Compass Collaborative: Mediators
Comm. Stephen M. Gaddis, Ret.
15600 NE 8th St., Suite B-1, # 177
Bellevue, WA 98008
Phone:
phone: 206-465-3500 fax: 425-671-8097
web: www.gaddismediation.com
email: stephengaddis@comcast.net
Mediator
Retired Judge
Stephen Gaddis was graduated from UW School of Law in 1970, and practiced law for 10 years prior to being appointed to the bench. He retired in 2005 after 25 years of service with King County Superior Court (Seattle/Kent) as Judge, Superior Court Commissioner and Family Law Commissioner. Thereafter he presided as a pro tem Judge and Commissioner in Pierce County (Tacoma) for two years, and since has worked exclusively as a mediator and arbitrator.
Mediation Experience: Gaddis received his mediation training in 1977, and in 1978 he and nine attorneys and social workers founded the Northwest Mediation Service. NMS pioneered mediation services in the Family Law area and later received grants to provide mediation training on a broader basis in local schools and the community.
While on the bench, Gaddis initiated a program for the mandatory mediation of all custody and visitation disputes coming before the court, and later drafted proposed Local Rules for ADR. For five years he was an adjunct professor at Seattle University School of Law, teaching Advanced Family Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution. Additionally, he has trained mediators for the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Pierce County District Court and the King County Dispute Resolution Center. He was on the founding board of the Washington State Bar Association’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Section.
Jack Mahler
1900 129 Ave SE
Bellevue, WA 98005
(206) 371-9972
email: je62mahler@hotmail.com
Collaborative Law Child Specialist and Mediator
Family Law GAL/Parenting Evaluator
Certified Family and Co-Parenting Mediator
Founder, Compass Collaborative
Innovative, pragmatic, eclectic and visionary are the words colleagues use to describe Jack Mahler. By his own admission, his more than 30-year career has never fit the mold. His diverse background includes working in family law, family courts, children’s mental health and social work, as well as a lifelong passion for community service and volunteering.
Throughout his career, Jack has reinvented himself several times, from running a non-profit alcohol and drug treatment center to serving on more than 1,000 family law cases as part of the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Program and in private practice. Jack retired from public service in 2005, eager to help children through the growing field of collaborative law. Today Jack’s private practice focuses around three core services: collaborative law child specialist and mediator, family law guardian ad litem (GAL)/parenting evaluator and certified family and co-parenting mediator.
Always looking for ways to innovate and improve, Jack saw the need for a focused, organized collaborative law pod that better served the needs of divorcing couples and families, and in 2008, he formed Compass Collaborative. While Jack’s interests and skills continue to evolve, what remains constant is his commitment to serving the best interests of children and representing those who so badly need a voice.
Kathleen Royer
Family Mediation and Consultation
1001 Fourth Avenue, Suite 3200
Seattle, WA 98154
206.684.9460
web: www.nwfamilymediation.com
email: kroyer@nwfamilymediation.com
Mediator
Kathleen offers mediation and arbitration in all aspects of divorce, including child custody and parenting matters, post-decree modifications and complex property matters. Kathleen has completed substantial professional mediation training including specialized training in parent-teen mediation and conflict resolution.
Before forming Northwest Family Mediation & Consultation, Kathleen’s practice emphasized cooperative/collaborative cases, mediation and settlement conferences.
Kathleen Royer began practicing family law in Seattle in 1992. Kathleen has experience in complicated parenting and non-parental custody matters and extensive experience in special education, dependency, and guardianships. Kathleen has served as a Court Commissioner pro tempore in King County Superior Court since 1998 and as a Volunteer Settlement Conference Master for King County Superior Court since 2001.
Kathleen has been a presenter for continuing legal education programs including Unified Family Court, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Third Party (non-parental) Custody Matters, Family Law Skills Training, and Ethics.
Kathleen has been a member of the King County Bar Association Family Law Section since 1994, and served as the Section's Chair in 2003 – 04. In September 2008, Kathleen was elected to the Washington State Bar Association Family Law Section Executive Committee for a three year term.
Catherine Schatzel
Compassionate Resolutions
10030 36th Ave SW
Seattle WA 98146
(206) 369-1239
web: www.collaborativepractice.com
email: cschatzel@aol.com
Collaborative Law Mediator/Facilitator
Vocational Specialist
Catherine’s colleagues & clients describe her as compassionate, insightful, empowering, and supportive. Her 25 year volunteer and work history includes conducting public and private sector family, eldercare, and workplace mediations, working in Human Resources recruitment and staffing, and providing Vocational counseling for Collaborative cases.
She is a mediator/facilitator of complex, diverse, cases often involving difficult parenting, financial, communication, and cultural issues. The empathy and understanding that clients experience from Catherine is equally important in developing their trust as is her competence and professionalism.
Catherine works with her vocational clients to identify their passions and skills, and helps them understand the true value and earning potential of their professional qualifications. She supports her clients to determine additional education/training needs and associated costs, as well as support in resume design, and interviewing strategies.
Her heartfelt listening puts her clients at ease, knowing they have an ally to help them work through the professional challenges they face. Clients report a renewed sense of self-confidence as Catherine coaches them in creating and carrying out a plan for employment that ensures that the plan is congruent with their inner values, resulting in a consistently high level of client satisfaction and success with the outcome.
Debra Synovec
Whole Mediation, Inc.
2711 East Madison Street, 204-A
Seattle, WA 98112
(206) 568-5337
web: www.wholemediation.com
blog: www.realdivorcemediation.com
email: debra@wholemediation.com
Collaborative Lawyer
Mediator
Debra Synovec, a mediator and collaborative lawyer for over 20 years, helps people mediate complete, constructive agreements for the life circumstances they care about most. Debra’s approach is face-to-face, early stage mediation in which she integrates legal, financial and relationship issues. Debra combines her unique background acquired as an attorney, CPA and social worker, weaving together pragmatism and compassion, to guide you to a fair, durable agreement. As a mediator, she helps people resolve and prevent conflict with more dignity, less acrimony, and usually for less cost than other dispute resolution methods. Debra offers a safe place, impartial knowledge and intuitive guidance, to give clients a way out of troubling situations. Mediation enables clients to reach optimal outcomes through a process that allows them to grow, transform and become empowered with dignity in order to move forward.
