Community Mediation Center

Community Mediation Center We train online (for now) community volunteers and law students to co-mediate.

CMC is the best-kept secret in Knox County, providing excellent mediation services to people in conflict, regardless of their ability to pay, both remote and face to face. CMC provides mediation services and training to courts, schools, businesses, churches, community groups and individuals. Our services include:
• mediation process and space
• facilitation of group dialogue and decision-making

• R31 approved training for volunteers
• conflict management training for large and small organizations
• educational presentations
• continuing mediation and legal education training (CME & CLE)

Money conversations are rarely just about the numbers. They are tangled up with fairness, fear, control, and history bet...
09/01/2026

Money conversations are rarely just about the numbers. They are tangled up with fairness, fear, control, and history between the people at the table. This workshop looks closely at the emotional and relational dynamics that shape financial negotiations, whether it is a divorce settlement, a business dispute, or a family disagreement over money, and leaves participants with practical tools for addressing the numbers as well as the emotional context in order to reach a workable agreement.

The cost of this 2-hour workshop is $30, and it is free to mediators who volunteer for a community mediation center in Tennessee.
Scan the QR code below, or go to the following link to register:
https://www.cognitoforms.com/KnoxCMC/BeyondTheNumbersEmotionAndRelationshipsInFinancialNegotiations

From Jen: August has been a whirlwind at CMC, and we finished up the month with a 2 hour workshop for employees of the K...
08/31/2026

From Jen: August has been a whirlwind at CMC, and we finished up the month with a 2 hour workshop for employees of the Knox County Grants and Community Development Office. We discussed mediation, communication tools, and strategies for getting folks to the mediation table. We are grateful for their partnership in our work, including our new initiative to bring mediation to people in housing disputes prior to their day of the court hearing. Thanks to Zach, Sarah, Alanna, and all the lovely people who attended this morning’s workshop - y’all have a great team.

Special thanks to Jacob Stoll who helped me present this morning - Jacob has been an invaluable addition to our CMC staff and we are so proud of him.

From Jen: I just wrapped up a 40-hour Rule 31 Civil Mediation Training for students at Lincoln Memorial University's Dun...
08/30/2026

From Jen: I just wrapped up a 40-hour Rule 31 Civil Mediation Training for students at Lincoln Memorial University's Duncan School of Law. This was a fantastic class, I learned a lot from them and I hope they learned a lot from me. Thanks to all the wonderful trainees, as well as Dean Gordon Russell for overseeing their experiential learning in Sevier County's General Sessions Court and being there throughout the training to assist with roleplays and group exercises. We look forward to seeing these students grow in skills and confidence over their semester and hope to see them volunteering at Community Mediation Center as well.

Thanks also to all the other mediators who showed up to help as roleplayers and coaches - Michelle Parsons, Chuck Hill, Vanessa Castano, Jacob Stoll, Janet McMullen, Tim Howell, Catie Goshen, and Joanna Busigin. I couldn't do this without everyone's help and participation. It is a team effort, and I appreciate everyone who comes together to help prepare new mediators for the challenges of this work.

From Jen: It is a whirlwind week of conferences and workshops! Today is the virtual ADRC Annual Seminar, and I am looki...
08/28/2026

From Jen: It is a whirlwind week of conferences and workshops! Today is the virtual ADRC Annual Seminar, and I am looking forward to learning from these experts in the field. The folks at the AOC have worked really hard putting all this together and it looks to be a very interesting day!

From Jen: Vanessa and I have had a lot of fun at the TALS Equal Justice University Conference in Murfreesboro!!! I prese...
08/26/2026

From Jen: Vanessa and I have had a lot of fun at the TALS Equal Justice University Conference in Murfreesboro!!! I presented on De-Escalation for Legal Professionals and have attended really interesting sessions on Juvenile Justice and Housing issues. What a great event!

From Jen: I'm looking forward to being out of the office for a couple of days to attend the Tennessee Alliance for Legal...
08/25/2026

From Jen: I'm looking forward to being out of the office for a couple of days to attend the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services' Equal Justice University Conference (TALS EJU), where I'll be presenting on de-escalation tools for legal professionals.

