Mediators

Zena Zumeta and Susan Butterwick are experienced mediators, working with families who are faced with difficult decisions or are in conflict about the care and well-being of an older or disabled adult. Zena and Susan provide mediation services for a variety of elder issues, including long-term care and residential issues, family relationships, caregiving, guardianship, divorce, and trust and estate disputes. Susan is a member of the National Elder Mediation Training Committee, currently engaged in developing standards for elder mediation training and forming an Elder Mediation Section of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR). Zena worked for the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Michigan and has done training in Advocacy and Aging around the midwest.

Susan Butterwick, J.D.

Susan Butterwick is a Michigan State Court Administrative Office approved trainer for community mediation and civil court roster mediation. She also provides advanced training in adult guardianship / probate mediation for Michigan's community dispute resolution centers and nationally. In addition, she provides advanced trainings in child welfare mediation, parent-teen, and truancy prevention mediation. She served as directing attorney for a national demonstration project on adult guardianship and caregiver mediation and co-authored an evaluation of adult guardianship mediation in four states. Susan is a member of the national Elder Mediation Training Committee and co-author of the committee's Elder Mediation Training Standards.

Zena D. Zumeta, J.D.

Zena D. Zumeta received her Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School. Ms. Zumeta is an approved trainer for Domestic Relations Mediation, Domestic Violence Screening Protocol, and Civil Court Mediation trainings through the Michigan State Court Administrative Office, and for Domestic Relations Mediation training through AFM/ACR and many states.

She is a former board member and president of the Academy of Family Mediators, past president of the Michigan Council for Family and Divorce Mediation, and past Regional Vice President of the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution. She is active with the Association for Conflict Resolution. Ms. Zumeta has extensive experience as a trainer, mediator, facilitator, and consultant. She has been providing mediation services since 1981.

Prior to becoming a mediator, Zena worked at the University of Michigan Institute of Gerontology, providing training in advocacy and aging. She has presented at conferences on Elder Mediation nationally, and has been a faculty member at Elder Mediation training programs for ten years, and provides Elder Mediation services to families.