Changemakers is a column that highlights the work of local nonprofit organizations serving Athens County.
ATHENS, Ohio –– When Phil (not his real name) and his partner split up several years ago, communication between the two was bad, but they wanted the best for their young child. Phil knew exactly who to turn to: Athens Area Mediation Service. He had used the service as far back as 2006, when he went through a divorce that also involved children.
“I’m a huge advocate,” Phil said, of AAMS. “How great it is that two people can sit at a table with one another and have an avenue for reaching an agreement?”
Phil did end up getting a divorce instead of a dissolution in 2006, but he was able to represent himself in court using agreements from mediation –– saving him thousands of dollars in legal fees.
Phil is just one of nearly 1,000 people who have turned to AAMS since its founding in 1991 –– and approximately 87% of those mediations resulted in signed agreements between the parties involved.
“It’s about resolving conflict in a peaceful, respectful way,” Cynthia Tindongan, who served as AAMS executive director from 2023 to 2025, said. (AAMS welcomed its new executive director, Marcelle Gilkerson, in September 2025.)
“In community mediation, we try to empower the parties to resolve their own conflict, to come up with their own agreement,” Tindongan said. “We’re actually there to guide the process, not dictate the outcome.”
The nonprofit provides an alternative path to dispute resolution for families, neighbors, landlords and tenants, or coworkers trying to navigate conflict without resorting to lawsuits.
Mediation sessions take place at AAMS offices on Richland Avenue and usually run two hours, with two mediators present. Each party gets uninterrupted time to tell their story, while mediators listen, summarize, and guide the conversation toward problem-solving. The goal is to end with a written agreement. It is not legally binding, but the point is often to avoid going to court.
“Our role is to be completely impartial,” Tindongan said. “We help people move from positions –– ‘I want this, I won’t give that’ –– to shared interests. Most of the time, that shared interest is the well-being of children, fairness in the workplace, or just being able to move forward.”
Affordable, accessible help
AAMS has a contract with Athens Municipal Court through which every Tuesday, AAMS mediators are available to offer a mediation alternative to small claims court. More broadly, the mediation process itself is confidential and notes cannot be subpoenaed.
AAMS also has a contract with Ohio University, which allows students, faculty and staff access to mediation services free of charge to the student or employee.
And, of course, anyone from the greater community can access AAMS services. Mediation services are offered on a sliding fee scale, and participants pay between $50 and $500 for the services. With a grant from the Athens County Foundation, for a limited time AAMS is able to offer domestic relations mediations for $10.
Currently, Phil is back at AAMS for mediation with his co-parent. “We hit a wall where our communication wasn’t civil anymore. Having that neutral middle person has made all the difference,” he said.
Conflicts he and his former partner need to resolve can be big –– like the child’s schedule between the two parents –– or small, like where a bicycle will be stored. Thanks to the grant-funded sliding scale, the two only pay $10 per session –– or $5 each.
“Honestly, I don’t think we would have had as many sessions if it cost more,” he said.
Teaching the community
Like some 900 other people in the Athens County community, Phil also enrolled in the Fundamentals of Mediation training offered by AAMS. The training seeks to empower people with the skills to effectively mediate conflict in their own lives or in the community.
Fundamentals of Mediation is generally offered three times a year, through three-hour sessions over a five-week period. It usually costs $200 per person for community members (OU community members attend for free as part of their contract with AAMS), but the Athens County Foundation grant allows some community members to take the training for free.
“Trainees do not necessarily become mediators as a result of taking the training, but we hope they do take the conflict resolution skills to their workplace or their family,” Tindongan said.
Phil agrees. “I’ve taken what I learned into my work at OU,” he said. “I supervise student employees, and sometimes conflicts come up. I try to use that same approach – make sure everyone feels heard, try to get past positions to what people really want. It’s reinforced my commitment to communicate nonviolently.”
Community support
AAMS has only one paid staff member, so community volunteers are essential. The organization has about 25 active volunteers who have taken Fundamentals of Mediation; they are especially helpful in making sure there are two mediators in each session.
But volunteers can help in other ways. AAMS’s annual fundraising event, the Souper Bowl, is held at the Athens Community Center and features soup donated by local restaurants along with handmade ceramic bowls donated by area artisans. Attendees buy tickets that include soup at the event, and then they take a bowl home with them. The event was paused in 2025, but is returning in 2026.
In addition to the Athens County Foundation, AAMS’s major funders are the National Association for Community Mediation and the JAMS Foundation. But community support cannot be understated, financially and otherwise.
“We provide a really positive and productive service that’s truly underutilized,” Tindongan said.
“Conflict is part of life,” she said. “But with the right tools, it doesn’t have to tear us apart.”
Phil recommends the service to anyone who feels stuck in a conflict. “People get caught up in their own story about things and sometimes when you’re in the midst of conflict with somebody, it’s really hard to step back and look at it rationally,” he said.
“Why not try to avoid going to court? The judge is going to make a decision and that’s it. They may make a decision you don’t like and you’re legally bound,” he said. “Why not try to find a solution that’s amicable, if possible?”
How to Get Involved with Athens Area Mediation Service:
- Fundamentals of Mediation (free training): Become a mediator by completing this course which meets 5:30–8:30 p.m. Mondays, at Ohio University — March 2, 16, 23, 30, and April 6 (register at athensmediation.org; supported by OU and Athens County Foundation)
- Souper Bowl Fundraiser: 2–6 p.m. Sunday, March 22: A community gathering supporting local mediation and conflict resolution. Buy tickets at athensmediation.org/souper-bowl.
- Monthly Mediator Lunches: Meet local mediators and learn a conflict resolution skill on the last Wednesday of each month at the Athens fire station on Stimson Avenue, open to mediators and anyone in the community, with a brief training (Jan–Nov). Click here to sign up.
- Community Conversations: Quarterly sessions. 9:00 a.m. –12:00 p.m. April 25, July 25, and Oct. 24. Email director@athensmediation.org to learn more.
- Workshops: AAMS offers 2.5-hour dialogue and conflict-resolution workshops for local organizations and teams. Email director@athensmediation.org to learn more.
