Background
Cristina Franco is a Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution Registered Neutral,
Registration No. 2516 as General and Domestic Relations Mediator and Arbitrator.
Cristina has successfully mediated hundreds of cases and is trained in civil mediation,
domestic mediation, domestic violence mediation, juvenile mediation, criminal mediation,
transformative mediation, workplace mediation and arbitration. Cristina has one of the
highest resolution rates among all local mediators. She has handled hundreds of civil cases
including personal injury, malpractice, negligence, equal employment, discrimination and
many others. In addition, she conducted over 60 pro-bono court related civil mediations, in
the past two years.
Cristina’s diverse background and business experience with corporations and government
agencies equips her to bring a multi dimensional approach to the mediation table. She
understands different people, cultures, interests and values; she is able to measure and use
good judgment as she applies any combination of facilitative, directive, interest-based, or
other problem solving technique to the solution of the issues of the parties in conflict.
Training
Cristina provides ADR training that addresses cross-cultural and diversity issues,
and custom designs CDP tools that include “Preventive Mediation and Lessons on
Integration”. Some of these courses have been designed for the Board of Education and
the Georgia School System. Similar training presentations are offered to private businesses
at the workplace. She has been invited to offer these training/presentations in Florida, New
York, D.C., Mexico, Colombia, and Buenos Aires.
Cristina teaches Bilingual Mediation, Cross-Cultural, Diversity Issues and Awareness,
Mediation Agreement Writing in the Spanish language, terminology for drafting and
translating it; and Working with Attorneys and Interpreters in the Mediation Table, for
Conflict Resolution Academy, CRA. She has been invited by the Georgia Hispanic Bar
Association to present at the Bar’s Annual Meeting.
Cristina’s background includes traveling and training at various levels. She lived in New
York and Europe and worked for the United Nations, FAO, and was the Director of
Shareholder Relations for a multinational investment bank before moving to Georgia.
Cristina was hired as the Director of the Commission on Interpreters of the Georgia
Supreme Court. She recruited and trained over 700 interpreters in 21 languages to serve
the court system. As an independent contractor she is helping the Office of Minority
Health to develop the Medical Interpreters Program for the health care system in Georgia.
Cristina is a member of and holds leadership positions in numerous local and national
organizations. She is an active member of the Association for Conflict Resolution, ACR.
Cristina is Chair of the Projects Committee for ACR-International Section, and has been co-
Chair of the International Section Conference Workshop Selection Committee. She is a
member of ACR-Task Force on Public Education, and Director-At-Large of ACR-Georgia
Chapter.
Cristina also serves on the Board of
- Atlanta Association of Interpreters & Translators, AAIT
- Member of the Board and Vice President-Public Relations
- ACR-GA Chapter, Director At-Large 2006-07,
- Kennesaw State University, Center for Hispanic Studies
- Member of the Board
- U.S. Foundation for the University del Valle de Guatemala
- GHCC - Legislative Committee of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- Cristina was awarded with a ‘Special Recognition Award’ by the GHCC during
2005 for her dedication and excellent work in mediation and with interpreters
within the Hispanic community.
Education
Cristina studied Political Science at Universidad Pontifica Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia,
attended Bernard M Baruch College in New York City. B.A. English/ Marketing. She
finished her graduate studies on Political Science at New York University (U/M).
After becoming Registered as a Neutral with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution,
Cristina has attended over 300 hours of education on Conflict Resolution, Transformative
and Workplace Mediation, general, domestic, and juvenile law, child custody and related
issues.
Contact: Cristina Franco: FrancoMediation@aol.com
Conflict Resolution/International Communication Resources
