Gregory Firestone, Ph.D.
Gregory Firestone, Ph.D. is a mediator, mediation trainer, dispute resolution system consultant, and retired clinical psychologist who founded and directed the University of South Florida (USF) Conflict Resolution Collaborative (from 1994 until retiring in 2016), and currently serves as President of My Florida Mediator and a collaborative faculty member in the USF College of Public Health. Greg served on the Florida Supreme Court (FSC) Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Rules and Policy Committee (including Vice Chair for seven years) and on various standing FSC ADR committees for twenty-two years. In addition, he represented two national mediation organizations in the Uniform Law Commission Uniform Mediation Act Drafting Committee (for three years), chaired the FSC Taskforce on Parenting Coordination and chaired the ADR subcommittee of the FSC Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Taskforce. Greg practiced mediation for four decades, trained thousands of mediators from around the world, directed a residential mortgage mediation program for the 12th Judicial Circuit of Florida (for eight years), helped develop ADR programs for the Florida Medicare Beneficiary Program, Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, and private industry.
Through Dr. Firestone’s extensive participation and leadership in state and national ADR policy and rulemaking committees, leadership in the establishment of both pre-suit and court mandated alternative dispute resolution programs throughout the U.S and internationally, service on the editorial board of Family Court Review, publication of book chapters and journal articles, leadership roles in state, national and international ADR organizations, Greg has played a pivotal role in shaping ADR public policy and establishing ADR as an ethical and invaluable means to divert and resolve cases pending in the judicial system as well as pre-suit cases. In acknowledgement of his pivotal role in building the field for more than forty years, Greg has received numerous state and national awards including the prestigious Florida Supreme Court Excellence in ADR Award, as well as Presidential Awards from both the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and the Association for Conflict Resolution.
Rhiannon Paul
Rhiannon Paul is a Professional Family Mediator and Child Protection Mediator accredited through the Ontario Association for Family Mediation (OAFM). Rhiannon is a former member of Mediators Beyond Borders International and is certified as an Online Dispute Resolution Specialist through the OAFM.
Rhiannon maintains extensive training and experience as a Circle Facilitator, conducting formal interviews and mediating child protection and youth justice matters in Indigenous communities and Criminal Court settings.
Additionally, Rhiannon has held support and advocacy roles operating within the Ontario Court system and acted as a guest lecturer leading training workshops and seminars on varying types of facilitation.
Colin Rule
Colin Rule is CEO of Mediate.com and ODR.com, which became for-profit subsidiaries of the American Arbitration Association/International Centre for Dispute Resolution in June 2024. In 2011 Colin co-founded Modria.com, an Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) provider based in Silicon Valley, which was acquired by Tyler Technologies in 2017. From 2017 to 2020 Colin served as Vice President of ODR at Tyler. From 2003 to 2011 Colin was Director of ODR for eBay and PayPal. Colin co-founded Online Resolution, one of the first ODR providers, in 1999 and served as its CEO and President. Colin is the author of Online Dispute Resolution for Business (2002) and co-author of The New Handshake: ODR and the Future of Consumer Protection (2017). He has lectured and taught at Harvard, Yale, Stanford, UC Law, Pepperdine, Texas A&M, Southern Methodist University, UMass-Amherst, and Santa Clara University. Colin received two awards from the from the American Bar Association: the D’Alemberte Raven Award in 2023 and the Frank Sander Award in 2019, as well as the Mary Parker Follett Award from the Association for Conflict Resolution in 2013. Colin also worked with the National Institute for Dispute Resolution in Washington, DC and the Consensus Building Institute in Cambridge, MA.
JoAnn Meloche
JoAnn Meloche est une avocate à Ottawa en pratique privée avec près de 30 ans d’expérience dans le domaine pénal, spécialisant dans la violence sexuelle. Elle représente des victimes d’agression sexuelle et de traite de personnes dans des procès criminels. Elle s’occupe aussi d’enquêtes dans le milieu de travail.
Maître Meloche a débuté sa carrière comme procureure de la couronne en Ontario après avoir obtenu son diplôme de juris doctor en 1995 à l’Université d’Ottawa et est devenue chef d’équipe en matière de violence fondée sur le genre. En juillet 2009, elle a été recrutée dans les îles Turquoises en tant que procureur en chef et est devenue la première directrice des poursuites pénales.
