Irvine, Calif. - The JAMS Foundation is pleased to announce the Fellows who have been named to the 2020-2022 class of the Weinstein JAMS International Fellowship Program. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 cohort was not able to travel for the in-person portion of the program. The combined cohort this year includes those selected in 2020 and 2022, with 14 Fellows arriving in the United States in September for in-person training.
For over a decade, the JAMS Foundation has been able to support the growth and continued evolution of ADR across the globe by providing international Fellows with the opportunity to learn and take on projects of their own devising that meet the needs of their home countries. I am so proud of our commitment to supporting these individuals and am tremendously pleased to see their creativity and passion in their legal endeavors.
- Hon. Daniel Weinstein (Ret.)
Founded in 2008 and supported by the JAMS Foundation, the Weinstein JAMS International Fellowship Program is named to honor the contributions of JAMS neutral Hon. Daniel Weinstein (Ret.). The program is designed to provide opportunities for qualified individuals outside of the United States to study alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes and practices in the U.S. and to assist them in their ability to advance dispute resolution in their home countries. Since its inception, the Weinstein JAMS International Fellowship Program has trained over 125 Fellows from more than 75 countries.
This year, the JAMS Foundation celebrates its 20th anniversary. Each year, the Foundation approves fellowships up to $20,000 in support of projects developed by Fellowship applicants. Fellows join in this program from across the globe, particularly in countries that do not have an established culture of ADR for cases in litigation.
The resiliency and drive of this program is reinforced this year by bringing together both 2020 and 2022 Fellows. The pandemic presented unprecedented challenges, but we are so excited to bring together this outstanding cohort to participate in the in-person program in our JAMS Resolution Centers. We believe this opportunity will offer an excellent learning experience for each Fellow, and we are proud to help support the enrichment of their ADR skills.
- Chris Poole, JAMS CEO
This program harnesses the power—and tremendous outcomes—that can come from deep collaboration, creativity and commitment. We are honored to support each of these Fellows in their ADR pursuits and believe that the training they will receive through the support of the JAMS Foundation will be instrumental in meeting the evolving ADR needs of their home countries.
- Ellen Bass, director of the Weinstein JAMS International Fellowship Program
Listed below are the 14 Fellows selected for the 2020-2022 Weinstein JAMS International Fellowship Program.
Natalia Alenkina (Kyrgyzstan) – Ms. Alenkina is a senior lawyer with experience representing the interests of the Kyrgyz government in international arbitration regarding commercial and investment disputes. She further serves as the deputy chairman of the scholarly advisory board at the International Court of Arbitration and is an associate professor at the American University of Central Asia. Upon completion of her Fellowship in the U.S., she hopes to contribute to systemic changes in arbitration processes by creating a favorable legal environment for the development of international commercial arbitration in Kyrgyzstan.
Victor Baba Emmanuel Aligo (South Sudan/Kenya) – Mr. Aligo is a lawyer, accredited mediator and ordained minister. Originally from South Sudan, he resides in Kenya as a refugee, where in addition to his legal and mediation practices, he leads the Men’s Ministry at Reconcilers World in Nairobi. Mr. Aligo is an empaneled mediator at Accords International (India) and the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Kenya). As part of his Fellowship, he intends to deepen his knowledge and understanding of mediation as a leading ADR scholar and practitioner for the benefit of people in South Sudan and sub-Saharan Africa through ADR advocacy in schools, communities and faith-based institutions throughout the region.
Mohammad Faruque (Bangladesh) – Mr. Faruque is the district and sessions judge of the Brahmanbaria District and serves as adjunct faculty at the Police Training Center, where he has provided regular ADR training to police officers since 2018. He has worked as a pro bono community mediator and trained judicial officers, public prosecutors, government leaders and other stakeholders on the use of ADR processes to reduce backlogs in local dispute settlement. While in the U.S., he intends to conduct an in-depth advanced study of court-connected ADR programs with a special focus on restorative justice to better promote dispute resolution within his court and throughout the Bangladesh Judicial Service.
Bunlang Jiraboonsri (Thailand) – Mr. Jiraboonsri is a judge at the Court of Justice and serves as secretary of the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases, an executive position responsible for management of the court and the Mediation Center. Awarded a Young Leaders scholarship in 2021 by the Japanese government, he is currently on leave, studying in the Master of Laws program at Kyushu University. During his Fellowship, he plans to study the U.S. mediation system, especially court-connected mediation programs for civil cases in both state and federal courts to support the adoption and expansion of mediation to better serve Thai courts and the country.
Hicham Kantar (Lebanon) – Mr. Kantar has served as a judge in Beirut for over 15 years and is currently a prosecutor in the financial prosecution office of Lebanon. He completed a second LL.M. at Columbia Law School, where, in recognition of his superior academic achievement, he was named a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar. As part of his Fellowship, he intends to develop a decentralized mediation and restorative justice program for rural areas throughout Lebanon, where courts are understaffed and have considerable case backlogs but the tradition of resolving disputes through dialogue processes still exists.
Akira Ninomiya Júnior (Brazil) – Mr. Ninomiya Júnior is a mediator, social entrepreneur and founder of RePacificar, an organization dedicated to the transformation of conflict in schools and communities in the state of Goiás and throughout Brazil. He is the president of the Sectorial Council of Foreign Trade of the Association of Commerce and Industry of the State of Goiás, where he works on the negotiation of international cooperation and investment agreements. Upon completion of his Fellowship, he intends to strengthen his work in schools and communities by providing new models and programs that prepare the next generation to learn to live together in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Additionally, he is working to create an online dispute resolution initiative for the commercial and industrial sectors in Goiás.
