflict resolution and humane systems of separation, transition, and repair. Lara works daily with families navigating interfaith dynamics, multigenerational systems, language differences, and complex identity intersections. She is a nationally recognized trainer, founder of PeaceChord LLC, and former President of the New York State Council on Divorce Mediation. She is the co-author of Effectively Representing Clients in Family Mediation (with Forrest S. Mosten, ABA 2023) and Family Lawyer as Peacemaker (with Forrest S. Mosten, ABA 2026), contributing to the evolving national dialogue on humane, client-centered family dispute resolution. Through both her legal practice and training work, Lara is dedicated to building family peacemaking models that are inclusive and safe for real people in real conflict. Lara is a graduate of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and New York University. Prior to law school, she performed as a choral conductor and soloist with the Zamir Choral Foundation – an artistic foundation that continues to inform her work in harmony-building, dialogue, and human-centered conflict resolution.