NYSDRA conference to launch legacy fund and honor 30 years of PeaceBuilder awards

NYSDRA’s 2026 Annual Conference in Albany on Oct. 8-9 will spotlight the future of dispute resolution while marking the 30th anniversary of its PeaceBuilder Award. The event also launches a new legacy fund to support community dispute resolution in New York.

Why it matters: - NYSDRA is using its annual conference to tie current dispute resolution challenges to long-term field-building. - The event will honor three decades of PeaceBuilder recognition and launch a permanent endowment for community dispute resolution in New York. - The conference is designed for practitioners, court leaders, educators, students, nonprofit leaders, and others who work on conflict resolution.

What happened: - NYSDRA will hold its 2026 Annual Conference, Rooted in Peace: One Tree, Many Branches, on Oct. 8-9, 2026. - The first day will be fully virtual on Thursday, Oct. 8. - The second day will be hybrid on Friday, Oct. 9, at the Crowne Plaza Albany – The Desmond Hotel in Albany, New York. - The conference will include more than 20 sessions on dispute resolution issues. - The program will feature speakers from the American Arbitration Association, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the New York State Unified Court System, Braver Angels, and Community Dispute Resolution Centers across New York State.

The details: - Susan Guthrie, Esq., will open the conference with “What the Machine Can't Mediate: The Human Root of Dispute Resolution in a Founding Moment.” - Guthrie is the Immediate Past Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution and founder of Guthrie Consulting & Media. - Her session will focus on what remains distinctly human in mediation as artificial intelligence changes how professionals communicate, negotiate, and resolve disputes. - Bill Doherty, Ph.D., Co-Founder of Braver Angels, will deliver the Oct. 9 keynote, “Managing Differences in a Polarized World.” - His remarks will center on how people can engage constructively across deeply held differences. - Conference topics will include artificial intelligence, polarization, social media and conflict, ethics, practitioner well-being, emerging generations of ADR professionals, community-based peacebuilding, and the future of the profession. - During the Oct. 9 Celebration and Awards Luncheon, Andrew Thomas will present the 2026 PeaceBuilder Award to the Maryland Judiciary’s Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office, known as MACRO. - Thomas is NYSDRA’s co-founder, first board president, and longtime executive director of the Center for Dispute Settlement. - MACRO is being recognized for leadership in mediation and collaborative conflict resolution. - Lou Gieszl, MACRO’s original deputy director and now assistant state court administrator for programs in the Maryland Judiciary, will accept the award on MACRO’s behalf. - The award marks the 30th anniversary of the Andrew Thomas PeaceBuilder Award. - NYSDRA said the award has recognized individuals and organizations whose leadership and service have strengthened communities and advanced peacebuilding for three decades. - The conference will also include Tom Christian, founding state director of the New York State Unified Court System’s Community Dispute Resolution Centers Program from 1981 to 1996. - Mark Collins, former assistant coordinator of the Unified Court System’s ADR Programs and recipient of the 2010 Lawrence Cooke Peace Innovator Award, will also attend.

Between the lines: - The conference theme, Rooted in Peace: One Tree, Many Branches, links the field’s history to its next generation. - NYSDRA is pairing recognition of legacy leaders with a forward-looking agenda that addresses technology, polarization, and practitioner resilience. - The launch of a legacy fund signals an effort to turn conference attention into durable financial support for the field. - The presence of longtime New York ADR leaders suggests NYSDRA is framing this as both a celebration and a handoff to newer practitioners.

What's next: - The October 9 luncheon will publicly launch the Lawrence H. Cooke Dispute Resolution Legacy Fund. - The campaign will run for three years to build a permanent endowment honoring former Chief Judge Lawrence H. Cooke. - NYSDRA will display its Founding Tree at the conference to recognize early contributors to the fund. - Gifts counted as Founding contributions will be accepted through Oct. 31, 2026. - Lawrence K. Marks, former chief administrative judge of the New York State Unified Court System, is serving as campaign chair and will speak at the luncheon. - Conference registration, the full agenda, speaker information, and sponsorship details are available through NYSDRA’s conference materials. - Organizations and businesses can participate as sponsors, vendors, or exhibitors.

The bottom line: - NYSDRA is making its 2026 conference a marker of both history and future investment: honoring a major awards milestone while launching a fund meant to support dispute resolution in New York for years to come.