Home 2023 - Family Mediation Institute (FMI)

Family Mediation Institute 2023

VEA Newport Beach

May 19 - 20, 2023

Now in its 6th year, our Family Mediation Institute continues to provide family conflict resolution professionals an opportunity to connect with their colleagues from all over California, the United States and beyond. As the premier event for family mediators and other divorce professionals, the Family Mediation Institute is designed to provide the highest quality education to attendees whether they are new mediators or experienced professionals while providing amazing networking and marketing opportunities. This year we will meet at the beautiful VEA Newport Beach where resort vibes meet city life in the heart of Southern California.

The FMI will focus on providing cutting-edge topics and will include two plenary sessions, six workshop choices, and a colleague connect interactive program. The presenters are high-quality, first-class professionals, leaders, and experts from various legal, mental health, financial and related disciplines that provide family conflict resolution services.

Our Exhibitor Hall, Friday Night Reception and Mixer, Saturday Breakfast Buffet, and Saturday Lunch Buffets will provide excellent opportunities for networking with colleagues and building professional divorce and family resources.

FMI 2023 at a Glance

Friday, May 19^th

Saturday, May 20^th

Friday, May 19^th

Saturday, May 20^th

2023 Forest “Woody” Mosten Star Award Recipient

Each year at the Family Mediation Institute, SCMA presents the Forrest “Woody” Mosten Star Award for Innovation and Excellence in Family Mediation. The 2023 Star Award will be presented to:

Terri Breer, Esq.

Attorney and Mediator, Terri Breer, has mediated hundreds of family law disputes, including divorce, custody, property division, pre-marital agreements, domestic partnerships, and surrogacy arrangements. Although she has been a licensed attorney since 1985 and has experience as a civil litigator conducting civil trials involving business, real estate and family law disputes, her practice for the past 30 years has been devoted to mediation of family law disputes.

She graduated from Pepperdine Law School in 1985 and in 1993 she returned to Pepperdine to attend the Domestic Dispute Resolution Training Program presented by the newly founded Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine School of Law. In 2003 she was a founding member of Collaborative Divorce Solutions, Orange County’s collaborative practice group. She has written several articles on alternative dispute resolution and the need for change in the current family law adversarial system. She was the Chair of the Orange County Bar Association – Alternative Dispute Resolution Section in 2014. She has served as a Board Member of the Southern California Mediation Association (SCMA) for two terms from 2015 to 2021. She has led SCMA’s Orange County Professional Development Group and has chaired the SCMA Family Mediation Institute (FMI) in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 2022, and is currently co-chair for this year’s FMI.