This conference brings together legal aid attorneys, advocates, and access-to-justice professionals from across the state to strengthen the skills and resources available to Tennesseans navigating the legal system, often during some of the most stressful moments of their lives. My session will focus on practical de-escalation strategies that legal professionals can use in high-tension client interactions, whether that's an emotionally charged intake meeting, a contentious phone call, or a tense moment in the courthouse hallway. These are skills that mediators use every day, and I'm excited to share them with a broader audience of legal professionals who often find themselves navigating conflict without formal training in collaborative techniques.

Events like this also matter for CMC and the Tennessee CMC Network more broadly. They give us a chance to build relationships with legal aid organizations across the state, raise awareness of mediation as a resource for the clients they serve, and reinforce the role community mediation plays in the larger access-to-justice landscape.

From Jen: I was honored to conduct a 1.5-hour Community De-Escalation Workshop for Young-Williams Animal Center this wee...
08/23/2026

From Jen: I was honored to conduct a 1.5-hour Community De-Escalation Workshop for Young-Williams Animal Center this week. I had the opportunity to train about 100 staff members at their quarterly retreat, and they were a fantastic group.

De-escalation skills are so important for anyone working with the public, especially in environments where people may already be experiencing stress, fear, frustration, or grief. Having practical tools to slow down conflict, build connection, and respond constructively can make a real difference for everyone involved.

Many thanks to Rachel Ide and the entire Young-Williams team for all they do for Knox County, and for inviting Community Mediation Center into their space to share some of the tools and techniques we use to help people navigate conflict.

CMC is so grateful for the work of our three interns, who are contributing skill, thoughtfulness, and compassion to thei...
08/19/2026

CMC is so grateful for the work of our three interns, who are contributing skill, thoughtfulness, and compassion to their work in our family, civil, and community safety programs. Jacob Stoll, Joanna Busigin, and Elizabeth Strand are everything we could have hoped for, and we are very lucky that we get to work with each of them.

CMC is so excited to begin our next Rule 31 Civil Mediation Training at Lincoln Memorial University's Duncan School of L...
08/13/2026

CMC is so excited to begin our next Rule 31 Civil Mediation Training at Lincoln Memorial University's Duncan School of Law this Friday night!

We thank Dean Gordon Russell for these opportunities to work with future local attorneys, and we appreciate the commitment LMU consistently shows to community service.

These students will mediate disputes in Sevier County General Sessions Court, and they will also have opportunities to observe and volunteer with CMC at Knox County General Sessions Court. The work of these students, particularly on the eviction docket, greatly assists with access to justice for people navigating small claims court and landlord-tenant cases in East Tennessee.

CMC staff has a combined total of FIFTY THREE years of experience in conducting pre-mediation intake sessions with parti...
08/12/2026

CMC staff has a combined total of FIFTY THREE years of experience in conducting pre-mediation intake sessions with participants. In these sessions, we provide a mediation orientation, conflict coaching, resource referrals, domestic violence screening, safety planning and process accommodations as needed.

Every participant in every CMC family mediation gets one of these meetings, and they help ensure that our work is done in a careful, ethical, trauma-informed way. These meetings also help mediation to be more productive, and reduce anxiety among participants about the process.

We have worked over the past year to document our best practices so that we can train others to do this work. We have built a team of experienced volunteers with special training to conduct these sessions, and we have shared our techniques and forms with mediators and attorneys in private practice as well.

If you are interested in deepening your tools in this area (Domestic violence awareness, pre-mediation screening, safety planning, conflict coaching, trauma-informed practice), please reach out to Jen at CMC at [email protected] or 865-924-7365.

Address

300 Main Street, Suite 305
Knoxville, TN
37902

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 9am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 9am - 4:30pm
Thursday 9am - 4:30pm
Friday 9am - 4:30pm
Saturday 9am - 4:30pm
Sunday 9am - 4:30pm

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