Join SCMA as we launch the 2026 Annual Fall Conference with an elegant evening. The celebration begins with cocktails and gourmet hors d’oeuvres, followed by a specially curated three-course meal. Throughout the night, we’ll honor this year’s award recipients and highlight SCMA’s legacy and contributions to the mediation field. Don’t miss this memorable night of celebration, connection, and community.
Every year at our Annual Conference, SCMA pauses to honor the people who have shaped this profession and this community. As we mark our 35th anniversary, this year’s honorees represent decades of teaching, training, and quiet dedication that built the mediation field we know today.
Join us on November 7, 2026, at Pepperdine’s Straus Institute to celebrate them and to be part of a day built for practitioners, partners, and everyone invested in the future of conflict resolution.
Presented each year to an individual or organization in the dispute resolution community who inspires us through their passion and dedication to peacemaking. The award honors two of SCMA’s founding members, Kenneth Cloke and Richard Millen.
This year, we are proud to present the Cloke-Millen Peacemaker Award to Ken Cloke himself. Ken helped found our organization and has spent his career teaching not just our members, but mediators around the world, what it truly means to be a peacemaker. Despite the award bearing his name, he has never received it until now.
Presented to a member of the dispute resolution community who has honored and inspired us through their passion and dedication to education in the field. The award is named for L. Randolph Lowry, an SCMA founder and educational leader of the Southern California mediation movement for many years.
This year’s L. Randolph Lowry Award goes to L. Therese White. Therese has trained some of the best mediators in Southern California, and for many of them, her training is where their mediation career began.
A conference tradition, this award is presented by the SCMA president to members who have made a significant impact on the organization, or who went above and beyond in supporting the president during their term.
This year’s President’s Award goes to Melinda Feldman, Anthony Khoury, and Kelly Myers, in recognition of her exceptional service and support to SCMA.
We will honor and thank SCMA President, Claudia Brown Coulter whose board term will end this year. We also will install our new board members (to be announced).
This is a great event that promises to be a great kick-off for our annual conference. We hope to see you there.