Our Staff

​

Wendy Moore, Executive Director

Wendy Moore is the Executive Director of Mediation & Conflict Solutions, an attorney and a qualified neutral.  Prior to this position, she was a Mediation & Conflict Solutions volunteer and she volunteered extensively with the Rochester Public Schools.  She holds a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a J.D. from Hamline School of Law.

​

Board of Directors

​

Susan Krecke, Board President and Mediator

Susan Joined MCS in 2017.  She has extensive volunteer experience with the Lourdes Foundation Board.  She earned a Mitchell-Hamlin Conflict Resolution Certificate. Sue graduated with a BA in economics from the University of Michigan.

 

Kay Eberman, Board Secretary and Mediator

Kay has been active with MCS for 4 years as a mediator and qualified neutral. She has a background in counseling/therapy and was a licensed psychologist. She worked in the addictions field at the Mayo Clinic for 38 years. She has a bachelors degree from U of W and Master's degree in counseling, from Winona State University. Currently she also volunteers as an Extension Master Gardener, as well as the public library, community food response and Family Promise. 
 

Mary Jane McHardy, Board Treasurer and Mediator

Mary Jane McHardy has been a volunteer mediator in Rochester for over 20 years. She is retired after 37 years of working as a mental health professional for Mayo Clinic. She also volunteers as a Minnesota Extension Master Gardener and works on social justice projects supported by her church. She holds a BA from the University of Minnesota and an MS from Mankato State University. 

 

Allan Witz, Board Director and Mediator

Allan Witz is a member of the MCS Board of Directors and has been a volunteer with the organization since 2010. He is a practicing attorney and has held numerous volunteer positions in the community. He holds a Minnesota Real Estate license and is an Early Neutral Evaluator. He holds a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws in Commercial Law from Universities in South Africa. He holds a Masters of Laws for International Lawyers, Certificate of Dispute Resolution and a Juris Doctorate from Hamline University. He is a member of the Minnesota, Michigan and Florida State Bars.

​

Amy Hamilton, Board Director and Mediator

Amy joined MCS in 2017 after retiring from a career as a prison psychologist.  She coordinates teams of MCS volunteer qualified neutrals for mediations referred by schools.  Amy has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Miami University.

​

Andrea B. Niesen, Board Director and Mediator

Andrea is a civil litigation attorney with extensive experience in all areas of employment law, disability matters, professional licensing and contracts, workers' compensation, and construction defect claims.  She has volunteered as a mediator with MCS since 2016.  She is a board member for Family Service Rochester and Peoples Food Co-Op.  For the past 15 years, Andrea served as a wish granter for Make A Wish.  She received her bachelor degree in business management from the University of Wisconsin – Stout and her law degree from Marquette University Law School.  

 

Paula Skedsvold, Board Director and Mediator

Paula is trained in both family and civil mediation and has been a volunteer with Mediation and Conflict Solutions since 2019. She has also served on the Olmsted County Human Rights Commission and spent two years with other volunteers developing the report, “Race and Racism as a Public Health Issue.” Prior to arriving in Rochester in 2019, Paula spent 24 years in Washington, DC, working on health, education, social, and science policy issues. Paula has a J.D. from Georgetown University Law School and a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina.

​

Maren Schroeder, Board Director and Mediator

Maren Schroeder is a paralegal turned facilitator, mediator, and public policy specialist born and raised in Stewartville, Minnesota. She began mediating with MCS in 2014 and is qualified for both family and civil mediations. Schroeder is the recipient of several awards for her social justice work, including the Justice Champion Award from the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, Inc. With a passion for equal justice, she is a leading advocate for efforts to expand the scope of practice for paralegals and has served on several development and oversight committees for Minnesota’s Legal Paraprofessional Pilot Project. Currently, Schroeder operates a consulting business that works primarily with entrepreneurs in the cannabis space.

​

​Gerard Goulet, Mediator Emeritus

Gerard Goulet has stepped down from his long-time role as Mediator or Co-Mediator -- after having been a Mediator for MCS and its predecessor organization since 1997. As Mediator Emeritus, he will continue to play a role in actively supporting MCS as an observer, a coach, a recruiter of new mediator talent and an advocate/speaker for MCS in the Community. Prior to his Emeritus status, he enjoyed careers as a civilian engineer doing Research & Development in Anti-Submarine Warfare for the Defense Department during the Cold War, as a Manager in Software Development for IBM Rochester, and as a Long-Term Care Specialist and Educator.