Jelena Arsic PhD

Bachelor of Law, family mediator and facilitator, licensed by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Serbia. She graduated at the Faculty of Law of the Belgrade University, obtained a master’s degree in 2005 at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, USA, defending her master thesis in the field of family mediation. She gained her Certificate as the family court mediator at the Pittsburgh Mediation and Law Centre

Since 2003 she has been active in the field of mediation and alternative dispute resolution, while at the same perfecting her expertise in the fields of family and commercial mediation. She has participated in several projects related to establishing and developing mediation in Serbia and the region. From 2006 to 2008 she worked for the American Bar Association on projects dedicated to supporting the development of mediation in Serbia. Since 2008 she has been working as a consultant to the IFC – World Bank in Serbia in the field of mediation. In 2009 she was hired as national consultant in the UNDP within the Project “Support to the Implementation of Anti-discrimination Legislation and Mediation in Serbia”. She was hired as a guest lecturer at specialist studies in the field of mediation at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Science, as well as on the module Family Mediation within the master studies at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Law. She is a member of the Board of the European Mediation Network Initiative (EMNI), the National Coordinator for Serbia of the South Eastern European Mediation Forum (SEEMF), a member of American Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) and other international associations of mediators. She was a member of the working group of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Serbia for the drafting of the new Law on Mediation. She is also the author of several manuals, studies and other texts in the field of ADR and Mediation. Works as an docent at the Faculty of Law of the Union University in Belgrade. She speaks English and conducts mediation on both Serbian and English.

Dragana Cuk Milankov

Psychologist, facilitator and mediator, licensed by the Ministry of Justice of Republic of Serbia. She is the President of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre (CARS). She graduated at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy. She worked at the Department of the Neurology and Psychiatry for Children and Youth in Belgrade, as a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist. Since 2002, she has been engaged in mediation.

Long time consultant at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit – GIZ (Society for International Cooperation) on the project Strengthening Structures for Youth Empowerment and Participation, in the field of school and community mediation (as program designer, training facilitator and supervisor. She was engaged in ATINA, the organization that provides support to victims of human trafficking, within which she conducted mediation between beneficiaries and their families. She has participated in several projects for establishing mediation services in Serbia and Montenegro. In 2009 she was hired as a national consultant to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on the program of support to implementing antidiscrimination legislation and mediation in Serbia. Since 2011, she has been the coordinator of the working group of the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality for establishing mediation service in discrimination cases. In 2013, she worked as a consultant in UNWOMAN on the program of support to establishing trustworthy person mechanism within the security sector, in the field of mediation skills. She was hired as a guest lecturer at specialist studies in the field of mediation at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Science. Member of South East European Mediation Forum (SEEMF) and Mediation Training Institute Community. Member of several national expert groups. She is the author of numerous articles, manuals and researches.

Blazo Nedic

President of the Serbian National Association of Mediators (NUMS) and a regional mediator of the World Bank Group, Office of Mediation Services, for Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Albania. As a mediator, he is licensed by the Serbian Ministry of Justice and listed by the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, and the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner of Serbia. He is also certified by the American Bar Association (ABA), and ADR Group (UK).

He is a member of the Serbian Bar Association since 1996, and Official Court Interpreter for English language certified by the Belgrade High Court. He graduated at the Belgrade University Faculty of Law in 1991, and completed postgraduate studies in International & Comparative Business Law in London in 1995. He practiced law in the UK and Serbia, and was a member of the legal team of Ian Macdonald QC in the UK House of Lords case Regina v. SSHD (ex parte Abdi & Gawe) 1 WLR 298 HL.

From 2001-2008 he worked as a Legal Counsel and Deputy Country Director of the USAID funded ABA/CEELI rule of law program, implementing legal reform projects in Serbia. Since 2008, he is with Partners for Democratic Change Serbia, implementing international development projects supporting the rule of law, promoting and developing ADR and mediation, democracy and human rights in Serbia and the region.

He is an associate member of the American Bar Association, member of the Board of Directors of Partners for Democratic Change International (PDCI), member of the Managing Board of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) Serbia, member of the European Mediation Network Initiative (EMNI), and South-East European Mediation Forum (SEEMF). He was a member of the Serbian Ministry of Justice working groups drafting the new Law on Mediation and Law on Free Legal Aid.

He mediates in civil, commercial, workplace, construction, medical and discrimination disputes, and advises clients in ADR and mediation cases. He specializes in developing internal organizational dispute resolution capacity and developing and implementing mediation training programs. He is author of several manuals, bench-books, training programs, educational films, presentations and articles on the rule of law, ADR and mediation. In 2012, he was a recipient of the JAMS Foundation Weinstein International Mediation Fellowship. From 2014 he works as a visiting lecturer at the Belgrade Law School Mediation Clinic. He speaks Serbian, English and French, and mediates in Serbian and English.

Vera Despotovic

Mediator, family therapist and Manager of Counseling for Marriage and Family within the City Centre for Social Work in Belgrade. She graduated in 1989 at the Faculty of Political Sciences (FPN) of Belgrade University, Department of Social Work and Social Policy, where she also completed her postgraduate studies in mediation. Since 1995, she has been working as family psychotherapist in the Counseling for Marriage and Family, and in 2001 she was appointed as its director.

In 2005 she officially began implementing mediation in family relationships at the Counseling. She is one of the founders and Executive Director of the NGO “Association of Mediators in Serbia”, which is engaged in: promoting dialogue, tolerance and other values of a democratic society; improving professional practice of mediation in resolving various types of conflicts; establishing and improving standards of professional conduct of mediators and practice of mediation within an association; developing and implementing training programs and transferring knowledge in the field of mediation; etc. She is the author of the Educational Program in the specialized field of Family Mediation, accredited by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. She participates in planning and as a lecturer at the FPN, at the Specialized Program in Mediation, on programs: Negotiation and Mediation in Social Welfare, Family Mediation, Victim to Offender Mediation and Mediation in Case of Mobbing. She was a member of the working group of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Serbia for the drafting of the new Law on Mediation. She speaks English and conducts mediation in Serbian.