NYSDRA Executive Director Theresa Hobbs Named 2025 David Brandon Community Mediation Regional Catalyst by NAFCM

Director Hobbs earns national NAFCM honor for transformative leadership advancing community mediation and access to justice statewide.

ALBANY, NY, UNITED STATES, February 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The New York State Dispute Resolution Association (NYSDRA) is proud to announce that Theresa Hobbs, J.D., MBA, LPEC, Executive Director, has been named the 2025 David Brandon Community Mediation Regional Catalyst by the National Association for Community Mediation (NAFCM).

This prestigious national honor recognizes individuals whose leadership has significantly advanced community mediation and strengthened access to justice. Hobbs joins Renata Valree (2023) and Cherise D. Hairston (2024) as recipients of the award.

Under Director Hobbs’ leadership, NYSDRA has achieved a series of unprecedented accomplishments, including coordinating a statewide advocacy campaign with Community Dispute Resolution Center (CDRC) leadership and key stakeholders that secured a $3 million increase in state funding for New York ADR programs—the largest single-year funding increase in state history. This effort restored CDRC funding to above pre-COVID levels, with allocation increases of 30–40 percent for many centers.

Director Hobbs has also expanded the value and reach of all NYSDRA contract programs, strengthened statewide service capacity, and led the organization through record financial performance alongside a comprehensive digital transformation. She established an elite Advisory Board chaired by Hon. Lawrence K. Marks, former Chief Administrative Judge of the New York State Unified Court System, further strengthening strategic leadership and statewide collaboration.

Additional initiatives under Director Hobbs’ tenure include redesigning the AmeriCorps Community Mediation Service Corps to align with the statewide CDRC network and support capacity building through stipends for volunteer mediators; bringing together state partners and stakeholders to reimagine Special Education Mediation in New York; authoring the successful proposal for an expanded statewide contract; and assembling the team now leading the New York State Special Education Dispute Resolution Center (SEDRC).

Director Hobbs also successfully negotiated with the New York State Attorney General’s Office to provide stipends to arbitrators in the NYS Lemon Law Arbitration Program, launched statewide digital marketing initiatives, and led NYSDRA’s 40th Anniversary Conference, honoring the founders who made New York the first state in the nation to establish community mediation.

According to NAFCM, Director Hobbs was selected in recognition of her transformative, collaborative leadership and her measurable impact across New York State’s alternative dispute resolution (ADR) landscape, “building a regenerative ecosystem of justice, compassion, and community healing.”

About NYSDRA
Founded in 1985, the New York State Dispute Resolution Association promotes and strengthens the use of dispute resolution throughout New York State. Through training, advocacy, and collaboration with courts, government agencies, and community organizations, NYSDRA supports a statewide network of Community Dispute Resolution Centers that provide mediation and restorative practices to individuals, families, and communities.

Theresa Hobbs
NYSDRA
+1 518-687-2240
director@nysdra.org
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