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We are located at 910 E Broadway, Suite 208, Columbia, MO 65201 and can be reached by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phone at (573)447-0499.

Sarah J. Read (Resume) has more than 25 years experience in helping others work through complex issues and resolve conflicts.  She is an attorney, mediator, facilitator, trainer, and consultant. She has helped lead visioning and strategic planning efforts, and both designed and facilitated large group dialogues on community and regulatory issues. She has also helped many boards and teams improve the way they work and increase their ability to collaborate with others. Sarah’s clients have included both large and small businesses, professional firms, non-profits, community groups, educational institutions and governmental organizations.  Sarah served on the Missouri Supreme Court Commission on Alternative Dispute Resolution, and was chair of The Missouri Bar's Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee.  She has received numerous professional awards and recognitions, including an AV® Preeminent™ rating by Martindale Hubbell, recognition by her peers as one of the Best Lawyers® in Administrative/Regulatory Law, and by Corporate Counsel magazine as a “Top Lawyer” in Energy, Environmental and Natural Resources Law.

Dave Overfelt (Resume) is an Associate at The Communications Center, Inc. and works primarily with business and government entities.  He is also a Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Rochester Institute of Technology, working with the Urban and Community Studies program.  He received is B.A. in sociology, Magna Cum Laude with honors, his M.A. in sociology, with honors, and his Ph.D., with honors, from the University of Missouri.  Dave works with dialogue based urban development processes and his research emphasizes the need for the sciences to engage with their broader communities.  In addition to being experienced in teaching, researching, and survey design practices, Dave is a trained mediator and has spent the last several years working as a facilitator for community dialogues, strategic planning processes, diversity programs, and other complex engagement processes involving small and large groups.  For The Communications Center, Dave researches cutting edge dialogue practices, keeps the websites up to date, develops new programs, and facilitates dialogues in a variety of formats.

Scott Christianson (Resume) is the owner of Kaleidoscope Consulting LLC, and has more than 18 years of experience in project management, information technology, and videoconferencing technology.  Scott has experience working with local governments as a commission member, candidate, and active citizen.  His excellent communication and interpersonal skills allow him to make productive connections between education, government, business and technical worlds. He works with The Communications Center on an independent contractor basis.

David H. Gibbons, J.D.  Dave is an attorney, mediator, and facilitator.  Dave works with The Communications Center on an independent contractor basis as a mediator and facilitator.  He has mediated numerous cases.  Dave was a corporate attorney with the Shelter Insurance Companies serving as Associate General Counsel and Director of Claims Litigation.  After retirement, Dave spent a year as an AmeriCorps volunteer serving as an attorney with Southern Tier Legal Services in New York.  While in New York he also volunteered as a mediator with the Center for Resolution and Justice.  Dave recently worked as a facilitator for the National Park Service at a gathering of stakeholders concerned with the development of the General Management Plan for the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. He also serves as a volunteer mediator and arbitrator for the Missouri Bar Association Fee Dispute Resolution Program. Dave is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Law and Miami University.  Prior to attending law school, he served in the U.S. Navy as a Naval Flight Officer.  Dave is a member of the Missouri and Boone County Bar Associations, the Association for Conflict Resolution, the Association of Missouri Mediators, and the Mid-Missouri Collaborative and Cooperative Law Association.

The Communications Center, Inc.
910 E Broadway, Suite 208
Columbia MO, 65201
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
573-447-0499