SCMA’s Annual Family Institute 2020 Recap

“Building Interdisciplinary Teams –
A Blueprint for Success”

We were fortunate to produce and complete our 3rd Annual Family Mediation Institute presented by the Southern California Mediation Association before the Coronavirus quarantine was upon us! This year the event was held on Friday, February 28th and Leap Year Saturday, February 29th at the Westin South Coast Plaza. Attendees at the FMI enjoyed Friday night’s Mixer and Reception sponsored by Commerce Home Mortgage at Antonello Ristorante in South Coast Village. In addition to networking, good food, and an overall good time, it was an absolute honor to present the inaugural SCMA Star Award for Innovation and Excellence in Family Conflict Resolution to the man who inspired the award and one of the leading stars in our field, our friend and colleague, Forrest Mosten “Woody”! The best part? We surprised him!

On Saturday we examined the definition of teamwork and highlighted the characteristics of an effective team. By emphasizing the importance of team-mates, and team building attendees learned how effective use of teams can help families that are facing conflict and reorganization. Effective teamwork requires that we connect with other divorce professionals and we provided plenty of opportunities for attendees to make those connections throughout the day, as well as having the opportunity to learn from our phenomenal team of speakers.

Forrest “Woody” Mosten inspired us with his innovative Keynote presentation on the benefits of the Interdisciplinary Team Model in family mediation. We were entertained by the affable and extremely knowledgeable, Mark C. Hill, CFP®, CDFA® who was able to explain the role of the financial consultant in a manner that was informative but never boring as one might expect whenever balance sheets and financial calculations are the subjects. After lunch, Christina McGhee helped us understand how we can shift co-parents out of change-resistance and towards better outcomes for their children and themselves. She also included a clip from the impactful documentary film “Split ”as part of her plenary presentation. At lunch, The SCMA presented four of our FMI Exhibitors during the new Exhibitor Spotlight featuring: OurFamilyWizard; Soberlink, Conscious Co-parenting and Learn to Mediate On-line. The day ended with an all-star group of Divorce Coaches, Kate Anthony, Karen Bigman and Wendy Sterling moderated by the SCMA’s own, Susan Guthrie.

What Our Attendees and Speakers are Saying…

“This Conference is definitely one to put on your radar. I have presented at and been to many conferences throughout my career. So when I say the event hosted by the Southern California Mediation Association this past weekend was AMAZING, it means something. Being a presenter at this conference was both an honor and incredibly humbling. The level of compassion and dedication of the dispute resolution professionals I met was inspiring. If you are interested in attending a conference that’s focused on changing the face of divorce, this is an event you should put on your calendar.” – Christina McGhee, Plenary Speaker

“Thank each of you for an absolutely amazing Family Mediation Institute! Frankly, an event of this quality is what I expected when I joined the SCMA. Thank you again for providing an absolutely fabulous professional development opportunity!” – Richard Erhard, Attendee and SCMA Board Member

“I wish to express my heartfelt appreciation for the wonderful honor that SCMA bestowed on me and my family. As SCMA is my home organization, it means more to me than I can express. You all should feel extremely proud of the conference that you offered our profession. You recruited a strong program, everyone felt warmly welcomed, and every detail was perfectly executed. I have spoken at many international conferences that could learn and improve by emulating SCMA. I look forward to creating peace with you all and my dear colleagues at SCMA for many years to come.” – Forrest “Woody” Mosten, Keynote Speaker and Star Award Recipient

Photo Highlights

Thanks to All Our Sponsors and Exhibitors