CHRISTINA SABEE

Christina, currently President of the Board of Directors for Community Boards, is an experienced trainer and educator with more than 20 years of experience in the field.

Christina holds a PhD in Communication with a focus on conflict management and interpersonal communication from Northwestern University, and brings both a strong academic focus as well as practical experience to mediation training.

As a professor, she has designed, introduced, and taught Mediation courses at both San José State and San Francisco State, as well as provided professional training in mediation and conflict management. 

In addition to her educational appointment at SF State, Christina has served as the University Ombudsperson, Dean of Equity Initiatives, and a Senior Deputy for Gender Equity and Anti-Discrimination. 

She has also published numerous articles relating to conflict management as well as a book on Mediation practice and continues to volunteer as a mediator and facilitator in the community.

Christina has extensive experience with facilitation, mediation, and training, and has a passion for sharing those skills with the community. 

ASHMI DESAI

Ashmi Desai is currently an assistant professor of conflict management and public dialogue at San Francisco State University (SFSU) and also directs the conflict resolution certificate there. She received her PhD in Communication from University of Colorado Boulder. She has 12 years of experience as a pracademic in mediation, dialogue, and restorative practices.

Ashmi brings global, intersectional and cultural perspectives to conflict management as a South Asian immigrant, mother, and woman of color. She is currently writing a book about her research in the Maoist conflict zones of central India, to be published by Routledge. Ashmi has co-edited another book on global dialogue perspectives and published journal articles and book chapters on conflict management pedagogy.

Ashmi serves as a volunteer mediator and dialogue facilitator across different community organizations, including Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center (PCRC), where she engages university students in conflict transformation conversations with incarcerated men in Redwood City jail.

Ashmi has also served as program co-director for Promoting Equity Among Colleagues, an SFSU peer group of mediators, facilitating restorative circles and offering conflict coaching to faculty and staff navigating conflict. She has conceptualized and taught courses on mediation, conflict resolution and journalism since 2012.