Nominchimeg Odsuren (Mongolia) – Ms. Odsuren is the legal policy advisor to the Speaker of the Parliament of Mongolia and an adjunct lecturer of law at the University of Finance and Economy. She is a member of the ICC Court of Arbitration and a panel arbitrator at the Mongolian International Arbitration Center (MIAC) and the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CEITAC). As part of her Fellowship, she plans to learn about resolution and facilitation of public disputes. In addition, she plans to develop the first negotiation training course curriculum for law students in Mongolia.
Victoria Banke Olagbegi-Oloba (Nigeria) – Ms. Olagbegi-Oloba facilitated the creation of the Akure Branch of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC) in Ondo State, Nigeria, where she currently serves as chairperson. She also helped establish the Ondo State Multi-Door Courthouse and is a member of its panel of neutrals. Additionally, she works as a researcher and law faculty at Adekunle Asajin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria, and is pursuing a doctoral study comparing the impact of court-connected ADR on the administration of civil justice in Nigeria with the U.S. and South Africa at Stellanbosch University in South Africa. Upon completion of her Fellowship, she aims to help the newly established Akure Branch of the ICMC in providing high-quality mediation training and services to the public in collaboration with the Ondo State judiciary.
Khadeeja Shabeen (Republic of Maldives) – Ms. Shabeen is the deputy attorney general for the Republic of Maldives, where she oversees, in particular, the legal affairs division and ADR section of the Office of the Attorney General. While participating in the Fellowship Program, she hopes to gain a deeper understanding of arbitration and mediation to advance the development of ADR in Maldives, enabling her to work as counsel and arbitrator at arbitrations instituted at the recently established Maldives International Arbitration Center and contributing to the introduction of mediation legislation following Maldives’ signing of the Singapore Convention.
Sophie Tkemaladze (Georgia) – Ms. Tkemaladze is the founder and managing partner of Resolve, a nonprofit organization providing dispute resolution training and consulting services in Georgia. She further serves as an adjunct professor of international commercial arbitration at New Vision University and a mediator at the Tbilisi City Court. While participating in the Fellowship Program, she hopes to study intra-organizational dispute management for public institutions while learning how to design and structure a master’s degree program on dispute resolution for students in Georgia. At a time of escalating private, ethnic and religious tensions in the region, she hopes to contribute to the development of the next generation’s learning in dispute resolution and peacebuilding.
Monika Włodarczyk (Poland) – Ms. Włodarczyk is a civil judge at the district court in Chrzanów with a particular interest in civil litigation, mediation and conflict management. She is also the current president and founder of the Polish section of GEMME (European Association of Judges for Mediation). During her Fellowship, she intends to study best practices in court-connected ADR programs in the U.S. to implement and expand court-connected mediation pilot projects and promote the use of mediation through training for the judiciary in Poland.
Lilit Yeremyan (Armenia) – Ms. Yeremyan is a justice officer with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). She formerly served as assistant to the President of the Republic of Armenia for legal affairs and presidential initiatives and as permanent representative of the president in the Constitutional Court. She has held senior advisory positions in the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs of the National Assembly, as well as in the Government staff and Ministry of Justice of Armenia, consulting the Ministers on legal matters, law reform and implementation of foreign investment and public private partnership projects. While participating in the Fellowship Program, she hopes to gain new knowledge and a deeper understanding of dispute resolution processes and practices in the U.S., including the latest innovations in ADR, to provide a road map for the development of ADR in Armenia.
Patricia Zghibarta (Moldova) – Ms. Zghibarta is a consultant in dispute resolution for the Legal Transition Programme of the Office of the General Council of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), where she supports the implementation of EBRD projects in online courts for small claims, commercial mediation and arbitration, and provides guidance for small and medium-sized enterprises regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. As part of her Fellowship, she will study the role of technology in the design and delivery of dispute resolution services.
Miglė Žukauskaitė-Tatorė (Lithuania) – Dr. Žukauskaitė-Tatorė is a lawyer, mediator and mediation trainer. She completed her doctoral dissertation on the relationship between mandatory mediation and access to justice at Vilnius University. She previously served as a scientific expert to the working group on mediation at the Council of Europe’s European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) and as a vice-president of education, international with the International Academy of Dispute Resolution. As part of her Fellowship, she hopes to further develop her skills as a mediator, mediation trainer and educator.
About the JAMS Foundation
The nonprofit JAMS Foundation was established in 2002 by JAMS, the largest private provider of alternative dispute resolution services worldwide. The mission of the JAMS Foundation is to provide financial assistance for conflict resolution initiatives with national and international impact and to share its dispute resolution expertise for the benefit of the public interest.
The Foundation is funded entirely by contributions from JAMS neutrals, executives and associates, and by a substantial annual donation from JAMS itself. To uphold the company’s core value of neutrality, the Foundation accepts no donations outside of JAMS. The Foundation is currently comprised of 300 principal benefactors and has provided more than $11 million in grant funding since its inception.
About JAMS – Local Solutions. Global Reach.
Founded in 1979, JAMS is the largest private provider of alternative dispute resolution services worldwide. JAMS successfully resolves and manages business and legal disputes by providing efficient, cost-effective and impartial ways to overcome barriers at any stage of conflict. JAMS offers customized in-person, virtual and hybrid resolution services locally and globally through a combination of industry-specific experience, first-class client service, the latest technology and highly trained mediators and arbitrators.
With a roster of over 400 neutrals and 29 locations, JAMS resolves thousands of the world’s important cases every year. JAMS neutrals are adept at managing the resolution process whether they are conducting in-person, virtual or hybrid hearings.
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