Board of Directors
President
Hon. Emile R. Kruzick
Brampton, ON, Canada
Emile Kruzick is a judge of the Superior Court of Justice Ontario, Canada. Prior to his appointment in 1996, Justice Kruzick practiced family law in Toronto, Ontario, first from 1972 with MacDonald & Ferrier until a merger with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt and then in sole practice. A recognized specialist in family law by the Law Society of Upper Canada, Justice Kruzick also served on its examination committee. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto in 1967 and a Bachelor of Law degree from Dalhousie University in 1970.
President Elect
Robert M. Smith, JD
Windsor, CO
Robert Smith is an attorney and mediator with an emphasis on high-conflict family law cases, and regularly serves as a Child and Family Investigator, Child Legal Representative and Guardian ad Litem in judicial districts throughout Northern Colorado and the Denver Metro area. He received his Bachelor's degree in English literature from Stanford University in 1961 and a Master of Divinity degree, with an emphasis in counseling, from San Francisco Theological Seminary in 1974. He earned his law degree from California Western School of Law in San Diego in 1995 and is licensed to practice law in Oregon and Colorado.
Vice President
Linda B. Fieldstone, M.Ed.
Miami, FL
Linda Fieldstone is Supervisor of Family Court Services of the 11th Judicial Circuit and a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator, working with high-conflict families within the Miami-Dade County Domestic Relations Division as a parenting coordinator. Ms. Fieldstone has provided numerous trainings regarding intervention with high-conflict families and parenting coordination, nationally and throughout Florida. She served on the AFCC Parenting Coordination Task Force to develop Guidelines for Parenting Coordination as well as on numerous taskgroups and Florida Supreme Court committees on the subject. She is also a past president of the Florida Chapter of AFCC.
Secretary
Arnold T. Shienvold, Ph.D.
Harrisburg, PA
Arnold Shienvold is the founding partner of Riegler, Shienvold & Associates. Dr. Shienvold received his Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in clinical psychology from the University of Alabama and has specialized in dealing with high-conflict families since he began his practice in 1980. Dr. Shienvold is a member of the American Psychological Association and is a fellow of the Pennsylvania Psychological Association where he also serves on the custody evaluation task force. Dr. Shienvold is a past president of the Academy of Family Mediators and a past president of the Association for Conflict Resolution. He is also a member of the Pennsylvania Council of Mediators.
Treasurer
Richard L. Altman, JD
Napoleon, OH
Richard Altman is the Magistrate for Henry and Fulton County Ohio Courts of Common Pleas. Prior to this position he was the mediation coordinator of a multi-county mediation program. He has worked as an attorney and mediator in the areas of civil law, domestic relations and parenting issues. Magistrate Altman has been a frequent presenter for organizations such as the Ohio Supreme Court, the Ohio Judicial College, the Wisconsin Association of Mediators and AFCC. He is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, where he has served as chair of the Dispute Resolution Committee, and is also a member of the American Bar Association and several local bar associations.
Past President
Robin M. Deutsch, Ph.D.
Boston, MA
Robin Deutsch is a psychologist and the Director of Forensic Services for the Children and the Law Program in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. She practices as a therapist, consultant, custody evaluator, mediator and parenting coordinator. She is a member of the board of editors of the Journal of Child Custody. Dr. Deutsch is a past president of the Massachusetts Chapter of AFCC. She is the coauthor of 7 Things Your Teenager Can’t Tell You (and How to Talk About Them Anyway).
Hon. Peter Boshier
Wellington, New Zealand
Judge Boshier was appointed as the Principal Family Court Judge of New Zealand in March 2004, after serving on the District Court Bench since 1988. He has worked extensively in the management of the Family Court and judicial system, resulting in a number of changes to court processes. Judge Boshier has a particular interest in Pacific youth justice and child offenders. In 1999, he wrote the Child Offenders Manual, which gives practical guidance to intervention with child offenders. In 2002, he was seconded by the New Zealand Government to join the Pacific Judicial Education Programme based in Suva. As Principal Family Court Judge, Judge Boshier is committed to working with the government to continue to reform the court to ensure efficient and economic access to justice. In 2006, Judge Boshier was nominated by the New Zealand Listener as being in the top fifty outstanding New Zealanders.
Wendy Bryans, LL.B.
Ottawa, ON, Canada
Wendy Bryans has been a lawyer with the Canadian Department of Justice for more than 25 years in the area of family law policy. She has worked on numerous bills, which amended the federal Divorce Act and more recently, the Marriage Act. She is a former chair of the Federal-Provincial Committee on Family Law and recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for leadership on family law policy within the Canadian government.
Annette T. Burns, JD
Phoenix, AZ
Annette Burns was admitted to the State Bar of Arizona in 1984 and is certified as a Family Law Specialist. She served as a Judge pro tem in the Maricopa County Superior Court from 1992-2005. Ms. Burns was a member of the Executive Council of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Arizona from 1994-2007, and was chairperson of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Arizona in 1999-2000. She is a past president of the Arizona Chapter of AFCC. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML). She served on the Arizona Supreme Court Committee that created the Family Law Rules in 2005, and is currently chairperson of the Family Law Practice and Procedure Committee of the State Bar of Arizona. She recently coauthored the Arizona Family Law Rules Handbook for Thomson West publications.
Andrea Clark, M.S.W.
St. Louis, MO
Andrea Clark is a trained mediator with the Domestic Relations Services Unit (DRS) of the Family Court of St. Louis County, Missouri, where she has worked for more than 25 years. She works with parents and children by court referral to assist them in developing and carrying out custody plans. Ms. Clark earned a Master in Social Work from St. Louis University (1978), a Certificate in Marital and Family Therapy from Washington University in St. Louis (1988), and trained in mediation with Zena Zumeta (1995). She is one of the founding members of the Missouri Chapter of AFCC, where she is an active member of the MO-AFCC Board of Directors, a past president of the board, and co-editor of the bi-monthly chapter e-newsletter.
