Ana Maria Maia Gonçalves, a certified mediator by IMI, ADRg, and ICFML, has over 30 years of international experience. She's the founder of ICFML, a mediator, professor and pedagogical coordinator at the Catholic University of Portugal, a UN Global Mediation Panel member, Fellow of NCTDR, and co-founder of the Alliance of Mediators for Universal Disclosure. Ana is also a Master Certified Coach (MCC) from International Coach Federation. Ana is passionate about innovative integration and development of human potential in organizations through executive coaching, mediating effective and satisfying team working methods, and developing practices that enhance productivity, engagement, well-being, inclusivity, and respect for human diversity in organizational conflict resolution systems.

He graduated in International Relations from the Higher School of Social and Political Science at Lisbon Technical University in 1995 and in 1997 he concluded his master’s degree in European Studies from the London School of Economics.

He is a career diplomat. Of the matters he followed within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we note those relating to Security and Defence, particularly focusing on the European Union and the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE), where he assisted the coordinator of the Portuguese Presidency in the organization from February 2021 to February 2003. He served at DelNATO and the Portuguese Embassies in S. Tomé, Cairo, and Paris, having held several posts.

He has been on several Government cabinets and was assistant to the Cabinet of the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs (September 2010 to June 2011), assistant to the Cabinet of the Prime Minister (June 2011 to February 2013), Chief of Cabinet to the Deputy Secretary of State and for European Affairs (February to July 2013), and Chief of Cabinet to the Minister of State and for Foreign Affairs (July 2013 to August 2014).

He was Head of the Portuguese External Intelligence Service (SIED) from December 2019 until July 2023.

Cátia Marques Cebola is an Assistant Professor, teaching Alternative Dispute Resolution and Civil Law, at the Polytechnic of Leira in Portugal. She carried out her doctoral work at the University of Salamanca, Spain, having defended the thesis on Mediation. She has a Graduation and a master’s in civil law by the University of Coimbra, Portugal. In has a certified course in Mediation and attended the Harvard Mediation Program in 2010. She is the author of several studies and articles about mediation and arbitration and she participates in research projects related to the study of mediation. She is ICFML Academic Coordinator since 2024.

Dr. Clare Fowler is the author of Rising Above Office Conflict and holds a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership and a Master’s in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University. She serves as Managing Editor and Caseload Manager at Mediate.com, and teaches at both Pepperdine and the University of Oregon. Clare specializes in mediating and training on workplace conflicts, and her doctoral research focused on the lived experience of workplace disputes. Her 2023 book offers practical tools for HR professionals managing high-conflict behaviors. Clare is passionate about making conflict resolution accessible and effective - guided by her motto: Rising Tides Raise All Boats.

François Bogacz is the International President of ICFML and a certified mediator by the International Mediation Institute (IMI). With a background in corporate leadership at companies such as Philips, Hitachi, and Microsoft, he later specialized in neuroscience and conflict, founding Neuroawareness Consulting Services in the U.S. He has worked in executive development across Southeast Asia and currently serves as Deputy Director of Executive Development at Singapore Management University. He is also pursuing doctoral research at Technische Universität Dresden on the use of AI to evaluate the impact of mediators in conflict resolution processes.

Joel Lee is a Professor at the Faculty of Law, the National University of Singapore. Joel co-pioneered the teaching of Negotiation and Mediation in the Singapore Universities and has played a significant role in furthering the development of mediation in Singapore, not just in education but in practice. A graduate of Victoria University of Wellington and Harvard Law Schools, Joel is a principal mediator with the Singapore Mediation Centre and a Master Trainer with Peacemakers. Joel was a member of the International Mediation Institute's Independent Standards Commission and Intercultural Taskforce and was also a key member of the Ministry of Law’s Working Group on International Commercial Mediation. Joel is presently the founding Chair of the Board of the Singapore International Mediation Institute.

He is also a Certified Trainer of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). Joel has taught overseas at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), University of Law, Economics and Science of Aix-Marseille (Aix-en-Provence France) and Anglia Law School (UK) and is the co-editor and co- author of the book "An Asian Perspective on Mediation" and the “Singapore Mediation Handbook”, and the General Editor for the Asian Journal on Mediation. In 2011, Joel was awarded the Outstanding Educator Award which is the National University of Singapore's highest teaching award. Joel was also awarded the Singapore’s Public Service Medal in 2023 for his work in promoting mediation.

Larry Bridgesmith J.D. is the Head of Legal Innovation at Guardrail Technologies, Inc. He founded the first Tennessee registered legal DAO built for the association of legal reformers, DAO dispute resolution, and legal wrapper consultation. Larry is a member of the Global Advisory Group and co-founder of the International Institute of Legal Project Management (IILPM). He was awarded the Legal Innovation award by the President of the Tennessee Bar Association and received the Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Janice Holder award for legal innovation. Larry’s work in legal technology innovation was recognized as a finalist in the Legal Innovator category by the British Legal Technology Awards Forum for 2021 and designated Law.com’s Innovator of the year in 2023 in the Southeastern United States. Larry has authored numerous published articles on mediation, legal innovation, and AI. Along with his co-authors, Dr. Adel Elmessiry, and Hon. Hummaded S. Morei, he was awarded best paper recognition at the 2022 International Conference on BlockChain which addresses the use of DAOs in the legal industry.

He founded Lipscomb University’s Institute for Conflict Management. Larry teaches at Vanderbilt University School of Law (where he co-founded the Program on Law & Innovation) and Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, (where he was recognized as Teacher of the Year in 2022).

Pedro Metello de Nápoles is an independent arbitrator and legal practitioner focused on international dispute resolution, with over 20 years of experience. Until 2025, he was a partner at PLMJ, where he co-headed the arbitration practice and acted as counsel in numerous arbitrations under major institutional rules. He now regularly sits as arbitrator in complex international disputes.

He is a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR, the board of the Portuguese Arbitration Association, and the board of the Portuguese Chapter of Club Español del Arbitraje. As former executive secretary of the Portuguese Arbitration Association, he contributed to the drafting of Portugal’s current arbitration law. He also has substantial experience in dispute resolution across Lusophone Africa, having led PLMJ’s Angola desk from 2012 to 2015.