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MEDIATION MATTERS INC
ALBANY, NY · EIN 141641368 · Form 990 · FY2024 · Small ($100K-$1M) · mediationmatters.org
revenue
$949K
expenses
$816K
net assets
$469K
employees
12
volunteers
37
program ratio
88%
mission · from form 990

IN RECOGNITION OF THE VALUE OF A PEACEFUL COMMUNITY, MEDIATION MATTERS PROVIDES THE SKILLS AND PROCESSES THAT HELP INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS RESOLVE CONFLICT.

profile · synthesized from sources

Mediation Matters provides conflict resolution services and mediation training across New York's Capital Region, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington Counties. The organization offers mediation for family, community, school, and workplace disputes, with specialized programs for youth, veterans, and individuals with disabilities. It trains and certifies volunteer mediators and partners with schools, nonprofits, and government agencies to promote restorative practices.

named programs · 8 · from sources

What they call their work

Agricultural Mediation
Addresses USDA-related disputes and family/community conflicts within farm businesses.
Community Mediation
Resolves neighborhood disputes involving landlords, tenants, roommates, neighbors, and small claims.
Conflict Coaching
One-on-one coaching to help individuals understand, strategize, and manage personal or professional conflicts.
Family Mediation
Facilitates mediation for family conflicts including custody, parenting plans, and domestic issues.
Peer Mediation & Youth Programming
Trains students as peer mediators in schools and provides workshops on conflict resolution for youth.
Specialized Matters
Provides mediation for special education disputes, vocational services, and early childhood intervention services in partnership with NYS agencies.
Veterans Mediation
Provides specialized mediation services for veterans and their families.
Workplace, Training, and Professional Services
Offers mediation and training for businesses, employees, and professional organizations.
activities · 4 groups

What they do

  • Conflict Mediation & Resolution Services 9 activities
    • Basic and advanced mediation training
      Offers a 4-day intensive Basic Mediation Training and 30-hour basic mediation training courses twice a year as prerequisites for volunteering as a mediator. Provides annual advanced trainings on topics such as overcoming impasse, parent/teen issues, elder care, and special needs children.
    • Conflict coaching and individual support
      Offers one-on-one conflict coaching to help individuals analyze, understand, strategize, and manage personal conflict situations, empowering them to develop and implement their own solutions.
    • Facilitation of mediation sessions
      Facilitates informal mediation sessions where trained mediators help clarify communication and support participants in reaching agreements. Sessions typically last 2 hours, with flexibility in duration and option for follow-up.
    • Family mediation services
      Provides family mediation for issues including co-parenting, custody, visitation, child support, parent-teen conflicts, elder care decision-making, and care for family members with disabilities. Services are accessible via court or agency referral or self-referral in the counties served.
    • Mediation intake and case coordination
      Coordinates mediation cases through professional staff who manage intake from courts, social service organizations, government agencies, businesses, and individuals. Conducts confidential intake conversations, determines mediator suitability, and schedules sessions.
    • Ongoing mediator training and professional development
      Provides required in-service trainings in mediation ethics, agreement writing, power and control in domestic violence, and contact procedures. Supports volunteer mediators who complete apprenticeships and ongoing specialized conflict resolution training.
    • School and organizational conflict resolution training
      Conducts customized conflict resolution workshops and trainings for community groups, classrooms, youth programs, institutions of higher education, and organizations. Training topics include active listening, emotional regulation, reframing perspectives, and large group facilitation.
    • Specialized mediation for veterans and incarcerated individuals
      Provides mediation services to veterans, active service members, and their families, including specialized programming tailored to their needs. Supports re-entry planning for currently and formerly incarcerated individuals and their families.
    • Workplace and organizational mediation
      Provides affordable mediation services for workplace conflicts, team development, and business disputes involving clients, vendors, suppliers, or customers across six counties. Offers conflict resolution training and effective meeting management workshops for organizations.
  • Restorative Justice and Peer Mediation Programs 3 activities
    • Peer mediation program development and support
      Trains students to become peer mediators and supports school administrators and educators in building capacity to sustain peer mediation programs tailored to their school's needs.
    • Restorative justice and community dispute resolution
      Facilitates restorative justice circles and group discussions to resolve conflicts among students, families, staff, and community members. Provides a neutral venue and trained facilitators for community-wide and multi-party disputes.
    • Youth and school-based mediation programs
      Provides mediation and conflict resolution services in schools for student-student, student-teacher, parent-teacher, special education, attendance, disciplinary, and parent-student conflicts. Coordinates peer mediation programs at Schenectady High School and Mt. Pleasant Middle School and trains students to serve as peer mediators.
  • Smallholder Agricultural Development 1 activity
    • Agricultural and USDA-related mediation
      Provides agricultural mediation services for individuals affected by USDA actions such as farm loans, wetland determinations, and rural water loan programs, and assists farm families in resolving internal and community disputes.
  • Special Education Support Services 1 activity
    • Dispute resolution in education and disability services
      Provides mediation for disputes between school districts and parents regarding identification, evaluation, placement, and provision of free appropriate public education for children with disabilities. Also serves individuals in NYS Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities and families in early childhood intervention programs.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$949K
Contributions & grants$810K85%
Program service revenue$138K15%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$99
expenses
Total expenses$816K
Program expenses88%
Admin / overhead12%
Fundraising0%
Salaries & benefits$626K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$511K
Cash$185K
Investments$0
Liabilities$42K
Net assets$469K
Liquid reserves2.7 mo
6 years on record · 2019–2024 · YoY revenue +17.8%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 2
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
SARAH RUDGERS-TYSZ EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THROUGH DEC 2024 40 $94K
JIM FITZGERALD INTERIM EXEC DIR FEB-SEPT 2025 40 $60K
board members · 9
  • CAITLIN MONJEAU — DIRECTOR
  • CYNTHIA SCHROCK — DIRECTOR
  • DAVID WARREN — DIRECTOR
  • GEORGE LOPEZ — DIRECTOR/PRESIDENT
  • LAURA MARX — TREASURER
  • LEAH AKINLEYE — SECRETARY
  • NICHOLAS AUDINO — DIRECTOR/TREASURER THROUGH SEPT
  • SHARON DESILVA — DIRECTOR
  • YASMIN SALWAY — DIRECTOR/VICE PRESIDENT
relationships · 22

