Southern California is home to a wealth of mediation resources, offering a diverse array of services to individuals, businesses, and communities seeking to resolve disputes outside the courtroom. This panel brings together leading voices in the region’s mediation landscape, including representatives from the Center for Conflict Resolution, California Lawyers for the Arts, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Dispute Resolution Program, and other key community mediation providers.

Join us for an insightful discussion on the variety of mediation programs available, how they serve different populations, and the impact of mediation in fostering constructive dialogue and resolution. Whether you’re a practitioner, policymaker, or someone interested in the field, this session will highlight the breadth of mediation opportunities in Southern California and how to connect with these valuable resources.

Will Burrington a lawyer by training and practice, Will Burrington is a “peacemaker” and his firm Harmony Partners, LLC focuses on community facilitation, conflict resolution consulting and mediation.  Will is currently studying alternative dispute resolution at the world-renowned Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Caruso School of Law at Pepperdine University in Malibu where he is completing this May his Master of Laws (LLM) Degree in Dispute Resolution.  He is a 2013 graduate of the highly respected Leadership Coaching Program at Georgetown University’s Institute for Transformational Leadership in Washington, DC.

From 1987-2000 Will practiced communications and Internet law with firms in Milwaukee and Washington, DC; served as Chief Counsel to a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Will's native Milwaukee; Associate General Counsel and Head of Global Public Policy for AOL (formerly America Online), as well as Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer for AOL Europe in Hamburg and London. He has also served as a Senior Communications and Public Affairs Counselor to Fleishman-Hillard in Washington, DC, one of the top global public relations and marketing agencies. 

With 37 years of professional experience in the practice of law, public affairs and advocacy, corporate communications and senior management roles in the U.S. and Europe, he brings a unique, multi-disciplinary lens to conflict resolution, leadership coaching and service on a variety of boards.

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Inely Cesna, Esq. is an attorney, mediator, coach, and educator specialized in conflict resolution and leadership development. With advanced degrees in law, dispute resolution, psychology, and spiritual sciences, she integrates legal expertise with deep psychological insight. She has mediated over 250 cases, trained professionals at the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, LAPD, and SoCal Family Mediation, and is certified under California’s Dispute Resolution Program Act.

As the founder of the Institute for Next Level Leadership (INLLE), Inely provides training in communication, conflict resolution, and the harmonization of diverse personality styles. A published author and thought leader, she has written Critical Axis: Consciousness of Choice in Times of Change and Naked Truth: My Journey to Divine Intimacy, with her academic work to be featured in the Pepperdine Law Dispute Resolution Journal. 

Recognized for her impact, she received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office for strengthening relationships between Los Angeles residents and the LAPD. Born in Brazil, she has worked with professionals across cultures, faiths, and industries, bringing a global perspective to her practice. Her commitment to dialogue, trust, and understanding continues to make a meaningful impact worldwide.

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Aaron Larks-Stanford is the Arts, Arbitration and Mediation Services (AAMS) Program Director in the Los Angeles office of California Lawyers for the Arts (CLA). He is also their statewide Arbitration Administrator. Years of experience as a labor lawyer brought Aaron to a career in mediation. He is trained and certified by the California Academy of Mediation Professionals, the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA), and Ken Cloke's Center for Dispute Resolution.

As a community and court mediator, he helps parties resolve, among other things, neighbor-neighbor conflicts, landlord-tenant disputes, intra-organizational conflicts, family, business, and employment issues. Aaron is a mediator with Southern California Family Mediation (SCFM), the Center for Conflict Resolution, and Centinela Youth Services. He’s also mediated with the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) as well as the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Dispute Resolution Program. Aaron has educated new mediators as a trainer and coach for CLA, SCFM, the DCBA, the Asian Youth Center, and the Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center. He is also a volunteer arbitrator with LACBA. Aaron is a member of the Southern California Mediation Association, the State Bar of California, and sits on the board of Whole Family Mediation.

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Christopher Welch is an experienced Executive Director with over two decades of leadership in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and non-profit management. Since 2004, he has led the Center for Conflict Resolution, overseeing Day-of-Hearing and Court-Connected mediations across 13 Los Angeles Superior Court courthouses—the largest unified trial court system in the United States. Under his leadership, the organization has successfully mediated andresolved hundreds of disputes annually, ensuring accessible conflict resolution services for individuals, businesses, and organizations.

The Center for Conflict Resolution collaborates extensively with law schools and advanced degree programs throughout Los Angeles County, providing training and real-world mediation opportunities to students and emerging professionals. Additionally, Christopher manages a dedicated team of professional mediators who volunteer their time to support court-connected and community mediation efforts.

A recognized leader in modernizing ADR services, Christopher spearheaded the development of the Los Angeles Superior Court’s Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform,TurboCourt, in collaboration with the County of Los Angeles. His work has improved the accessibility and efficiency of dispute resolution for litigants navigating the court system. Additionally, he oversees the organization’s compliance with the Dispute Resolution Programs Act (DRPA) grant, ensuring that mediation services remain widely available to the public.

In January 2025, Christopher was selected to join the Alternative Dispute Resolution Certification Working Group for the California State Bar, contributing to the development of a voluntary certification program for ADR practitioners. For his contributions to the field, he received the 2017 Los Angeles County John Anson Ford Human Relations Award and served as a board member for the Mediator Certification Consortium of California (MC3) from 2017 to 2024. Skilled in Mediation, Negotiation, Court-Connected Dispute Resolution, and Program Management, he is committed to strengthening mediation as an essential tool for access to justice and community peacebuilding.