The ancient quote from Lao-tse speaks of man’s continuing search for peace at all levels of life and the reality that peace or discord on one level of human activity affects all others. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. referred to this connection when he wrote in Letters from a Birmingham Jail that, “All humans are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

At the National Conflict Resolution Center, the vision that these words inspire is our vision as well—a vision of conflict management that bridges all communications from the grassroots level to the highest strata of international diplomacy. We focus on providing the tools and expertise that people need to handle their inevitable conflicts with respect, skill, and creativity.

Since we opened our doors 23 years ago, this organization has trained thousands of mediators and resolved thousands of disputes primarily through mediation, but also through other applications of conflict resolution.

The ripple effect of these efforts is immeasurable, reaching countless people in all walks of life around the world—from those who come to small claims courts in San Diego and find efficient, cheerful NCRC mediators to help them; to the Federal Transportation Security Administration officials in Washington, D.C. who asked us to participate in implementing a nation-wide conflict management system for all airport screening facilities; to an emerging mediation center in Sofia, Bulgaria that came to us this year for expertise in establishing competency standards for Bulgarian mediators.

This is only the beginning. Recent events at the local, national, and international level underscore all too vividly the reality that conflicts bring out the best and the worst in us. We will never rid the world of conflict, nor is that our goal. Our goal is, rather, to give people everywhere the tools they need to move through conflict with hope and dignity and to get on with the business of living life in all its fullness.

We invite you to join us in this exciting and challenging work.


Steven P. Dinkin
President