Tara Fishler
TARA FISHLER, is the founder and CEO of Customized Training Solutions, established in 2003. Through her company and work with non-profits, she has taught trauma-informed/resilience-based conflict resolution and related skills to thousands of adults and students in schools and organizations. Currently, she is the Statewide Peer Mediation Program Coordinator for the New York State Unified Court System. Tara is a facilitator, circle-keeper, strategic planning expert, mediator, lemon law arbitrator, and passionate defender of individuals with special needs.
As an Appropriate Dispute Resolution (ADR) leader, Tara has served on the executive committees of ACR (Association for Conflict Resolution), ACR-GNY (Greater New York chapter), and NYSDRA (New York State Dispute Resolution Association), and is currently Secretary of NAMI Westchester (National Alliance for Mental Illness).
She has authored articles on bullying and published her memoir, “Up-Rooted: Climbing Through Family Chaos,” through WoodHall Press, which details her life as the divorced mother of four children, including two daughters adopted from Ukraine, and the divorce process through both the courts and mediation as a conflict resolution professional. She is currently writing a children’s book on bullying called, “Spaghetti Street”.
Leiat Klarfeld
Leiat Klarfeld joined Customized Training Solutions in 2012, as the Chief Operations Officer, working in partnership with Tara Fishler to develop and implement peer mediation trainings among other conflict resolution workshops. Ms. Klarfeld is a peer mediation trainer with strong mediation, negotiation and facilitation skills. She is a currently a school counselor in Westchester, NY. Previously, she worked with “Community Mediation Services in Queens, NY, where she administered their parent-child and court referred mediation programs.
Ms. Klarfeld has trained peer mediators from elementary through high school. She mediates community, inter-personal, family, special education and parent-child disputes. As the Parent-Child Mediation Specialist at Community Mediation Services, Ms. Klarfeld developed and administered an on-site mediation clinic at a large Queens High School to assist middle and high school students to address conflict in positive ways. Through her work abroad, Ms. Klarfeld brings a richness of cultural awareness and sensitivity to her work. Ms. Klarfeld creates safe, supportive and non-judgmental environments for people to learn conflict resolution skills and address conflict.
Additionally, Ms. Klarfeld has a Master’s in Public Health, a Master’s in School Counseling, and has experience developing international public health related programs.