Who they work with

  • Feeding America Partner — Partner agency collaborating on community mediation initiatives
  • Mt. Pleasant Middle School Partner — Partner school where Mediation Matters coordinates peer mediation programs.
  • NYS Department of Health Partner — Partners on mediation services for parents/guardians of children receiving early childhood intervention services.
  • NYS Education Department Partner — Partners on mediation services for disputes between school districts and parents/guardians of children with disabilities.
  • National Association For Community Mediation Network — Member organization in a national network supporting community mediation.
  • New York State Dispute Resolution Association Network — Member organization participating in a statewide network for dispute resolution.
  • New York State Dispute Resolution Association Partner — Collaborates on specialized mediation programs in education, vocational services, early childhood intervention, and agricultural disputes.
  • New York State Unified Court System Funder — Primary funder enabling provision of low- or no-cost mediation services.
  • Office of Court Administration Government — Collaborates with the Office of Court Administration for trainer certification, training waivers, and approval of refresher training curriculum.
  • Schenectady High School Partner — Partner school where Mediation Matters coordinates peer mediation programs.
  • US Department of Agriculture Partner — Partners on agricultural mediation services for disputes related to USDA actions and farm family conflicts.
  • Unified Court System of New York State Government — Provides supervision for mediator training programs.
  • Visit Our Partners page Partner — Collaborates with local non-profits, colleges, schools, government agencies, and community groups; specific partners listed on a dedicated page.
  • administrators and educators Partner — Collaborates with school administrators and educators to implement peer mediation programs in schools.
  • business Partner — Receives referrals from businesses for mediation services.
  • department of social services Partner — Receives referrals for PINS diversion cases from the department of social services.
  • local court Partner — Receives referrals from local courts for mediation services.
  • local schools Partner — Partners with local schools to facilitate restorative justice circles for students, families, and staff.
  • probation departments Partner — Receives referrals for PINS diversion cases from probation departments.
  • school Partner — Receives referrals from schools for mediation services.
  • sehelper.net Partner — Collaborated to create an infographic explaining mediation.
  • social service agency Partner — Receives referrals from social service agencies for mediation services.
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Culturally and Contextually Adaptive Programming
    methodology: culturally_adaptive_training
    By customizing mediation and training approaches to participants’ cultural, military, or developmental context, we increase relevance and effectiveness because tailored processes improve engagement, trust, and applicability of conflict resolution strategies.
  • Facilitative, Neutral Mediation
    methodology: facilitative_mediation
    By using trained, neutral third parties to facilitate dialogue, we produce constructive conflict resolution because impartiality creates psychological safety, encourages open communication, and shifts dynamics from adversarial to collaborative.
  • Participant-Centered, Collaborative Problem Solving
    methodology: participant-centered_mediation
    By empowering participants to develop their own solutions through collaborative processes, we produce sustainable outcomes because self-determination increases ownership, engagement, and long-term adherence to agreements.
  • Restorative Justice for Relational Repair
    methodology: restorative_justice
    By convening all parties affected by harm in inclusive, voluntary dialogue, we repair relationships and meet underlying needs because addressing emotional and relational impacts restores trust more effectively than punitive responses.
  • Youth Peer Mediation Model
    methodology: peer_mediation
    By training students as peer mediators, we reduce bullying and promote nonviolence because youth-led conflict resolution increases peer credibility, models prosocial behavior, and shifts school culture through internal influence.