Member Profile

Bio:

Bunny Macfarlane began her mediation training in 1997 with a local Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP) in Niagara and continued her training in Dispute Resolution at the Mediation Academy followed by advanced training at the University of Toronto. Ms. Macfarlane graduated in 1994 from Brock University with a Bachelor of Arts degree and was granted Chartered Mediator (C. Med) designation in 2001 from the ADR Institute of Canada.

Ms. Macfarlane is presently a Mediator at the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, and is a principal of Syzygy Resolutions, a conflict management and dispute resolution practice. She is a Roster Mediator of the Ontario Mandatory Mediation Program (OMMP) since 1999, the Intermational Mediation Institute and has been a Roster Mediator to the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC). Her practice involves workplace conflict, civil disputes, training, coaching, investigations and conflict systems design. She has retained the position of Instructor of the Alternative Dispute Resolution course at Brock University since 2005. Ms. Macfarlane is also a mediation and negotiation coach at the Stitt Feld Handy Group, Toronto, in addition to securing the position of coach for York University in January, 2007

Her most recent training and interests are in the area of Circles. She is on the Roster of the Youth Justice Circles Program through Peacebuilders International as well as being a volunteer mediator with the Youth Criminal Justice Committees in Niagara.

Bunny is a Board Member of the ADR Institute of Ontario, and presently serves as Chair of the Restorative Justice Section of the Institute

 

Resume:

Bunny Macfarlane, C. Med. (Chartered Mediator)
62 Debora Drive, Grimsby, Ontario L3M 4J3
(905) 945-8968

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

• Dispute resolution practitioner with proven ability to find common ground
• Extensive experience as a mediator, coach, investigator, instructor and trainer
• Successful operation of independent dispute resolution practice
• Steward of proactive, preventative and restorative processes relating to conflict
• Superior communication, facilitation and relationship building skills

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Mediator, Dispute Resolution Services Unit, Financial Service Commission of Ontario  - mediate Statutory Accident Benefit Claims between Claimant and Insurers

Roster Member, International Mediation Institute (IMI)
2009 – Present
• mediate cases related to a range of commercial disputes 

Roster Member, Ontario Mandatory Mediation Program (OMMP)
Toronto/Ottawa/Windsor 1999 – Present
• mediate cases related to a range of civil disputes including commercial disputes, personal injury, human rights, breach of contract, etc.

Sole Practitioner – Principal, Syzygy Resolutions 1997 – Present
Mediation, investigation, group facilitation, consulting and training in all forms of ADR

Instructor, Brock University 2005 – Present
• Introduction to Alternative Dispute Resolution course as a component of
the Policing and Community Justice Program with Niagara College

Dispute Resolution Educator (DRE), York University, Division of Continuing Education, Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies 2007 - Present
Deliver the observational and practical portions of the Advanced Certificate in Dispute Resolution to students of the program

Roster Appointment, Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC) Jan. 2007 - Jan. 2011

Instructor, Lambton College Sept. 2006
• Introduction to Alternative Dispute Resolution

Mediation/Negotiation Coach, Stitt Feld Handy Group 2000 – Present
Toronto
• provide feedback and direction to trainees in ADR course

Return to Work Planning Facilitator, Mediator, Shepellfgi, Toronto 2003 – Present
• facilitate meetings between employer and employee involved in disability
management program

Acting Program Director, Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP) Niagara
St. Catharines, ON 2000
• volunteer mediator management, case management, mediator training,
program development

Field Supervisor, Alternative Dispute Resolution Internship Program,
Brock University, St. Catharines, ON 1999 to 2000
• coach and supervise interns throughout assigned mediations, assisting
in mediation session, debrief following each mediation

EDUCATION & TRAINING

Negotiation Pedagogy Workshop, Harvard Law School
Boston, Massachusetts, USA Dec. 2007
Circle Training, Levels I and II
Youth Circles Project, Peacebuilders International (Canada) 2006 - 2007
Corporate Circles, Workshop, Toronto 2006
Resolving Estate Disputes: Practice and Procedure, Ontario Bar
Association, Toronto 2006
Investigating Harassment Complaints, Canada School of Public Service 2005
Chartered Mediator Designation Awarded, ADR Institute of Ontario, Inc. 2002
Counselling Skills for Human Services Certificate; Niagara College 2003
Strategies for High-Risk Youth, Seminar, Niagara College 2002
Wraparound Facilitation, Seminar, Fonthill, Ontario 2000
Workplace Conferencing, Seminar, Transformative Justice Australia, Toronto 1999
Estates Law for Mediators, Lawyers, Advisors, Charities and Financial
Institutions, Strategy Institute, Toronto 1999
Conflict Analysis and Systems Design, Certificate, University of Toronto 1998
Advanced Civil Procedure for Insurance Claims and Personal Injury,
Seminar, Arbitration Mediation Institute of Ontario (AMIO), Toronto 1998
Advanced Civil Procedure for Contract Disputes and Wrongful Dismissal,
Seminar, AMIO, Toronto 1998
Basic Civil Procedure for Non-Lawyer Mediators, Workshop; AMIO, Toronto 1998
Alternative Dispute Resolution, Negotiation, Certificate, Niagara College 1997
Graduate Mediation Clinic, Seminar; The Mediation Academy, Toronto 1996
Mediation Fundamentals, Workshop; The Mediation Academy, Toronto 1996
French Immersion Certificate; Laval University, Laval, Quebec 1995
Bachelor of Arts Degree, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario 1994
French Immersion Certificate; University of Ottawa, Ontario 1992

 

 

 

COMMITTEES

Chair, Restorative Justice Section, ADR Institute of Ontario 2005 – Present

Member, Board of Directors, ADR Institute of Ontario 2008

 

VOLUNTEER

Circle Keeper, Peacebuilders International, Youth Justice Circle Project 2007- Present

Niagara Detention Center, Thorold, Ontario 1996 - Present
Program Manager, Anger Management Program

Business Education Council Speaker Series 1999 - Present

Youth Justice Committee, Port Colborne

 

MEMBERSHIPS

ADR Institute of Ontario Inc.
Restorative Justice Section – ADR Institute of Ontario Inc.
IT and IP Section – ADR Institute of Ontario Inc.