Staff

After a successful career in the corporate world, Karen brings a wealth of experience in administrative support to her role at ACCORD as Executive Assistant to the Executive Director.  She approaches her work with calm professionalism, strong organizational skills, and a people-first mindset.

In addition to her administrative role, she also serves as ACCORD’s Volunteer Coordinator, fostering a collaborative and welcoming environment for our volunteers. She combines her love for organization with a genuine passion for people—supporting both our organization and the incredible volunteers who power our mission.

Karen enjoys spending time with her family, walks with her dog, the theater, music, motorcycle riding, and cooking.

moirao@accordny.com

Moira Osorio, aka MO, has a Master’s Degree in Conflict Resolution from Portland State University, and a BS in Theatre Arts. After spending ten years in theatre she decided to make a career change and follow her passion for helping people learn to communicate with one another more effectively. She is the Tioga County ACCORD Mediation Coordinator, a Court Certified Mediator, Certified NYS Divorce Mediator, and also has worked as a volunteer mediator in community, small claims court, and interpersonal mediation for the last several years.

She loves assisting people in how to recognize the way others respond to conflict and how to use positive communication skills to strengthen relationships. Her hobbies/passions are yoga, prayer/meditation, biking, skiing, dancing, butchering karaoke songs, and she has a weakness for good chocolate and Italian wine. Taking care of yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually is essential to a well-balanced and happy life, and her philosophy is if we know how to make ourselves happy, we are more likely able to share in someone else’s happiness.

607-724-5153  ext. 307

lindsayt@accordny.com

Lindsay spent most of her career in higher education, at SUNY Broome and at Binghamton University, as Staff Associate, Assistant Dean and Student Advocate. She earned BS and MA degrees from Binghamton while working as a paralegal, a combination of education and experience she believes complements ACCORD’s staff of dedicated professionals. As Special Projects Coordinator she manages the VESID, Lemon Law, Assisted Senior Communication, Special Education, Divorce and Division of Property programs.

Lindsay grew up on a small farm near Roscoe, NY (Trout Town, USA), so she is far too familiar with rural life, fishing, hunting and the like. Perhaps for that reason her idea of a perfect vacation isn’t hiking or fishing, but a 5-star hotel in London or Paris.

Christy, a Broome County native, has a lifelong passion for community outreach, mentorship, and helping others through life’s challenges. She studied Human Services and Communications at SUNY Broome and Liberty University before becoming a credentialed Pastor.

As a Case Manager and Outreach Coordinator at ACCORD, Christy supports peaceful communication and conflict resolution, facilitates community presentations, participates in vendor fairs, and co-leads restorative circle trainings. She also volunteers as a mediator and Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA).

In her free time, Christy enjoys working with women and families, spending time with her children and grandchildren, and making a positive difference in her community.

Jessie holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Development, specializing in child development. She joined the Voices for Children/CASA program with over ten years of experience working with children in our community—first as a preschool teacher, then as a care manager and case planner. Through these roles, Jessie has gained extensive experience working with children of all ages and developed a strong understanding of local service providers.

She has been a valued member of our program for the past three years and continues to make a meaningful impact.

Outside the office, Jessie enjoys spending time with her family and getting outdoors to enjoy the fresh air.

Sam came to ACCORD, A Center for Dispute Resolution Center, Inc. via a role as a volunteer mediator after retiring from a 33-year career. She then offered to help with the front reception desk while ACCORD looked for a replacement employee. In short order, Sam was taken into the fold and has now migrated to the position of Family and Small Claims Coordinator. Sam has also served as a CASA (Court Ordered Special Advocate) and has continued with that program in a support position.

Sam enjoys people, her fur babies (since both of her children are adults) and live theater. Keep your eyes open, you might also see her at a local concert!

dwahl@accordny.com

Debbie Wahl, a denizen of Binghamton, New York started working for ACCORD, A Center for Dispute Resolution Center, Inc. in May of 2005. Since then, she has been a Program Coordinator and handles all Small Claims cases. She is also the Volunteer Coordinator offering her wealth of knowledge to new and existing ACCORD Mediators.

