David Lonay, MBA, (Master of Business Administration/University of Washington,) CTADR, (Certified Trainer Alternative Dispute Resolution/Mediation Training Institute). Additionally: Mediation and Negotiation certificates from School of Law, Harvard University; School of Law, University of Washington; American Bar Association: Family Law and Business Law, American Arbitration Association plus annual required training for mediators.
Mr. Lonay has been a practicing mediator for over eight years. His areas of specialization are Family and Workplace and Business. He has been involved in the community for many years: Trustee, Seattle Art Museum, Chair, Social Advocates for Youth, Sponsor, Big Brothers; Chair, appointed by the Governor, Washington State Education and Workforce Training Commission; President, Washington Federation of Private Schools and Colleges. During his extensive business career he has had multifold "hands on "experiences in all areas of business and family qualifications for mediation. Because of his experience he is the rare practicing mediator with first hand experience in all phases of running various businesses. He relies on his training and personal experience as well as theory to effect "win-win" solutions. His success writing final Settlement Agreements for both domestic and business disputes exceeds 96%.
Mr. Lonay is currently a senior member of the Family section and past Chairman of the Workplace section (1,000+ members) of the Association for Conflict Resolution, (ACRnet.org) the predominant (5,000+) member group of qualified mediators nationally. He is contemporaneously authoring a text on the finer points of mediation.
Mr. Lonay started his working career at an early age. He worked in real estate then for John Hancock for several years before starting his own business, a new concept at the time, American Inventory Company. When he sold it several years later it was the largest firm of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. Following a national trend he founded National Video Company, one of the first retail video stores in the U.S.A. After building it to be a local leader he sold National Video to a national company. On a challenge from a MBA friend, Mr. Lonay bought a local bankrupt two room post-secondary, proprietary training school specializing in banking and travel entry level education. Over a 15 year period he built that one little bankrupt school into a group of 38 schools nationwide. In 1999 he retired. After a short retirement he found he wanted to keep actively interacting with people. Based on his extensive background, knowledge and experience, as well as the pleasure derived from working with, and helping, people, he formally started in mediation. He has consistently been helping individuals and businesses ever since.
Sylvia Wood, MA, Counseling and Guidance, MA School Administration, Pacific Lutheran University; University of Washington, Sorbonne (Paris, France). Ms. Wood is a former middle school Principal. She has considerable experience working with parents and children to resolve differences within the family and within the community.
Ms. Wood has strong people skills. These skills are critical in working with people to solve interactive behavior problems, e.g. divorce, disputes of various kinds, and personality conflicts, common in all walks of life.
