So this last contentious presidential election is finally over with. It is either the best or worst day for America. Some will gloat over the win, others exhibit anger for the loss, or maybe we just keep our mouth shut so as not to engage in conflict? So how do you talk to your friends, co-workers, and family about politics and not get burned in the process? Learn how two conflict resolution experts, Pattie Porter and Stephen Kotev, help others say what they really mean and hear what really matters from those they don't agree with.

Pattie Porter, LCSW, AAP is the President of Conflict Connections®, Inc. in San Antonio, TX. Pattie has worked extensively in the dispute resolution field for nearly 20 years providing mediation, team facilitation, negotiation training, and conflict management and abrasive leader coaching services to executives, businesses, government agencies and higher education institutions.

Pattie is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and holds the Advanced Practitioner-Workplace Mediator (AAP) designation from the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR), the Credentialed Distinguished Mediator from the Texas Mediator Credentialing Association, and the CINERGY® certified advanced conflict coach and coach-mentor as recognized by the International Coach Federation (ICF). She is an accredited abrasive leader coach from The Boss Whispering Institute® and is an adjunct faculty member in the graduate dispute resolution program at Southern Methodist University in Plano, Texas.

Pattie trains extensively throughout the U.S. on topics related to dispute resolution, with emphasis on cooperative problem-solving and conflict management coaching. She serves as a senior trainer as well as leads and mentors Navy mediators and training teams in organizational conflict resolution programs.

Serving in numerous leadership positions, Pattie serves on the Advisory Board of Arbitration Resolution Services (ARS) in Florida which provides the every day person easy access to mediation through an online dispute resolution platform. Pattie is also the Immediate Past President for the Texas Association of Mediators (TAM).

Stephen Kotev is a Washington D.C. based conflict resolution consultant offering mediation, negotiation and facilitation services, conflict coaching, training and somatic education to private and government clients. Helping people resolve problems and improve their performance is his passion and profession. Stephen has dedicated his professional career to the practice and study of conflict resolution. His first exposure to conflict resolution began as a high school peer mediator over twenty years ago and his interest in the theory and practice of conflict resolution continues to this day. He holds a Master of Science degree from George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution and is certified in conflict coaching by Conflict Coaching Matters LLC. Stephen is a black belt in the Japanese martial art of Aikido and has become a nationally recognized expert on how to maintain your performance under pressure. Since 2006, he has taught graduate and undergraduate students these somatic skills as an Adjunct Professor for George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Stephen is one of only two individuals to have been employed by both of the nation’s two largest Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) membership organizations – the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution and the Association for Conflict Resolution. He has also worked for the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management and the District of Columbia Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency as an ADR Specialist. Stephen has conducted trainings to international and national audiences in, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Germany, Northern Ireland and across the United States.