Our History
Negotiation Works emerged from founder Melissa Reinberg’s decades of personal and professional experiences as a civil legal services lawyer, court mediator, and negotiation professor. Having taught negotiation to Georgetown law students and practiced mediation in the DC courts, Melissa understood the importance of negotiation skills training in improving individuals’ tangible and interpersonal outcomes. She also recognized that the people she had represented as a legal aid lawyer often lacked access to training that would enable them to confidently advocate for their needs and successfully resolve everyday conflicts. Seeking to bridge that service gap, and seeing the potential of offering multi-week negotiation strategies courses to help diverse marginalized individuals uplift themselves and their communities, Melissa founded Negotiation Works in 2018.
Our Mission
The mission of Negotiation Works is to empower people from marginalized communities with tools to resolve conflicts, advocate for themselves and others, and build more stable lives.
Our Vision
The vision of Negotiation Works is to foster stronger, more resilient communities. When the members of a community have the tools to advocate for themselves and negotiate with each other, they are better able to achieve shared goals, create lasting relationships, and improve the stability of the community as a whole.
Our Values
We believe that people who have encountered major challenges in life deserve a path forward that provides them with a sense of security, control, and satisfaction; that providing skills to help historically marginalized individuals lead fulfilling, productive lives is important for all and will help reduce economic disparities; and that we must all work to repair the harm generated by decades and centuries of racial injustice.
Our Team
Staff
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Volunteers
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Ambassadors
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Board
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Our Community Partners
We are proud to partner with important community organizations, like these, that support clients through difficult transitions in their lives. To learn more about how we can work with your organization, please contact us.
Our Supporters
We are extraordinarily grateful for the pro bono and financial contributions of our many individual donors and the institutional supporters listed below.
The Dimick Foundation
The Four Lanes Trust
The W. O’Neil Foundation
The Phase Foundation
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