Who Are Our Mediators?

WHO ARE OUR MEDIATORS?

AIM Mediation is pleased to have the following mediators working with us at this time.

ARMAND CHRISTOPHER, SRES, Certified Mediator

Armand brings over 30 years of business experience to his mediation practice.  He has practiced in a variety of mediation and negotiation services in the Dallas District Court System and has been appointed court coordinator and worked directly with the presiding judge. He was nominated as one of their five top mediators in 1993 with an 85% success rate. He has provided technical consulting services for the design and implementation of a peer mediation training program for the Dallas Independent School District and has written articles for the local chapter of the national mediation association.

Armand holds mediation certifications from National Mediation Arbitration Services, commercial and civil training, CDR & Associates, divorce and child custody mediation, and the negotiation and mediation certification program from Harvard Law School. He has also been designated as a Certified Aging Services Professionals by the University of North Texas and is a member of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.

Armand is currently a Seniors Real Estate Specialist.  He serves on the board for the National Association of Realtors and is a board director for the City of Dallas "Friends of Senior Affairs."   Armand is recognized in print as a Dallas Exclusive Seniors Realtor Broker by The Dallas Morning News and is a member of their Seniors Advisory Council.  

Armand is also on the board of Denton County Geriatric Services and has provided assistance to the Dallas City Hall Crisis Interventions Department and the Texas Department on Aging.

Armand has recently provided national interviews with Consumer Reports, CNN, and Newsweek magazine relating to the national real estate market and senior housing issues.

Learn more about Armand in "Meet our Mediators" at www.e-seniorservices.com/blog/meet-armand-christopher.html

DEBBIE REINHARDT-YOUNG, MSSW, LCSW, Certified Mediator

Debbie is a licensed therapist, social worker and mediator and a graduate of Austin College and the University of Texas at Arlington.  For the last 20 years, she has served in many capacities as a social worker/therapist—home and inpatient hospice, school, psychiatric, hospital, support group facilitator, home care, and individual and family counseling.  For the last several years, Debbie has worked intensely with the older adult population and with their adult children. 

Debbie’s mediation certification was earned through Southern Methodist University’s graduate program of dispute resolution.  Debbie has conducted many workshops/seminars throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.

GREG GERENDAS, M.Div, Certified Mediator

Greg is the Executive Director at Senior Adult Services, a non-profit agency which serves seniors in Carrollton, Addison, Farmers Branch and Coppell. He joined the agency on June 9, 2008. He leads an effort that cares for over 1300 clients and raises a strong voice for people facing the challenges of aging. For the last 27 years, he has cared for a diverse population of seniors and caregivers in many areas of the country.

Greg has also served as the Executive Director of Sequoia, Inc., an agency dedicated to helping people with developmental disabilities.

Prior to that, he was the Executive Director for The American Association of Lutheran Churches, a small church body of about 80 churches which is now located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Greg is an ordained Lutheran Pastor and has served in various churches in Texas, Illinois, Missouri and Michigan. He graduated from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO, in May of 1982 with a Master of Divinity degree. His undergraduate degree is in Business from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Greg is a certified mediator, with an additional certification in elder and adult family mediation.

DELILA (DEE) BERGAN, JD, MA, Certified Mediator

Dee is currently the President of E-Senior Services, a company she founded to offer education on aging issues and resources for aging adults, family caregivers, health care professionals and employers. 

In Dee’s former practice as an elder law attorney, she worked with older adults and their families in planning for possible illness or incapacity, providing care for incapacitated individuals, estate planning, the probate of estates after death and governmental benefits (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Veterans’ benefits). She is also a family caregiver and has served as a court-appointed guardian and conservator for individuals with cognitive difficulties. 

Because her legal cases were frequently intertwined with moral and policy questions related to health care and aging issues, Ms. Bergan returned to school and obtained a Master’s degree in medical ethics and health care policy. This graduate experience gave her a better philosophical and theological background in which to frame and consider those difficult health care and policy issues she saw in her practice.  She currently teaches medical ethics as an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and through continuing education courses for health care professionals.

Ms. Bergan obtained her undergraduate degree, with a focus on psychology, from Cleveland State University and her law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.  Her Master’s degree in Bioethics and Health Policy is from Loyola University Chicago.  She obtained her basic mediation training from the University of Houston Law School and has also achieved certification as an elder and adult family mediator.

