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Susan Guthrie, Esq. is a nationally recognized leader in mediation, law, and technology and the current Chair of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution. With nearly 35 years of experience, Susan has revolutionized family mediation by integrating innovative techniques and cutting-edge technology, helping practitioners achieve exceptional client results. She co-founded the Mosten Guthrie Academy (now the Mosten Mediation Academy) with renowned mediation pioneer Forrest “Woody” Mosten, reflecting their shared dedication to advancing mediation through education and innovation.
A recipient of the prestigious L. Randolph Lowry Award from the Southern California Mediation Association, Susan is celebrated for her contributions to the education and advancement of dispute resolution professionals. She is also a contributing author to the influential book Effective Representation of Clients in Family Mediation by Mosten, Traum, and Scully, where she authored the chapter on online mediation, showcasing her expertise in this critical area of practice.
An Amazon Kindle #1 best-selling author, Susan’s forthcoming book, AI-Powered Professional Services: Practical Integration for Practice Success, will be released in late 2025 by ABA Publishing and will provide practical guidance for professionals looking to integrate AI into their practices.
A sought-after speaker, trainer, and media contributor, Susan has shared her expertise with professionals worldwide, focusing on excelling as family mediators and leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance their practices. As the host of two top 1% podcasts, The Divorce & Beyond® Podcast and Make Money Mediating, Susan continues to inspire professionals with insights on mediation, entrepreneurship, and technology.
Tanya Aure is a highly skilled certified divorce financial analyst who combines her financial knowledge, law degree and own personal divorce experience to give her clients the most comprehensive analysis of their finances so that they can make informed and empowered decisions before, during and after the divorce process. She helps her clients understand how the financial decisions they make today will impact their financial future.
Tanya is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, with a B.A. in English and History and continued on to graduate from law school from Case Western Reserve Law. Her first career was as a legal editor with Bloomberg BNA focusing on corporate governance issues in Washington, DC.
She now lives in San Diego with her husband, two sons and their rescue dog, Leo. In her free time, Tanya enjoys playing tennis, walking with friends and settling into her couch with a good book.
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 Chair of Orange County Bar Association – Alternative Dispute Resolution Section in 2014. She has served as 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.
In 2001 she began offering her flat fee Divorce Mediation Programs that she designed to provide an affordable and innovative option for divorcing spouses to resolve their divorce disputes.
Ms. Breer provides family mediation training for California attorneys, therapists, financial professionals, and mediators through her company, New Day Divorce Centers, Inc. Her training program curriculum focuses on instructing family mediators on the legal issues in divorce, relevant California Statutes, characterization, and division of marital property, determining child and spousal support, preparing parenting plans, and document preparation required to process uncontested divorce throughout family law courts in California jurisdictions.
Ms. Breer is active in hosting various networking and educational opportunities for divorce professionals, including South Coast Collaborative Professionals Luncheons and Mixers that she hosted quarterly from 2006 to 2016, and The Attorney Therapist Breakfast Club that was founded in 2017 and meets monthly in Orange County. Both professional groups bring together professionals who share her commitment to helping families resolve divorce and family disputes cooperatively outside of the adversarial court system.
Claudia is the go-to mediator for couples contemplating divorce while parenting children with special needs. With more than 20 years of experience as a public school teacher, Claudia transitioned to mediation after realizing her knack for resolving disputes. She studied the art and science of mediation at Pepperdine Law and now practices online, serving clients nationwide. Her practice areas include family, education, and faith-based disputes. She actively contributes to the Western Justice Center’s Program Advisory Council, co-chairs the Family Mediation Institute in Southern California, conducts training with Pepperdine Law School, and is the President of the Southern California Mediation Association (SCMA). This unique combination of education and mediation expertise makes her exceptionally equipped to handle the complexities that arise in divorces involving special needs children.
William A. (“Bill”) Eddy is an attorney, therapist, mediator, and the Chief Innovation Officer of the High Conflict Institute based in San Diego, California. He provides training to professionals on the subject of managing high-conflict personalities and all forms of disputes. He has presented in over 35 states in the U.S., 7 provinces in Canada, and 12 other countries. He served on the adjunct faculty of the Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law for the past 16 years.
Mr. Eddy is the author of several books, including: Mediating High Conflict Disputes (2021); High Conflict People in Legal Disputes; and Splitting: Protecting Yourself While Divorcing Someone with Borderline or Narcissistic Personality Disorder. He is the developer of the New Ways for Families® skills training method for potentially high conflict parents in separation and divorce cases, which is being used in over a dozen family court jurisdictions. He developed the New Ways for Mediation® method based on his forty years of mediation experience. His blog on the PsychologyToday.com website has over 6 million views. His website is www.HighConflictInstitute.com.
