John S. McCain III
National Center for Environmental Conflict Resolution

Find a Mediator or Facilitator

Collaboration and conflict resolution experts, including mediators and facilitators, can help parties create the conditions for productive conversations; enhance multiparty problem-solving; support broad, balanced engagement of key partners and stakeholders; and help resolve disputes. Finding the right professional to design and lead a collaborative process is critical with complex and challenging environmental, public lands, and natural resources issues and conflicts. The following resources are available to help you find independent, professional mediators and facilitators to support collaborative problem-solving, public engagement, and agreement-seeking processes.

National Center Mediators and Facilitators

National Center mediators and facilitators have decades of experience working with clients and stakeholders to design and implement creative collaborative processes and are particularly attuned to providing nonpartisan collaboration and conflict resolution support on the following types of issues:

• Complex, multiparty environmental challenges at a national and regional level.
• Issues that require substantive, technical, or process expertise (e.g., NEPA, transportation infrastructure projects, endangered species, cultural resources).
• Issues involving multiple levels of government (Federal, State, Local, Tribal) and the public.
• Issues that require help with initial assessment and/or collaborative process design.
• Collaborative efforts involving Tribes and Native people, including Government-to-Government Consultation between Tribes and Federal agencies.

As a nonpartisan program within an independent Federal agency, the National Center is particularly well suited to strengthen and support interagency and interdepartmental Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution (ECCR).

Review our Team biographies and our Service Areas and Areas of Expertise to find a contact that works on issues like yours. Or reach out to our National Center Primary Contacts for more information.

Native American and Alaska Native Community of Practice Directory

The National Center’s Native American and Alaska Native Service Area maintains a directory of dispute resolution professionals with expertise in culturally appropriate collaboration and conflict resolution working with Native Nations and Indigenous Communities in connection with Tribal, Federal, and State governments. We can distribute requests for mediators or facilitators through the directory on your behalf or help identify potential dispute resolution experts. Please contact us for assistance.

Independent Roster of ECR Professionals

An independent database of experienced ECCR professionals who mediate environmental disputes and support collaborative solutions to complex environmental, public lands, or natural resources issues is available for public use. The Roster of ECR Professionals (Roster) was initially developed as a partnership between the National Center, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and ECCR practitioners, among others. Since the Roster’s inception in 1998, it has served as a resource for Federal, Tribal, and State governments; nongovernmental organizations; and the private sector to locate professional mediators, facilitators, and conflict resolution service providers. Management of the Roster has now transferred to the Association for Conflict Resolution Environmental Public Policy Section and Mediate.com .

Questions About Finding a Mediator or Facilitator

The National Center team is available to answer your questions or walk you through the options for identifying and selecting a collaboration or conflict resolution professional. Please reach out to our National Center Primary Contacts for more information. You can also review our guidance for Choosing an ECR Professional.