OFFICERS & MEMBERS

Dennis R. Favaro is a practicing lawyer, educator, mediator and frequent speaker in employment law and dispute resolution topics. He is the managing partner of Favaro & Gorman, Ltd., an employment law firm. Mr. Favaro received a Bachelor of Arts from Illinois Wesleyan University, a Master of Arts from Wheaton College and his Juris Doctorate from Valparaiso University School of Law. He recently completed a Masters in Law degree in dispute resolution from the University of Aberdeen School of Law. He is admitted to the Illinois Bar and the Federal Bar for the Northern District of Illinois (including the Trial Bar), the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Favaro is a faculty member of William Rainey Harper College and is a guest faculty member at Wheaton College. He teaches employment law and dispute resolution courses. He is a Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and The Litigation Counsel of America. He has certifications in trial advocacy from the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, is a graduate of the Trial Lawyers College, is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association and has been frequently recognized as a Super Lawyer, America’s Top 100 Attorneys and a Leading American Attorney in employment law. Mr. Favaro is past president of the Northwest Suburban Bar Association and its Foundation. He holds leadership positions in various not-for-profit organizations. As an advocate, he uses mediation as a dispute resolution alternative. Mr. Favaro estimates that he has participated in hundreds of mediations over the past thirty years.

Elena is a lawyer-mediator, a lead mediation trainer at the Athens Mediators’ Training Institute, a former member of the Mediators’ Accreditation Committee and a Member of the Preparatory Legislative Committee for the Reform of Mediation at the Greek Ministry of Justice. She is the co-owner of Greek Mediation Institute, one of the leading Greek organizations for the promotion of mediation and works as a mediation expert on several international projects with ADR Center – Member of JAMS International (Italy). Elena holds a PhD in Law, has long experience in counseling, negotiations and litigation and is an Expert Advisor to the Hellenic Parliament for many years. She is an accredited Civil/Commercial, Family and Workplace Mediator (UK, USA, Greece) with extensive advanced training in mediation and negotiations (UK & USA – Harvard Negotiation Institute). She teaches law subjects in Greece and Cyprus, acts as a lecturer in national and international trainings and has trained over 1000 mediators internationally. She sits as a Vice President, International of the Executive Committee of International Academy of Dispute Resolution (Chicago) and has an active role as a judge and coach in international student competitions. Elena works in English/French and has a good understanding of German/Spanish.

Susan Sloane graduated from Boston University School of Law in 1972. She worked first for Choate, Hall & Stewart in Boston, then moved to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office where she was an Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Division and then Chief of the Division of Public Charities. After the birth of her two children she began her own practice in family law. Susan took a 40-hour mediation training and began practicing mediation in the early 1990’s. After seeing first-hand that mediation could resolve many differences more successfully and with less stress and expense than litigation could, she decided to forsake litigation and she has now limited her practice to mediation. Susan also taught Legal Research and Writing for many years, first at Boston University School of Law and then at Northeastern University School of Law where she became Director of Legal Research and Writing and Co-Director of the Social Skills in Legal Context Program. Susan has co-coached Mock Mediation Teams from Boston University and Northeastern University School of Law for many years. She is also a member of the Mediator’s Panel at the Cambridge Dispute Settlement Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she volunteers to mediate disputes for low-income residents.

Anthony J. Baldassano has extensive experience in tax services, business coaching, and financial consulting, including business and estate planning, business evaluation, and management services. His experience includes a broad range of industries, including: real estate, wholesale distributors, trucking companies, retailers, contractors, education, chemical companies, contract manufacturers, farming, restaurants, and business services. Mr. Baldassano has provided extensive tax and accounting services for estates and trusts. Anthony graduated cum laude in May 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Northern Illinois University. After several years as a Financial Analyst for a Fortune 500 company, he graduated from DePaul University with a Master of Science degree in Accounting. Before going into practice for himself, Mr. Baldassano worked for a Big Six accounting firm, managed a tax department for a privately held chemical company, and was an operations manager for a business start-up. Anthony J. Baldassano holds a Certified Public Accounting certificate from the State of Illinois and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. To broaden his financial background, Mr. Baldassano has passed the Investment Advisor licensing exam and holds the Professional Financial Specialist (PFS) credential, issued only to Certified Public Accountants. Anthony is also a Small Business Advisor for the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Harper College. At the SBDC, Mr. Baldassano counsels entrepreneurs and leads financial workshops to help businesses start, grow and prosper. His interests include community and professional events, church ministries, and enjoying time with his wife and three young children.

