Military Legal Assistance: Understanding Mediation and Negotiation

Bonnie Marmor has pursued a career as a mediator for the past ten years. She is certified in Family, Dependency, Circuit Civi l a nd County Civil mediation and has been a private and court mediator in Florida. Dr. Marmor has served on the statewide Mediator Qualifications and Discipline Review Board (MQDRB) since 2013 and currently serves as Chairperson of the Qualifications Inqui ry Committee (QIC), a statewide committee which reviews issues related to the findings of good moral character required for initial and ongoing mediator certification.

Prior to establishing her mediation practice, Dr. Marmor held various administrative positions in the field of education. Amo ng these were: High School Principal, Assistant Superintendent for Workforce Education and Vice Chancellor for Workforce Education in the Florida Department of Education. In this latter position, Dr. Marmor oversaw a staff whose statewide responsibilities includ ed: Career and Technical Education Programs offered at the secondary and postsecondary levels; Adult Education Programs; Apprenticeship Programs; Federal and State Initiatives; and Grants Administration and Compliance.

Dr. Marmor earned her BA at Queens College in NY, her MA at Fairleigh Dickinson in NJ and her doctorate at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. Her research has focused on the use of tactical and strategic planning to set growth objectives for managing change. Dr. Marmor’s noteworthy professional accomplishments are in the areas of planning and project management, program design, training and development and operational management.

Laura Forsythe Browning is the owner of Laura F. Browning, Mediation Arbitration and is a current member of the ABA Dispute Resolution Section, the Association of Attorney Mediators, the ADR Section of State Bar of Texas, and the ADR Section of the Delaware State Bar Association. She is also a credentialed mediator with the Texas Mediator Credentialing Association. She practiced as an associate attorney with Grady Hampton in Dover, Delaware and later served as a Deputy Attorney General with the Department of Justice for the State of Delaware in the Criminal Division.

Since 2016, Ms. Browning’s practice comprises entirely mediation and arbitration serving Texas and Delaware. She received her BA from Louisiana State University 2000 and her JD from South Texas College of Law 2003. She is a licensed attorney in Delaware 2004 and Texas 2008.

Judith R. Starr is the principal of Starr ADR, LLC, offering a full range of ADR services. She co chairs the ABA Dispute Resolution Section Mediation Committee, is a member of the Florida Mediator Qualification and Disciplinary Review Board, is certified as a mediator by the Florida and Virginia Supreme Courts, and is a panel arbitrator with the Financial Regulatory Authority.

Until December 31, 2019, Ms. Starr was General Counsel of the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, where she oversaw a nationwide litigation practice and established an enforcement mediation program. Before that she served as Chief Counsel to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Treasury Department, Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel at the SEC, a private practice litigator, and a federal court clerk.

Ms. Starr served as co chair of the D.C. Bar Administrative Law and Agency Practice Section and taught CLE on regulatory and legislative drafting and the regulatory comment process. She has presented programs for different ABA sections on ERISA, federal ethics law, administrative law, and mediation, as well as publishing articles and CLE materials.

Ms. Starr has a J.D. from Harvard University, a B.A. from the College of William and Mary, and is a member of the D.C. and California Bars.

Aniela Szymanski is is the Senior Director for Legal Affairs and Military Policy. Prior to joining Veterans Education Success, Aniela was the Director of Government Relations for Veterans Benefits and Guard and Reserve issues at Military Officers Association of America where she worked on a variety of military and veteran-related legislative and policy matters including those related to the GI Bill.

Prior to her time at Military Officers Association of America, Aniela was a visiting professor of practice and supervising attorney at the College of William & Mary School of Law’s Veterans Benefits Clinic. She taught a veterans law course and supervised students working in a legal clinic representing veterans in claims for benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as veterans seeking discharge upgrades from boards for correction within the Department of Defense. She has also served as an adjunct professor at William & Mary School of Law and the University of the District of Columbia School of Law. Aniela has also worked as an appellate attorney at a mid-size law firm and clerked at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

In addition to working at Veterans Education Success, Aniela is currently a reserve officer of the U.S. Marine Corps where she serves as a judge advocate and civil affairs officer. In 2011, she participated in Operation Enduring Freedom in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, as a civil affairs team leader where she worked with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the British District Stabilisation Team, and U.S. ground forces to transition governance and build local economic capacity. Her other assignments between active duty and the reserves have included legal assistance attorney, deputy staff judge advocate, staff judge advocate, legal officer at Marine Corps Embassy Security Group, as well as civil and administrative law attorney.

Aniela is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the University of San Francisco School of Law. Her military education includes Expeditionary Warfare School and Command and Staff College.