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Photograph of Dedan Bruner

Dedan Bruner Adjunct Professor WCL Adjunct Faculty

Degrees
Howard University School of Law., J.D.
Howard University, B.A.

Bio
Professor Bruner is the Director of Alternative Dispute Resolution for the Court Supervision and Offender Services Agency (C.S.O.S.A.). He leads the agency's efforts to resolve conflict through traditional A.D.R. services, training, and initiatives aimed at collaboration, improved communication, and building trust. Before joining the A.D.R. team at C.S.O.S.A., his federal service included work as an Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist in the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Civil Rights and In the U.S.D.A.'s Office of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights where Dedan managed the Class Complaint process. His federal service started in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served as Legislative Counsel for Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick and as Legislative Director for Rep. Marcia Fudge.  Professor Bruner served as a member of the Clinical Faculty at the University of Maryland, Carey School of Law's Center for Dispute Resolution (C-DRUM). He supervised students in the school's Mediation Clinic and lectured in the seminar on Mediation Theory and Practice.

In the District of Columbia's Office of Human Rights and later in the Office of the Chief Operating Officer for D.C. Public Schools, Professor Bruner investigated allegations of discrimination, harassment, and noncompliance with federal and municipal laws. He also assisted in developing and implementing targeted training to promote compliance and create safe and productive work and educational spaces.

In 2013, Professor Bruner joined the D.C. Superior Court's Multi-Door Dispute Resolution program as a Child Protection Mediator. Over the next decade, he expanded his work from child abuse and neglect cases to include truancy, divorce, and custody matters. Currently, he serves as a Lead mediator for Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services' Shared Neutrals program, where his work focuses on federal employment. 

As a law student, Professor Bruner participated in the A.D.R. clinic and D.C. Law Students in Court (now known as Rising for Justice). He studied International Models of Dispute Resolution abroad in South Africa at the University of the Western Cape, and he competed as a Huver I. Brown Trial Advocacy Moot Court Team member, where he won the annual award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy. He is a member of the Maryland Bar, a mentor, a devoted father, a terrible golfer, and a fledgling triathlete.
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