In addition, Debbie serves as the Divorce Intake Specialist as she possesses excellent communication skills surrounding the sensitive nature of such support services. Debbie, a doting mother of two, spends her down time in the woods. She loves spending time with her husband of thirty years and is a self-proclaimed outdoorswoman while taking the time to enjoy hiking, camping, kayaking, fishing, and traveling the local country sides.

JoAnne is a long-time Southern Tier transplant originally from the Finger Lakes region of NY.

JoAnne holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University, with a focus in Organizational Development & Women’s Studies. Her early career was spent in various HR, Recruitment, Workforce & Student Development, Career and Wellness Coaching related roles here in the Binghamton Community.  After taking a few years “off” to focus on homeschooling, JoAnne has joined ACCORD to apply her varied personal and professional experiences in support of the CASA program with a special interest in at risk youth and families.

In her free time, JoAnne enjoys spending time with her family and working with those navigating the overwhelm and grief that accompanies all sorts of  life transitions.

A denizen of Upstate NY, Shannon graduated from the Maine Endwell School district before attending Binghamton University where she obtained a BA in Politics, Philosophy, & Law.  Following undergraduate studies, Shannon completed a stint as an AmeriCorps VISTA in Council Bluffs, IA, working for the Iowa Human and Civil Rights Commission.  While there, Shannon assisted the city attorney’s office with the intake of workplace discrimination complaints, implemented a “Tots for Tolerance” program, working to facilitate discussion between school-aged children about diversity and bullying stemming from ethnic/racial differences, and generated several outreach programs catered towards impoverished families and individuals.

At the completion of her contract with AmeriCorps, Shannon headed back to the east coast to attend Roger Williams University School of Law as a public interest scholar for the Feinstein Institute for Pro Bono & Experiential Education.  During her law school tenure, Shannon returned to intern locally, with the Broome County Department of Social Services, the Broome County District Attorney’s Office, and Tioga Family Court.  Prior to graduation, Shannon gained experience as a student attorney for the Massachusetts Youth Advocacy Division: Committee for Public Counsel Services, working for indigent juvenile offenders under the age of seventeen.  Following graduation with her Doctor of Jurisprudence, Shannon returned to Upstate NY where she joined the ACCORD/CASA team starting in 2017 as the CASA Program Supervisor.  Shannon was drawn to the grassroots underpinning of the network and admired how the Court Appointed Special Advocates program developed first in the state of Washington, as a call to arms, so to speak, by a local judge looking for community members to take an active role in protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities – the children.  Shannon has since shifted out of the program supervisor role when she adopted twins whom she and her husband had been fostering for many years.  Shannon continues to complete the court reports for the CASA program and finds it a pleasure to support both the CASA and ACCORD programs. 

Outside of ACCORD/CASA, Shannon is an adjunct professor for Bellevue University, teaching classes that both support incoming students with Skills for Success, as well as those graduating students in the Kirkpatrick Signature Series, which includes a deep dive into civic engagement via classes in American Vision and Values; Tradition and Change; Freedom and Responsibility.  It is an honor to engage both with students at the University level and with the volunteers at ACCORD.  All communities need people willing to stand up for their vulnerable members, which goes to the very mission of the ACCORD/CASA programs.

Mara Pratt – Special Projects Coordinator 

Mara Pratt is a Southern Tier transplant, and a second time employee at ACCORD.

During her first stint, Mara was an AmeriCorps volunteer, and was trained as a mediator, conflict coach, and circle keeper through their Alternative Dispute Resolution trainee program. She was then hired full time as a Case Manager at ACCORD and spent two years as a family mediation specialist, helping families with visitation arrangements, child support and parenting plans.

After a couple years away, Mara has returned to ACCORD to help with both mediating and assisting the Executive Director with grant writing and other special projects.

In her free time Mara is pursuing a degree in Visual Arts Communication at SUNY Broome, and enjoys hiking and camping in beautiful Upstate New York.