Learn more about Dee in "Meet our Mediators" at http://www.e-seniorservices.com/blog/meet-our-mediators.html.

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JIMMIE PHAGAN, JD, Certified Mediator

Jimmie is a retired attorney who was professionally trained in alternate dispute resolution (ADR) earlier in his career. He has twenty years’ experience in mediations.  

In the last ten years of his legal practice, Jimmie focused on representing residents and their families in litigation against nursing homes and assisted living facilities for neglect and  abuse.  In addition to Texas, he also represented clients in cases in Oklahoma, California, South Dakota, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Michigan.  During his practice, he was honored with membership in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

He is a graduate of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth with a B. A. degree and the University of Texas Law School in Austin with a J.D.

Both professionally and personally, Jimmie has dealt with most of the difficult issues seniors face as they deal with Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, disability, doctors, hospitals, clinics, state and federal governments, retirement and dwindling resources.  He feels an abiding commitment to help older adults and their caregivers resolve this maze of complex issues.

Jimmie’s professional expertise in abuse and neglect cases and his knowledge of care facility regulations and requirements make him extremely helpful as a mediator in disputes involving quality of care issues.

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JODY B. ROBERT, CHAPLAIN, M. Div., Certified Mediator

Jody is a proactive professional with substantial success as a Minister/Manager/Marketer in the geriatric rehabilitation, home health, hospice, and nonprofit industries.  He has 25 years of accomplishment and experience in Ministry, Leadership, Administration, Management, Marketing, Communication, and Human Behavior and Performance. 

Prior to his healthcare career he served as a Senior Pastor for 10 years and as a Chaplain in long term care for 3 years.  Jody is an ordained minister and has served churches in Louisiana and Texas.  He graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, TX, 1991, with a Masters of Divinity degree.  Jody obtained his undergraduate degree in Liberal Arts from McNeese State University, Lake Charles, LA.

Jody is a certified Human Behavior Consultant and Mediator.  He earned his mediation certification through the University of Houston at Clear Lake.  During his time as a pastor, chaplain, and healthcare professional he utilized his mediation skills to assist families, staff members, clients, and patients in conflict resolution.

In April of 2009, Jody and a colleague founded 5 Star Senior Services, which is a professional senior care networking group.  5 Star Senior Services exists to enhance and promote eldercare services, resources, and education for seniors and their loved ones in the DFW area.

Today, Jody is the Chaplain for Heritage Home and Hospice.  In addition to his ministry as a Chaplain, he plans to launch a new church (The Salvage Yard Church) in Northeast Tarrant County that will focus on spiritual reconciliation and restoration. 

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GORDON A. CIZON, Certified Mediator

Gordon brings almost 20 years of active mediation experience to AIM and has conducted over 550 mediations in family, commercial, personal injury, insurance, neighborhood, juvenile and labor matters.  He is a past President of the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution and a member of the Council of Texas Mediators Credentialing Board. 

Gordon owned and operated a multi-service company for 35 years that provided business management consulting services, commercial real estate management, general contracting and business and residential catering.  His earlier employment history includes two years as a regional coordinator for the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation.

Gordon has retired from his corporate life, but is still an active mediator and an even more active community volunteer with many local charities and foundations, including Catholic Charities and the Jewish Community Center.  Through his numerous volunteer activities, he is regularly involved in the provision of services for older adults and the disabled.

Gordon received his B.S. degree in Economics from West Texas State University in 1969.  He also completed the requirements for a B.B.A. degree in Management and has done graduate work toward an M.B.A. degree in Finance.  He took his basic mediation training from Dispute Mediation Service in Dallas in 1992 and has since taken additional mediation training in family dynamics, child development, family law, divorce, arts resolution, business, bankruptcy and much, much more.  He worked with the Hon. Richard Johnson of Dallas on the O.K. Commission from 1996 – 1998.  Gordon has also been involved in training other mediators, including educators, attorneys and students, over the course of his distinguished career.

Gordon brings to AIM Aging Issues Mediation his mediation knowledge and experience, his understanding of the needs of older and disabled adults in the metroplex and his familiarity with the many resources available to those individuals.