Staff

Jody B. Miller, Executive Director
Jody has worked closely with courts and the community to develop and provide mediation and conflict resolution training programs over her more than 20 years in the alternative dispute resolution field.  During her tenure and in partnership with the domestic violence community, Jody and her team created the award winning Domestic Violence and Mediation Safety Project, the first of its kind in the country.

Jody is an adjunct professor of mediation at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University and is a Fellow of the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation.  She trains volunteers and professional mediators and develops conflict resolution and communication training for public and private organizations. She is a certified trainer through the New York State Unified Court System’s Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution and Court Improvement Programs (ADRCIP) and serves as an appointed member of the Mediation Ethics Advisory Committee.  She is the author of the chapter, “Choosing to Change: Transitioning to the Transformative Model in a Community Mediation Center,” in the publication, Transformative Mediation:  A Sourcebook: Resources for Conflict Intervention Practitioners and Programs, Association for Conflict Resolution/Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation, 2010  as well as the recent article, “Mediating Commercial Cases in U. S. Municipal Courts:  A Case for Transformative Mediation,” Opinio Juris in Comparatione (Studies in Comparative and National Law), August 6, 2012. Lider-Lab, Scuole Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy.  She has been a presenter at conferences nationally as well as in Italy and China. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Bonnie Allen, Family Program Manager
Bonnie Allen is our newest staff member.  She has a masters degree in psychology from Adlephi University and has worked in human services for over 20 years.  She has developed and coordinated several new initiatives in Dutchess County. She implemented the Family Self Sufficiency program, which trained volunteers to work with low-income families as they faced numerous obstacles to becoming self-sufficient.  Bonnie was the first Universal Response Coordinator to Domestic Violence in Dutchess County.  She worked with all agencies, systems, and organizations that address issues of domestic violence.  She coordinated and facilitated domestic violence trainings for judges, police officers, attorneys, and Department of Social Service employees.  In conjunction with two local Episcopal Churches and volunteers, Bonnie also began a re entry program for men and women transitioning from incarceration to the community.  She has worked in a shelter for battered women and has facilitated domestic violence classes for men and a women’s support group in the Dutchess County Jail.  She designed and implemented a tracking system for identifying consequences for batterers who failed to comply with a court mandate to attend a batterers program. Bonnie brings a lot of experience working with individuals and families struggling with conflict and facing and overcoming obstacles and challenges. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Susan Houston, Director of Finance and Administration
Sue is an accountant by trade and has twenty-eight years of experience working with non-profits. In addition to working for the Mediation Center since June of 2010, Sue operates her own business and has been providing a vast array of financial services to various different companies in the Hudson Valley since 1996.  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it


Carol Sullivan, Community Program Coordinator

Kathy Sheehan, Elder Abuse Coalition in Dutchess County Coordinator