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Introduction
SPARC is administered through the University of Delawares Conflict Resolution Program by experienced mediators and facilitators who specialize in special education dispute resolution.
SPARC staff adhere to the highest standards of ethics, professional competence, and personal integrity. We are committed to providing confidential and impartial dispute resolution services to those in need.
Each member of the SPARC staff is a trained and
practicing mediator and facilitator. The boxes below expand to provide detail of each staff member's experience in the field of mediation and
facilitation.
| Joy V. Jordan | <div class="ExternalClassB3582A42A2784F9C94C722A9BB5D3658"><p>Joy Jordan is an assistant policy scientist and conflict resolution practitioner in the Institute for Public Administration (IPA) at the University of Delaware. In this role, she assists in managing and implementing the statewide dispute resolution program known as SPARC. The SPARC team acts as a neutral third party to help parents and schools resolve differences they are experiencing regarding the education of students with special needs.<br></p><p>Joy is also responsible for creating training material, developing and delivering workshops to a v<span id="ms-rterangecursor-start"></span><span id="ms-rterangecursor-end"></span>ariety of audiences, analyzing data, and assisting with writing marketing and website material. Joy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from Drexel University; a certificate in Communications for Professionals from the University of Pennsylvania; and a certificate in Meeting and Events Planning from Temple University.​</p>​<br></div> | | |
| Kathy Murphy | <div class="ExternalClassC3B160EA80A0488FAE834089C2812098"><p>Kathy
Murphy is the Coordinator of the Conflict Resolution Program and
Associate Director of the Institute for Public Administration at the
University of Delaware (UD). She also has a secondary faculty
appointment in the School of Public Policy and Administration in the
College of Arts and Sciences at UD. Ms. Murphy helped create Delaware's
special education mediation program known as SPARC (Special Education
Partnership for the Amicable Resolution of Conflict). She has more than
twenty years of experience as a professional mediator and facilitator. </p><p>Ms. Murphy received advanced mediation training in special education, eldercare, issues of capacity, custody, and divorce from the Harvard Law Program on Negotiation, Elder Decisions, the Atlanta Center for Justice, Lehigh University, the American Arbitration Association, Mediation Matters, and the Montgomery County Mediation Center. She has a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Delaware and an undergraduate degree in Business Administration. </p></div> | | |
| Sarah Pragg | <div class="ExternalClass135B514649744BFDA00BAB85FA597640"><div>Sarah Pragg is a trained mediator and facilitator working with the Conflict Resolution Program at the Institute for Public Administration (IPA). She also leads IPA's communication team and develops online professional development programs on topics ranging from conflict resolution management styles and collaboration to leading effective meetings. Sarah received her Master of Public Administration degree with a specialization in design thinking and innovation from the University of Delaware in December 2022. She holds a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and geography from Syracuse University. Sarah is a 2018 Leadership Delaware Fellow and UD Leveraging Equity And Diversity (LEAD) Ally.​</div><span id="ms-rterangecursor-start"></span><span id="ms-rterangecursor-end"></span><br></div> | | |
| Valdese West | <div class="ExternalClass260D486C17694358B339BFB453CFBA18">Valdese West is a conflict resolution practitioner at the Institute for Public Administration at the University of Delaware. She has several years of nonprofit policy background and has expertise in organizational leadership, legal studies (with an emphasis on criminal justice), creation of professional development initiatives, and alternative dispute resolution. She is a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Advocate with a programmatic focus on inclusion.  <br><br>Ms. West received her Master of Public Administration degree and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice degree, both from Strayer University. She also has completed Basic Mediation Training and Family Court Mediation Training at the University of Delaware and the Virginia Judicial System Fairfield Center.<br></div> | | |
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