Maître Meloche a œuvré dans le cadre de divers régimes juridiques à l’échelle internationale, d’abord comme directrice de programme auprès de l’initiative de primauté de droit de l’Association du Barreau américain (American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative) ; dans le cadre de cette initiative elle a renforcé les capacités des procureurs égyptiens dans le contexte de la traite de personnes et les mutilations génitales féminines, entre autres. D’autres initiatives sur la primauté du droit au niveau international comprennent des projets pour fin de faciliter la transition vers le système de procès oral au Panama et au Mexique ainsi que la traite de personnes au Costa Rica.
The Honourable Colin McKinnon, K.C.
Prior to his almost 23 years on the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Mr. McKinnon practiced law as a trial lawyer, and was certified as a Specialist in both Civil Litigation and Criminal Law, one of approximately 40 lawyers in Ontario to hold both certificates. He appeared as counsel at every level of court in Canada, including numerous administrative tribunals, the Canada and Ontario Labour Boards, and was counsel to numerous Police Service Boards in Ontario. For two years he served a Commission Counsel in an Inquiry into RCMP activities (the “Cogger Inquiry”).
Mr. McKinnon served as President of the County of Carleton Law Association, was chair of the County and District Law Presidents Association and was a Bencher of the Law Society of Ontario for eight years. He served as President of the Ontario Superior Court Judges Association. For eight years he was an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Ottawa Law School, teaching Trial Advocacy, Ethics and Evidence. While on the court, Mr. McKinnon was a member of the Chief Justice’s Education Committee for six years.
Since his appointment to the court in 1996 up until his retirement in late 2018 Mr. McKinnon was one of a small handful of designated judges in the City of Ottawa authorized to approve Infant Settlements. In that capacity he dealt with hundreds of cases involving serious personal injury, including medical malpractice cases, with the responsibility of determining whether the proposed settlements were in the best interests of the affected minors.
Over his career, Mr. McKinnon has tried thousands of cases, and as a judge regularly sat on the Divisional Court of Appeal, hearing civil and administrative law appeals. He was also invited to sit on the Court of Appeal as an ‘ad hoc’ judge. Mr. McKinnon is renowned for his ability to grasp issues quickly, listen politely, treat counsel and witnesses with respect, focus on the big picture and render judgments in a timely manner. He is regarded as an expert in the law of evidence. Mr. McKinnon has presided over many high-profile criminal cases, including charges of homicide, terrorism and commercial fraud. He has proven to be extremely adept at settling cases. He has heard, settled and decided cases on a myriad of subjects, including commercial disputes, breach of contract, personal injury, medical malpractice, professional liability, construction, wrongful dismissal and insurance claims, interpretation of wills, boundary disputes, family law and estate litigation. Mr. McKinnon recently completed a two year review of the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service on behalf of the Minister of Justice for that province, inquiring into whether the Service had fulfilled its disclosure obligations in 16 cases, including 14 homicides, involving the evidence of a medical examiner. Mr. McKinnon is a member of the Canadian Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.
Carolyn Botting
Carolyn Botting brings three decades of investigative experience in sexual and gender-based violence to the Institute for Judicial Dialogue, with a career spanning frontline investigation, courtroom testimony, civilian oversight, and international deployment with a United Nations Mission in Sudan.
Her work has consistently operated at the intersection of law, social science, and institutional accountability. She has collaborated across policing, legal, community, and oversight sectors on trauma-informed and precedent-setting investigations, and has led governance and implementation work under Ontario’s Community Safety and Policing Act, translating legislative requirements into operational practice within a complex public institution.
Carolyn holds an Executive MBA from the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management, where her research examined workplace sexual harassment and the organizational conditions that allow it to persist. She is continuing her education in this area through programs, courses and networks that involve restorative justice, culture change, risk management and governance. She is the founder of Cygnet Black, a consulting practice that focuses on multidisciplinary, trauma-informed approaches to complex harm.
Her contributions to the IJD draw on direct experience navigating institutional resistance, coordinating multidisciplinary response, and applying evidence-based frameworks to cases where legal process alone has proven insufficient.