I participated in CDR's 3-day Facilitation and Mediation of Public Policy and Environmental Conflicts course in Boulder, CO. The location was stunning and the training was excellent. As someone new to the field it was especially wonderful for me to spend time working with participants from public, private and non-profit sectors to compare experiences and tactics. The trainers, Jonathan and Laura, lead most of the discussion around topics and had wonderful real-life examples. The best part was the opportunity to work in small groups, and run through simulations with a coach who could walk us through approaches, make suggestions and really add value to our practice time. I highly recommend this course and CDR.
CDR is the most highly disorganized, leaderless organization in this field. I would recommend working with any other training institution aside from this one. These people do not seem to have any grasp of any reality outside of their own. Founders' Syndrome seems to be the key problem, alongside there being no opportunities for employees to advance. If you are considering working here, past staff have had nothing good to say. The other people in my training, thought they were amateurs.