SUSAN L. CARPENTER is a mediator and trainer. She is the founding director of the Program for Community Problem Solving in Washington, D.C. and a founding board member of the International Association of Public Participation. She was the associate director of ACCORD Associates, a nonprofit conflict management organization in Boulder, Colorado for ten years.

W.J.D. KENNEDY was the executive director of ACCORD Associates for fourteen years. He has consulted with a wide variety of private organizations and city, county, state, and federal agencies.