Teresa is the Director of the Dispute Resolution Program at Loyola University of Chicago School of Law where also teaches mediation advocacy and negotiation skills. Formerly a partner at the law firm of Foran & Schultz, Of Counsel to Davis McGrath and DeGrand & Wolfe, she has been a mediator for more than 20 years and is experienced in disputes involving employment matters, partnership and business disputes, real estate, trusts/estates, personal injury, wrongful death and other emotionally – charged matters. She also consults with businesses and nonprofits in workplace conflict management. Based on peer reviews, Leading Lawyershas named Teresa a Top Ten Illinois Women Neutral and an Illinois Leading Lawyerin ADR in the categories of international, employment and commercial litigation. A frequent speaker and writer on ADR, and columnist for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, she has trained law students, lawyers, executives, physician leaders and judges in mediation and international arbitration in the United States and Europe. Teresa is a member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, and is on the panel of neutrals at ADR Systems of America and National Arbitration and Mediation. She is also a certified mediator for the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois Law, Chancery and Probate Division mediation programs, and a member of the Association of Attorney Mediators. She was named a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in 1997, and has served as executive director and a panel member for the Chicago International Dispute Resolution Association (CIDRA).

Kenneth Frank holds a J.D. from the University of Colorado and a Master’s Degree in Conflict Resolution from Columbia College. He is the director of the undergraduate degree program in Conflict Resolution and Legal Studies at Brenau University and received the Ann Austin Johnston Outstanding Faculty Award. He is chair of the International Intercollegiate Mediation Tournament Board and has been a trainer/consultant for organizations as diverse as the Atlanta History Center, Boys and Girls Clubs, and the United Methodist Church.He is a registered neutral with the State of Georgia as well as a co-founder of Transforming Mediation LLC.

Agnieszka Gora is a mediator, a negotiation and mediation university lecturer and a practicing lawyer in Poland. She is a summa cum laude graduate from the Faculty of Law at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. During the course of her education, Agnieszka has completed the American Law Program co-organized by the Columbus School of Law, CUA in Washington, USA, as well as the European Law Program at HU Utrecht in the Netherlands. In the field of mediation, she has been trained in Poland and abroad including UK, Austria, USA, and India. Additionally, Agnieszka took part in ICC Arbitration and the ADR Training Program, yet still continues to develop her knowledge and skills in ADR. Through her participation in premier mediation international events and competitions in Europe, America and Asia, she has gained extensive expertise in mediation. In these events, Agnieszka fulfilled the roles of an organizer, a judge, and also a participant. This keen interest in ADRs resulted in Agnieszka and her team winning 17 awards. Since then, she has continued her involvement in mediation through organizing mediation and negotiation training programs in Poland and abroad, as well as by coaching a negotiation and mediation student team at the Jagiellonian University in Poland. She is a co-founder of SOLVO- Mediation and Negotiation Advisory, and a member of mediation NGOs and various projects that include the International Dispute Resolution and Leadership Council ‘Teen peer mediation in schools’. In her spare time, Agnieszka enjoys skiing, watching good movies and practicing competitive Latin ballroom dance.

Ana Khurtsidze is practicing lawyer and mediator based in Georgia. Since 2005, she has been working in education field and have taught at several universities. She holds degrees in law and in business administration. Since 2013, she has been the Dean of the Law School at The University of Georgia. She is the head of independent multi-dimensional research and analytical institute Gnomon Wise. Since 2020, She was appointed as the member of Global Mediator Panel of UN. Ana is state accredited mediator for collective labor disputes in the Roster of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia and has accreditation trainings in ADR expertise. She is the Arbitration and/or Mediation Consultant of UNDP project “Enhanced Mediation and Arbitration for Fairer and Faster Commercial Dispute Resolutions”. She is facilitator in GIAC’s (Georgian International Arbitration Center) and Resolve’ s business support initiative with the assistance of European Union (EU) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Ana has been delivering trainings with 15 years of experience. Her area of academic research is on mediation for boosting social-economic development to contribute enhancing mediation for fairer and faster dispute resolution. She has been and still is involved in legal and judicial reforms of civil and commercial law and in improvement the organizational culture and the ways of responding to grievances in offices. She participates regularly in International Competitions both as a professional judge and as a coach representing university teams. As a head of Mediation Clinic she delivers trainings and ensures simulation sessions for students. She is the founder of non-profit organization - ADREE (Alternative Dispute Resolution East European Center) for improving the communication with companies and the provider of mediators for companies in dispute. She is the founder of the consulting company - ACConsulting, that focus on legal and management consulting. Since 2018 Ana is the member of Ethics Committee of the Georgian Bar Association. She is native Georgian speaker and fluent in English and Russian.