Hon. Linda S. Fidnick
Northampton, MA
Judge Fidnick is an associate justice with the Hampshire Probate and Family Court in Northampton, Massachusetts. Prior to her appointment to the bench in 2008, Judge Fidnick was a partner in the Amherst law firm of Burres, Fidnick & Booth LLP, where she concentrated her practice in all areas of family law, including mediation and collaborative law. Judge Fidnick is a graduate of Smith College and the University of Connecticut Law School, and she has been a member of the Massachusetts Bar for nearly 30 years. Judge Fidnick is a past president of the Massachusetts Chapter of AFCC. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and served on the board and as secretary of the Massachusetts Chapter of the AAML before her appointment to the bench.
Dianna Gould-Saltman, JD
Los Angeles, CA
Dianna Gould-Saltman is a Certified Family Law Specialist (the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization) with the law firm Gould-Saltman Law Offices, LLP in Los Angeles. She is a fellow of the American and International Academies of Matrimonial Lawyers and has been selected a Southern California Super Lawyer in each edition of that publication. Ms. Gould-Saltman serves on the Leadership Council of the American Bar Association Family Law Section and chairs that section's ethics committee. She serves on the editorial boards of the ABA/FLS Family Advocate and the Journal of Child Custody.
Hon. R. John Harper
London, ON, Canada
Justice Harper graduated from Dalhousie University Law School in 1972. He was called to the Ontario Bar in March 1974. He was a sole practitioner from 1974 until 1997 when he formed the family law partnership of Harper Jaskot. He was certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a specialist in family law until his appointment to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in September 2006. Justice Harper was a part time associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at McMaster University. He lectured residents and psychiatrists on law and mental health issues and he was the legal advisor to the Child Advocacy and Assessment Program at McMaster University Hospital. He is a past vice chair of the Community Child Abuse Council. Justice Harper is a frequent presenter at continuing education programs, both national and international.
Grace M. Hawkins, MSW
Tucson, AZ
Grace Hawkins is the Director of the Family Center of the Conciliation Court in Tucson, Arizona. She holds a Master of Social Work degree from Arizona State University and is a licensed clinical social worker in the state of Arizona. Ms. Hawkins has worked for the Conciliation Court since 1990 and became the director in January 2005. She served on the board of directors of the Arizona Chapter of AFCC from 2004-2009 and is an advanced practitioner member of the Association for Conflict Resolution.
Hon. Graham R. Mullane
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Justice Mullane is a retired judge of the Family Court of Australia. He practiced as a solicitor from 1971 through 1986. He served as judge in the Family Court of Australia from 1986 until his retirement in 2008, serving on and chairing many of the court’s committees. He was the regional coordinating judge for New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory from 2004 to 2008. He is an honorary life member of the NSW Law Society, Conjoint Professor in Law at the University of Newcastle, Costs Assessor for the Supreme Court of NSW, Consultant to Mullane & Lindsay and part time Judical Member of Legal Services Division of Administrative Decisions Tribunal of NSW.
Marsha Kline Pruett, Ph.D., M.S.L
Northampton, MA
Marsha Kline Pruett is a licensed clinical psychologist and the Maconda Brown O’Connor Professor at Smith College School for Social Work. She is researcher, mediator, and consultant to couples, attorneys, and judges. Dr. Kline Pruett has a national reputation for the development, implementation, and evaluation of preventive interventions in courts and family-focused community agencies. She has written extensively for academic and lay audiences, coauthoring Your Divorce Advisor (2001) and Partnership Parenting (2009). She is a member of the board of editors of the Family Court Review. She was awarded the AFCC Stanley Cohen Distinguished Research Award in 2004. The California Supporting Fatherhood Involvement (SFI) project is currently a major focus of her intervention and research efforts.
Philip M. Stahl, Ph.D.
Queen Creek, AZ
Philip Stahl is a psychologist who conducts child custody evaluations and provides expert witness testimony. He is a provider of continuing education and is on the faculty of the National Judicial College and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. He is on the editorial review board of Family Court Review and the Journal of Child Custody. Dr. Stahl has written extensively on high-conflict divorce and custody evaluations. He is the author of Conducting Child Custody Evaluations; A Comprehensive Guide; Complex Issues in Custody Evaluations; and Parenting After Divorce. Dr. Stahl received the AFCC President’s Award in 2000.
Matthew J. Sullivan, Ph.D.
Palo Alto, CA
Matthew Sullivan is a forensic family psychologist, practicing in Palo Alto, California. He received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and his Doctor of Philosophy degree in clinical/community psychology from the University of Maryland. He is currently serving on the editorial board of the Journal of Child Custody. He has served on the AFCC Task Force on Parenting Coordination and the American Psychological and American Bar Association working group on legal and psychological interventions with children and families. He is currently the co-chair of the AFCC Court-Involved Therapist Task Force.
Nancy Ver Steegh, JD, MSW
St. Paul, MN
Nancy Ver Steegh serves as Vice Dean for Academic Programs and Professor of Law at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she teaches family law, domestic violence, and alternative dispute resolution. Her publications include articles about child custody and domestic violence, mediation and domestic violence, and mandatory divorce education. She is a coauthor of Work of the Family Lawyer and Family Law: Examples & Explanations. Professor Ver Steegh is a frequent presenter at national conferences and is a member of the board of editors of Family Court Review and Family Law Quarterly. She was the 2008 recipient of the AFCC President’s Award recognizing her work promoting interdisciplinary cooperation in the field of domestic violence.
