Dave is the Principal and Founder of Impact Associates. He has worked as a mediator, facilitator, organizational change practitioner, and leader in the development of the ADR field since 2006. Colleagues and clients recognize him for his patience, creativity, and relentless commitment to finding practical solutions.

Conflict Management Experience and Qualifications

• Dave has mediated over 1,000 disputes across employment, environmental, construction, transportation, and regulatory issues.

• He has facilitated complex negotiated rulemaking procedures, multi-party public policy discussions, stakeholder engagement, and organizational strategic development sessions.

• He has worked with senior executives to drive organizational change and led cultural change efforts for workplace teams.

• Dave has taught both basic and advanced mediation skills to hundreds of mediators, lawyers, judges, and students across the U.S. and globally. He has also trained hundreds of federal employees in conflict management and communication skills.

• Before launching his own business in 2025, Dave served as a Commissioner with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) in Washington, DC, after serving as ADR Counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Director of the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution.

Comprehensive List of Representative Matters

Construction

• Facilitated multifaceted discussions between senior executives from two federal agencies on the planning, coordination, communication, and design of a 2-billion-dollar construction project.

Employment

• Mediated hundreds of sexual harassment, race, religion, age, and disability discrimination cases.

• Mediated hundreds of wrongful termination, non-selection, and retaliation cases.

• Mediated numerous gender and pregnancy discrimination cases.

• Mediated and facilitated numerous employer disputes with senior executives.

Employment Class Action

• Mediated eight-figure class action to resolve allegations of discrimination in promotions and hiring based on employees' engagement in prior protected activity.

Environmental

• Mediated, facilitated, and convened matters involving Superfund, hazardous waste, and the Clean Water Act.

• Conducted situation assessments and provided convening services to guide stakeholders in designing effective public participation and conflict management processes.

• Mediated, facilitated, and convened multi-party Title VI discrimination matters involving programs or activities that received federal funding.

• Mediated tribal issues involving clean energy grant requirements.

• Facilitated multi-party strategic planning discussions on weather and climate-related mitigation and recovery issues, fostering consensus and constructive dialogue among diverse stakeholders.

Federal Sector

• Mediated and facilitated employment, environmental, transportation, and regulatory matters across a diverse range of issues with U.S. federal departments and agencies including BEP, BOP, CISA, DHS, DOE, DOC, DoD, DOI, EEOC, EPA, EOP, DOJ, FBI, FDIC, FTC, GSA, HHS, HUD, Mint, NEC, NIST, NLRB, ODNI, State Department, Treasury, US Attorneys’ Offices, USAF, USCIS, USDA, USDT, and VA.

Regulatory

• Facilitated Negotiated Rulemaking discussions on HVAC standards and inorganic byproduct chemical data reporting.

 Transportation

• Mediated numerous complex multi-party six to nine-figure Class I freight and passenger railroad matters brought before the Surface Transportation Broad, including:

  • Restoration of passenger rail service between New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama. Multi-party mediation between a passenger railroad, two Class I freight railroads, and a state port.

  • Freight and passenger rail operating agreement – terms and compensation for passenger rail use of facilities, rail lines, and services.

  • Construction and operating exemption for land use of permits in the construction of a solid waste rail transfer station.

  • Petition for abandonment of rail line.

  • Application to acquire rail line through Board ordered sale.

  • Unfair competition rate matter between shipper and Class I freight rail.

  • Partial revocation of exemption from regulation application to transportation of iron and steel scrap for rail service.

  • Operating rights, trackage rights, betterment of the line, and interest rental payments between two Class I freight railroads.

Organizational Development and Workplace Services

• Conducted organizational change initiatives for workplace teams ranging from 20 to 300 members. Conducted situation assessments, reported on critical themes, diagnosed systemic issues, and worked with senior executives and team members to implement change management initiatives to improve organizational performance.

• Worked with senior executives and leadership teams to facilitate goal setting, strategic development, alignment, and effective team cohesion.

• Provided conflict coaching to senior executives and employees.

• Mediated and facilitated workplace communication and interpersonal issues.

• Developed and implemented a conflict management system for a large federal agency, conducted a comprehensive situation assessment to identify key needs, drafted a report with findings and recommendations, introduced performance-enhancing procedures, and adapted services for virtual delivery.

International

• Worked in Kosovo through a US State Department access to justice project from 2021 to 2025 to enhance the quality of mediation and court-based mediation services.  The work included:

  • Situation assessment of court-based mediation programs and mediation services.

  • Situation assessment of judges' and prosecutors' confidence in the quality of mediation services and demand for court-based mediation programs.

  • Design and delivery of a 2-year “train-the-trainer” program to a cohort of 15 mediators, providing them with the skills to deliver high-quality basic, refresher, and advanced mediation training to build local mediator quality and capacity.

  • Design of curricula on basic and advanced mediation training, which was implemented as part of the national mediator certification program.

  • Delivery of mediation skills training for all certified Kosovo mediators.

  • Development of training videos and PSAs in Albanian and Serbian.

  • Planning, organizing, and leading a delegation of mediators, government, and local officials on a US study tour to learn about US court-based, institutional, and private mediation services.

  • Working with criminal and civil courts, judges, government agencies, attorneys, and key stakeholders to build confidence and long-term demand for mediation services. 

ADR Training and Presentations

• Delivered basic mediation training annually to the Department of Justice, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and Department of Energy.

• Developed and delivered an advanced 40-hour mediation skills training and mentoring program for the US Air Force.

• Designed and delivered advanced mediation skills through virtual and in-person training on topics including overcoming impasse, cognitive bias in negotiation, negotiation styles and techniques, building trust between the parties, and conveying complex and difficult news.

• Designed and delivered virtual and in-person training programs on essential conflict management skills, engaging constructively in difficult conversations, interest-based negotiation, and durable change management.

• Trained mediation advocates and attorneys on mediation ethics, effective representation, and using mediation to maximize effectiveness as an advocate.

Education

Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY

• College of Law | Juris Doctor, May 2006 | Bar Admission New York

• Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs | Master of Arts in International Relations, May 2006

Earlham College, Richmond, IN

• Bachelor of Arts in Peace and Global Studies, May 2002

Professional Activities

• Member of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals appellate mediation panel

• Chair 2018-2019 – Federal Interagency Alternative Dispute Resolution Working Group.

Relevant Training: FMCS 6-week Conflict Management Professional training; Crucial Influence, Crucial Conversations, and Crucial Accountability training by Crucial Learning; Prosci Change Management training; FMCS 6-week mediator training; ABA advanced mediation and advocacy skills training; ABA advanced arbitration training; ABA advanced legal bargaining negotiation training; 40-hour mediation training.