Lorig Charkoudian, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the Community Mediation Maryland. Her work includes developing innovative partnerships with state agencies including the Department of Education, Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Department on Aging and others, to bring collaborative conflict resolution to new and unique forums.

Prior to becoming Executive Director, she served as Community Mediation Maryland’s Director of Research and Training. Lorig founded and served for seven years as the Executive Director and lead trainer for the Community Mediation Program in Baltimore City. She has trained hundreds of mediators all over Maryland as well as police, judges, and social workers. Lorig served on the Maryland Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission which established the Maryland Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office.

Lorig co-founded Community Mediation Maryland and served as Board Chair. Lorig received her Ph.D. in Economics from The Johns Hopkins University. The focus of her research was on the public cost of conflict and the cost savings of mediation to the Baltimore City Police Department. Lorig’s current research examines the impact of various aspects of the mediation process on outcomes and experiences for participants.

Leslie Overholser is the Deputy Director for Community Mediation Maryland. In this role, she is responsible for development activities to include fundraising and event planning. In addition, Leslie provides financial and HR management. She supports the education programs in schools statewide. Leslie also works closely with CMM partners and provides technical support to community mediation centers.

Prior to working with CMM, Leslie was the Executive Director at the Anne Arundel Conflict Resolution Center. Before starting with AACRC, she spent 20 years with Bank of America as an SVP in banking operations. Leslie made the career choice to leave banking in 2010 to pursue her dream of working for a non-profit.

Leslie holds a B.A. degree in Communications, is a certified mediator in the Inclusive Model, and has logged over 500 hours of mediating cases from re-entry to parenting plans.

Erricka Bridgeford is the Executive Director of Baltimore Community Mediation Center and trainer for Community Mediation Maryland. In this capacity, she provides training to the 16 community mediation centers in Maryland, as well as to state agencies and organizations. She has provided advanced skills training to mediators at the Maryland Human Relations Commission, for Federal EEOC mediators, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and at many national conferences.

Prior coming to CMM as the Director of Training, Erricka was a case manager at Community Mediation in Baltimore City, giving her a unique insight into the challenges of working with people in conflict from the beginning of a referral through the completion of the mediation. Erricka was promoted to Director of Training and Volunteer Development, where she trained, mentored, evaluated, and supervised both new and experienced mediators.

Erricka was trained to be a mediator in 2001. She describes her excitement about conflict resolution as an opportunity for people in conflict to find peaceful resolutions. Erricka’s experience with conflict continues to include watching friends and family fight, kill and die as the only options for ending disputes. The philosophy that conflicts can be vented and creatively resolved by those involved to truly meet their needs, is one that brings Erricka hope. This hope fuels her commitment to being a part of changing the culture of conflict in our society.

Tracee Ford is a professional mediator and facilitator with over 15 years’ experience. Tracee uses her creative energy and talents to help groups meet their goals. From 2004 to 2011, Tracee served at different times as the Outreach Coordinator, the Director of Training and Outreach, and the Executive Director for Community Mediation in Baltimore. She has extensive experience training mediators for: Office of Public Defenders, Baltimore City Police Department, Office of Labor Commission, Baltimore City Public Schools, and community mediation centers in Prince George’s County, Anne Arundel County, Hagerstown, and Baltimore. Tracee is an evaluator for the Community Mediation Maryland Performance Based Evaluation for Mediators.

Fasia Hardy is the Education Program Director and Executive Director of Prince George’s Community Collaborative Resolution Center. Her work includes overseeing school-related mediation programs such as attendance, Individual Education Program (IEP), and student conflict management training.

Fasia sees mediation as a way to build communities. Her passion is in educating the community so that they can be citizens who can fully articulate feelings and values in the midst of heated disagreements. Young people can be empowered through mediation to become leaders who lead healthy conversations in place of conflict.

Prior to working with CMM, Fasia served through AmeriCorps as a School Based Mediation Specialist with the Key Bridge Foundation, with the personal mission to provide strong mediation for Prince George’s County with the educational system and district court to change minds on how conflict takes place for African American communities.

Fasia holds a B.A. degree in Mass Communication from Bowie State and a Masters in Global Communications (Development Communication track) from American University of Paris. 

Akida Jones is a certified mediator in the Inclusive Mediation Process and the Re-entry Program Director. In this role, Akida coordinates and provides mediation services to incarcerated individuals and their loved ones on the outside. These reentry mediation services happen prior to the individual’s release from prison to help reduce recidivism. In addition, Akida has also taken advanced trainings that allow her to mediate statewide Parenting Plan mediations, Large Group Facilitations, and IEP Facilitations.

Jerri Thomas is the director of Baltimore Re-entry Mediation Programs. Jerri has previously served as Director of Programs and Mediation Coordinator at Baltimore Community Mediation Center, and has served as a community mediator for almost 19 years.

Hope Braveheart is the AmeriCorps Program Director at Community Mediation Maryland and serves with the America’s Service Commission (ASC) as one of Maryland’s States for Service Leaders. Ms. Braveheart began leading the CMM AmeriCorps program in 2007 and through her efforts hundreds of AmeriCorps members have served one year terms at community mediation centers throughout Maryland. As one of Maryland’s States for Service Leader Ms. Braveheart represents Maryland as ASC promotes congressional legislative education about the impact of AmeriCorps.

Allie Matheu is the AmeriCorps Coordinator at Community Mediation Maryland.

Ryan Jacobs is the Office and Events Manager, supporting Community Mediation Maryland logistically.