IRVINE – The JAMS Foundation’s 11th Annual Warren Knight Distinguished Service Award will be presented to Convergence Center for Policy Resolution, along with a $25,000 grant, at the American Bar Association’s 2019 Annual Spring Conference today in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The award recognizes the work that Convergence has done utilizing collaborative problem solving to find solutions to the nation’s toughest problems.
Named in memory of the founder of JAMS, the Warren Knight Distinguished Service Award and grant recognize the work of extraordinary individuals and organizations in advancing collaborative forms of dispute resolution and the peaceful resolution of conflict.
It is amazing what we can learn from each other when we let go of the need to be right and focus on listening to one another. Organizations like Convergence are helping to guide a more constructive dialogue on intractable social issues by building long term relationships with key decision makers.
- David Brandon, Managing Director of the JAMS Foundation
Convergence Center for Policy Resolution is a nonprofit organization focused on solving social challenges through collaboration. The group brings a deep knowledge of policy and process, and works with leaders and doers to move past divergent views and identify workable solutions to seemingly intractable issues.
We are honored and humbled that the JAMS Foundation has named us as this year’s recipient of the Warren Knight Distinguished Service Award. Contrary to the widespread view that our nation is hopelessly divided, our experience suggests that it is possible to convene people of divergent views, build trust and then create unlikely alliances for action on issues of great public importance. Our work builds on the important foundation established by so many others in the conflict resolution field.
- Rob Fersh, President and Founder of Convergence
Hon. H. Warren Knight (Ret.) was the founder of JAMS, which he created in January 1979. Judge Knight is considered a pioneer in the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and legal communities. He was instrumental in introducing and furthering ADR, including mediation and arbitration, within the legal community in California and throughout the United States.
About the JAMS Foundation (www.jamsadr.com/jamsfoundation/)
The nonprofit JAMS Foundation is the largest private provider of ADR-related grants in the world. The Foundation was established in 2002 by JAMS, the largest private provider of ADR services worldwide, and is funded by JAMS mediators, arbitrators and employee associates who contribute a percentage of their income. The JAMS Foundation has provided more than $8 million in grant funding since its inception.
About JAMS – Local Solutions. Global Reach.
Founded in 1979, JAMS is the largest private provider of alternative dispute resolution services worldwide. With 28 locations, JAMS and its nearly 400 panelists are responsible for resolving thousands of the world’s important cases every year.
JAMS successfully resolves and manages business and legal disputes by providing efficient, cost-effective and impartial ways to overcome barriers at any stage of conflict. JAMS offers customized dispute resolution services locally and globally through a combination of industry-specific experience, first-class client service, top-notch facilities and highly trained panelists.
More information is available at www.jamsadr.com, and you can connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