Murphy Funkhouser is a business, brand and marketing strategist, consultant and educator who has supported the creation or launch of over 500 brands in her 20-year career. She was the co-founder and owner of Kudzu Brands, based in Asheville, and now owns a private business and brand strategy firm, BrandStage Consulting. Her expertise includes creating, launching, and building brands and developing business and non-profit marketing strategies. Murphy has helped multiple mediators and litigators develop successful brands.
Murphy has taught business, branding and entrepreneurship at multiple higher education and business schools. She is a year-round teacher, coach and facilitator at the non-profit Mountain Bizworks in Asheville. She is a graduate of the Goldman Sach’s 10,000 Small Businesses program.
When she is not creating strategies that help businesses perform, Murphy is on the stage herself. Her understanding of the stage and the elements of a performance transfer to her understanding of business and branding. She knows how to tell a compelling story. She understands how to get an audience’s attention.
Her business and brand expertise combined with her experience as a performer make her the perfect business or brand strategist for any business or organization looking for creative and effective strategies to take center stage in the market.
Murphy is currently obtaining her Master’s Degree in Communications and Storytelling from East Tennessee State University.
Experience & Education
Practicing family law exclusively since 2003, Elisa Kisselburg is a California licensed attorney, divorce mediator, and has been Certified as a Legal Specialist in Family Law by the State Bar of California since 2011. With over 20 years of exclusive experience in family law, she is dedicated to helping families navigate complex parenting issues, high-conflict disputes, and unique family dynamics. Elisa works with families from the simple issues to the complex with high assets and intricate retirement and business valuations, as well as those with special needs. She has worked with a range of clients, including doctors, teachers, professional athletes, musicians, artists, and authors.
Areas of Specialization
After years of litigating diverse family law matters, Elisa now focuses her practice exclusively on mediation and collaborative divorce. She provides full-service mediation, assisting clients with preparing and filing court documents, completing financial disclosures, and drafting settlement agreements and judgment documents. Elisa also works seamlessly with individuals who are represented by attorneys, coordinating with legal counsel to support an efficient and collaborative mediation process. Offering both in-person and online mediation, Elisa’s approach is informed by her extensive experience and commitment to achieving healthy, practical outcomes for families.
In The Community
Elisa is a skilled mediation trainer and teacher, having led foundational 40-hour mediation trainings for new mediators and facilitated advanced family law mediation training programs. She also contributes to family law education as a frequent speaker and workshop leader, addressing topics such as custody, family court navigation, and international custody. Elisa has been featured at the California State Bar Association’s Annual Conference and published in the National Journal of Child Custody on international custody issues.
Tania Leichliter is an Amicable Divorce Success Coach and the creator of the 5-Step Gameplan Interactive Course: Building Pathways Toward a More Amicable Resolution. Drawing from her own experience with a positive, cooperative divorce, Tania empowers clients to view divorce as an opportunity for personal growth and self-discovery. She teaches the power of mindset management to support clients through the divorce process and beyond. With a background in life coaching, Tania provides practical tools and mindset techniques to help clients prioritize emotional healing, self compassion, and effective communication. Her work centers on fostering collaborative outcomes, especially in mediation, to create a brighter future for families navigating this challenging transition.
Christina McGhee, MSW Lead Trainer and Creator of the Co-Parenting Specialist™ Training Program, is an internationally recognized divorce parenting expert, coach, trainer, and author of PARENTING APART: How Separated and Divorced Parents Can Raise Happy and Secure Kids.
Her diverse background as a coach and parent educator, combined with her experiences consulting with family-law organizations and systems, has helped her cultivate a unique perspective regarding how divorce professionals engage with clients and what it takes to effectively develop and sustain a child-centered practice.
As a trainer, she creates customized, interactive, engaging, and thought-provoking learning experiences for a wide range of divorce professionals. Her programs focus on providing a comfortable space for practicing new skills that maximize learning while offering strategies and high-level resources participants can use right away.
You can find out more about her at www.divorceandchildren.com.
Kelly Myers, CDC – Co-Trainer Co-Parenting Specialist™ Training
Kelly Myers is a divorce and co-parenting coach, mediator, and communication specialist dedicated to helping individuals and families navigate the complexities of divorce and co-parenting. With a focus on gaining clarity, emotional management, and strategic decision-making, Kelly guides clients through the emotional and financial challenges of divorce, empowering them to make informed choices that align with their long-term goals.
In addition to divorce coaching, Kelly specializes in co-parenting, helping parents transition from a romantic relationship to a business-like co-parenting mindset. She believes that when parents can redefine their relationship and place their children at the center of their divorce, they can gain the skills to give their kids the childhood they deserve.
As an experienced trainer, Kelly serves as a co-trainer for the Co-Parenting Specialist™ Training Program and also trains divorce professionals on how to utilize a client-centered approach in their work. Kelly’s training goal is to educate other divorce professionals on how to help their clients and families achieve a more successful divorce outcome. She strives to equip them with the tools to foster positive, long-term results for their clients.Learn more about Kelly at First Steps Divorce.