Heather Fogg

Heather Fogg has worked in the fields of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and restorative justice (RJ) since 2001. She joined Resolution Systems Institute (RSI) as Chief Executive Officer in 2024 and is responsible for implementing RSI's mission of strengthening access to justice by enhancing court ADR systems. To accomplish this mission, the people of RSI conduct research into what makes court ADR programs effective, studying topics such as online dispute resolution and mediator behaviors; design and administer court ADR systems; and conduct ongoing monitoring and in-depth evaluation of court ADR systems. Heather is responsible for articulating RSI’s vision and for supporting that vision by offering a strategic path, innovating court ADR processes, developing a diverse funding base, and supporting a professional staff.

Heather’s experience includes practicing in a variety of contexts and venues as a mediator, restorative trainer and practitioner, conflict coach, circle keeper and community dialogue facilitator. She has provided numerous trainings and presentations on dispute resolution and restorative justice, and taught undergraduate courses in conflict engagement and restorative justice at Howard Community College and Towson University. She is a regular presenter at local and national events, including the Center for ADR Annual Conference, Association for Conflict Resolution conferences, local bar association meetings, Maryland’s Annual Restorative Justice Conference, the Maryland Mediators Convention, and Maryland Council for Dispute Resolution continuing education events.

Heather spent over nine years working collaboratively with colleagues and partners at MACRO (the Maryland Judiciary Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office). There she served as the Quality Assistance Director and Steward of the Maryland Program for Mediator Excellence, a collaboratively created program offering opportunities for mediators to improve their skills and affirm their commitment to excellence in mediation. In this role, she worked alongside statewide ADR program managers in the courts, state-level organizations and community mediation centers, as well as local court-roster mediators, private practice mediators and volunteer community mediators, to raise the quality of mediation throughout the state. She was also part of the statewide collaborative effort to revise and update the Maryland Standards of Conduct for Mediators in 2020, and for six years hosted a monthly Mediator Confidential anonymous call-in program to support mediators within a peer learning community.

Heather has designed and conducted a wide range of mediator training programs, especially on the topic of mediator ethics. She has provided 40-hour basic mediation training for judges, magistrates and court staff of the Maryland Judiciary, and teaches facilitative mediation at Montgomery College. With co-trainers, she developed and delivered innovative and inclusive full-day courses in restorative justice for judges and magistrates in the Maryland Judicial College. Heather has also delivered training in the foundational principles and values of restorative practices and restorative justice. She served on the founding board and leadership circle of the Circle of Restorative Initiatives for Maryland and is a volunteer circle keeper with Healing Circles Global and volunteer harm repair facilitator with Restorative Justice Project Maine.

Heather’s research experience includes co-managing the Alternative Dispute Resolution Evaluation Support System application, a comprehensively designed and implemented online survey-scanning system for recording, analyzing and reporting on participant and mediator feedback surveys for court-based ADR services. She also regularly provides feedback and guidance for evaluation research design and data analysis of ADR programs. She has worked with research partners in fellow institutions and organizations, and facilitated large group dialogues for data collection, strategic planning and program development purposes.

Heather studied psychology because she believes in the interconnection of life and is fascinated by people and all of the gifts each individual brings to the world. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Psychology, and completed all of the required doctorate-level coursework in Criminology and Criminal Justice. Her favorite experience is being in connection with others in circle gatherings of all kinds, and she carries a talking piece with her everywhere she goes.