Crystal Williams (Moderator)

Crystal Williams, a Disability Informed Mediator and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) consultant, leads White & Williams ADR Services LLC, specializing in Special Education Dispute Resolution. Her expertise encompasses IEP facilitation, conflict management coaching, professional development, parent engagement, and trauma-informed practices. With a Masters of Dispute Resolution from the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law, Crystal expanded her mediation training through Waymakers Dispute Resolution Services and Mosten Guthrie Academy.

Active in various organizations, Crystal holds positions as a Board Member for the Southern California Mediation Association, Program Advisory co-chair for the Western Justice Center, advisor to the Board for Kids Managing Conflict, and coordinator of the Youth Police Dialogue series through the San Pedro Rotary Club.

Educationally, Crystal holds a Master of Arts in Teacher Education with dual special education credentials from Claremont Graduate University. With 15 years of K-12 teaching experience across different school levels, she now serves as a Social Justice Educator at Claremont Graduate University and the University of Redlands in their graduate teacher education preparation programs. Additionally, she earned a Master of Arts in Forensic Psychology from Argosy University, focusing on treatment, and obtained a BA in Social Science with emphases in Psychology, along with minors in Psychology and Law and Children and Families in Urban America from The University of Southern California.

Her commitment extends to a 5-year tenure as an Adjunct Instructor at the Learning Rights Law Center’s T.I.G.E.R program, guiding parents through the IEP process and empowering families to navigate the special education system effectively.Moreover, she is a seasoned public speaker, presenting for TEDx as well as numerous local and national conferences.

Dr. Jack Goetz

Jack Goetz advocates for elevating the mediation field by integrating qualifications resembling other professions as well as strengthening public protection in mediation. He serves as president of MC3 (since 2015), a non-profit organization designed to promote greater education and training for mediators through certification and the social justice associated with greater widespread public access to qualified mediators. He also served as a member of the California State Bar Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution from 2014-2017.

As a neutral, Dr. Goetz serves the public privately as well as serving on various public panels, including serving as an arbitrator and mediator for the LACBA’s Attorney-Client Mediation and Arbitration Services and as an arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Association (FINRA). He additionally served as a temporary judge for the Los Angeles Superior Court from 2012-2017. Dr. Goetz also served four years as a member of the Board of Directors for the Southern California Mediation Association (SCMA) and was the SCMA president in 2018. The Los Angeles Superior Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Program honored him as the 2011 “Outstanding Volunteer” for his service.

Dr. Goetz has spent most of his time mentoring new mediators and teaching conflict resolution techniques in the last two decades.  He is a lecturer in law at USC Gould School of Law, where he has been integrally involved in the alternative dispute resolution programs since 2015. Previously, Dr. Goetz was the academic lead for a 100-hour mediation training certificate program that he created in 2009 and then taught for seven years at the California State University campuses in Northridge and Dominguez Hills. Dr. Goetz serves as president of the non-profit company Educational Solutions 4 Change, which among other things, offers conflict resolution training to other non-profit and governmental groups. In that capacity, he was academic director for a mediation training program offered to the Los Angeles Police Department, Office of the Ombuds (2015), the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) and its mediation training program (2018-2020), Riverside Community College District (2022), and the San Jose-Evergreen Community College District (2024).

Goetz’s business background is extensive, and he received international acclaim for creating the first nationally accredited online law school, Concord Law School (1998), which is now part of the Purdue University Global system. He serves on the faculty for the business department at Moorpark College, teaching classes in Business Law and Introduction to Business. Goetz additionally served the educational community as a commissioner for the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (2017-2023), overseeing the accreditation compliance of many educational institutions offering online classes domestically and internationally.

Goetz received his PhD in Education from Capella University (2006), his JD from Boston University (1979), his MBA from Pepperdine University (1990), and his BA in Economics from San Diego State University (1976).

Sidney Kanazawa, Esq.

Sid Kanazawa is a full-time mediator/arbitrator with ARC (Alternative Resolution Centers) https://www.arc4adr.com/sidney_kanazawa.php. He is a graduate of the University of Hawaii (B.Ed.), University of Southern California (J.D.), and the negotiation and mediation programs at Harvard University (Program on Negotiation), Pepperdine University (Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution), Los Angeles Superior Court, Edelman Children’s Court, and the United States District Court for the Central District of California. For 40 years, he practiced as a trial lawyer and is admitted to the bar in California and Hawaii.

Ron Kelly, Esq.

Since the mid-80s, Ron Kelly has been actively involved in the formation of mediation law and policy. He initiated and guided enactment of California’s main Evidence Code chapter defining and governing mediation and played a central role nationally in shaping the Uniform Mediation Act. He’s been mediating since 1970. Ron ’s trained thousands of judges, attorneys, and business professionals in mediation skills, law, and ethics on four continents. He’s been honored with ten major awards for his work in building the field. More information on crafting sound mediation law and policy Ron Kelly here: https://www.ronkelly.com/pg6.cfm

Phyllis Pollack, Esq.

Phyllis Pollack, Esq. is the principal of PGP Mediation (www.pgpmediation.com), has been a mediator in Los Angeles, California since2000. She has conducted over 2000 mediations. As an attorney with more than40 years  experience, she utilizes her diverse background to resolve business,commercial, international trade, real estate, employment and lemon law disputes at both the state and federal trial and state appellate court levels.

She is a past chair of State Bar of California’s ADR Committee. She has served on the board of the California Dispute Resolution Council (CDRC) (2012-2013), is a past president and past treasurer of the SCMA Education Foundation(2011-2013), a past president (2010) of the Southern California Mediation Association (SCMA) and a member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.

At present, she is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law, teaching  ADR ethics and co-teaching online Employment Dispute Mediation.

Ms. Pollack received her BA degree in sociology in 1973 from Newcomb College of Tulane University and her JD degree from Tulane University School of Law in 1977. She is an active member of both the Louisiana and California bars.Pollack believes that it is never too late to mediate a dispute and recommends mediation over litigation as it allows the parties to decide their own solutions.

PGP Mediation

865 S. Figueroa St., Suite 1388

Los Angeles, CA 90017

Voice: (213) 623-8810

Fax: (213) 630-8890

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.pgpmediation.com

Blog: http://www.pgpmediation.com/blog/