MEET OUR MEDIATORS
REQUEST MEDIATIONMeet Our Mediators
Our mediators are all familiar with farming and rural issues. They are experienced and attend yearly training to maintain their skills.
Gabriele Marewski
Credit Counselor
- Developed and nurtured a certified organic boutique farm for 18 years, Paradise Farms, located in the Miami area, which specialized in micro greens, baby greens, 52 varieties of edible flowers, tropical fruits and oyster mushrooms and sold to the best chefs at high-end restaurants in the Miami region.
- Pioneered the local Farm-to-Table movement in Southern Florida
Wanda Braithwaite-Baril
Mediator
- Studied at Casco Bay College
- Experienced Farm industry Mediator and Facilitator
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Shannon Sneary Alabanza
Mediator
- Virginia Supreme Court certified mediator for over 25 years
- Certified Mediation trainer and the lead trainer with the FairField Mediation Center, Harrisonburg, Virginia.
- Master’s Degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University
- Independent owner and operator of Changespaces LLC, an organization providing mediation, facilitation, restorative justice, and training services
Kathy Marth
Mediator
- Kathy Marth, M.A. began her mediation career when she did Independent Study in
mediation during her Master’s Degree studies, by interning at Justice Center of Atlanta
and doing a practicum collaboratively with Justice Center of Atlanta and Atlanta Divorce
Mediators in 1990-1991. She has mediated continuously since that time in multiple
court and private settings. From 7 years, she was a co-trainer with Atlanta Divorce
Mediators teaching all portions of Association for Conflict Resolution approved 40 hour
course in divorce and custody mediation. For 5 years, she was a program manager for
family mediation and a trainer of group facilitation methods and strategic planning at
The Mediation Center in Asheville, NC. She was employed on a contract basis and as
an employee by the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts custody
mediation program for over 10 years. She was part of the initial group of mediators
trained for the North Carolina Agricultural Mediation program.
Andy Silver
Mediator
A 21-year mediator having started mediating NCAMP disputes at the program’s inception
- Mediates for other state and federal agencies and is a North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission (or NCDRC) Certified Family Financial Mediator
- Master’s degree in Conflict Resolution from Columbia College, Columbia SC (1999).
- His website features other credentials and certifications at ResolutionExperts.com
- Previously, five years as a Human Resources generalist for the Charlotte DuPont organization
Janet Ford
Mediator, Professor at Western Carolina University.
- J.D., University of South Carolina in 1998
- BM from Furman University in 1985
Mediation Director: Bob Holbert
Bob Holbert has been a mediator with NCAMP since the program’s inception in 2007. He has been a lifelong resident of Polk County, NC. Bob has been married to his wife Linda for 45 years (since 1980).. Together they have two sons, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Sciences from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. He spent 30 years working for USDA’s Farm Service Agency.
Mr. Holbert was employed with the Polk County Clerk of Court’s Office for ten years. He has worked as a NC Superior Court Mediator since 2008. Bob became mediation director for NCAMP and FARM-VA in 2023.
Debra Burke
Executive Director
Debra Burke is a Professor of Business Administration & Law in the College of Business at Western Carolina University.
- Master’s degree in Public Affairs
- Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas.
- Professor Burke’s research interests include contract law, employment law and pedagogical studies.
- She was licensed to practice law in Texas.
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