Senior Mediator
Doug Thompson has a background in environmental protection and dispute resolution and management. Prior to joining CBI, he worked for eight years at The Keystone Center and spent 25 years with the Environmental Protection Agency in various technical and management capacities. As part of EPA’s dispute resolution program, he mediated a number of environmental conflicts; he worked on assignment as a founding associate at the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution in Arizona. He has mediated extensively in the court system, is adjunct faculty in the Graduate Program in Dispute Resolution at University of Massachusetts, and has mediated workplace and family disputes.
Doug’s wide-ranging case work has included matters related to issues as diverse as drinking water disinfection, marine mammal concerns, nuclear waste and chemical weapons cleanup, state-federal interactions around technical and policy water quality issues, the credibility of green marketing and sustainable product claims, pandemic flu planning, federal environmental enforcement matters, tribal capacity building in the environmental area, and endangered species. In addition to serving as a mediator and facilitator, he has written several extensive conflict assessments, including ones related to mountaintop mining issues and a complex transportation conflict in Ohio. He also has extensive teaching and training experience. Doug has taught three courses in the Graduate Program in Dispute Resolution at the University of Massachusetts (Mediation Internship, Conflict Assessment, and Multi-Party Dispute Resolution) and co-leads mediation training three times yearly with Metropolitan Mediation Services. He provides weekly supervision and coaching of student mediators in the Massachusetts court system. Originally trained as a biologist, Doug has substantive expertise related to NEPA and the Clean Water Act, particularly §404/wetland program and wildlife issues.
The following is a partial list of clients:
Federal Agencies
State Agencies
Local Municipalities
Nonprofit Organizations
Companies
Doug holds a B.A. in environmental science and a M.S. in Biology from Northwestern University (four-year B.A./M.S. honors program). He is on rosters managed by the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration, and the Boston Federal Executive Board. He is a member of the Association of Conflict Resolution.