Mediators & Staff

Erickson Mediation Institute’s Mediators and Staff are dedicated to helping clients resolve their disputes in the most cooperative setting possible and to helping clients preserve their resources to be used moving forward once a resolution has been obtained rather than wasting those resources on the battle.

MARILYN S. MCKNIGHT, MA, Mediator is a mediator, trainer and author who has practiced exclusively in the field of mediation since 1977 after an extensive career in public social work.  She received the Bush Leadership Fellowship Award for the study of mediation in 1987 and is a leader in promoting the Client-Centered model of mediation.  In 1988, Marilyn was elected to the Board of the Academy of Family Mediators where she began the movement toward the certification of mediators and later served as President of the Academy.  In 1996, she and her partner Steve Erickson were awarded the Distinguished Mediator Award by the Academy for their outstanding contributions to the field of mediation.  She and Steve have co-authored five highly successful books on mediation:  Family Mediation Casebook (1988), The Children’s Book (1992), Mediating Divorce: A Client’s Workbook (1998), Mediating Divorce: A Trainer’s Manual (1998), and The Practitioner’s Guide to Mediation (2001).  Marilyn is an active member of the ADR Section of the Minnesota Bar Association and has taught courses as an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota – School of Social Work, at William Mitchell College of Law and in the Master of Arts in Leadership program at Augsburg College.   In her free time she enjoys reading, gardening and spending time at the lake with friends and family. You can contact Marilyn at marilyn@ericksonmediation.com.

STEPHEN K. ERICKSON, JD, Mediator is a licensed attorney who works exclusively a mediator.  Since 1977, he has mediated over 5,000 disputes in his private practice and trained thousands of new mediators in the US, Canada, England and the Netherlands.  He received the Bush Leadership Fellowship Award for the study of mediation in 1979 and is a founder and second president of the Academy of Family Mediators.  He is well known as a mediation trainer and speaker, and has published numerous articles and books on the subject, most recently a Commentary for the StarTribune in January 2012.   In 2007, he and his partner Marilyn McKnight were awarded a Certificate of Service from the MN State Bar Association in recognition of their “distinguished service as valued contributors for the development and growth of ADR in Minnesota.”  Steve has taught as an adjunct professor at the William Mitchell College of Law and was appointed to the faculty at Augsburg College, where he teaches a course in the Master of Arts in Leadership Program.  In May, 2011, he and Marilyn were given the Distinguished Mediator Award by the New York State Council on Divorce Mediation in recognition of “their pioneering and sustained work in establishing the field of divorce mediation and their soulful dedication in helping families” over the last 35 years.  In his free time, Steve enjoys fishing, reading and tinkering with classic cars. You can contact Steve at steve@ericksonmediation.com.

SOLVEIG ERICKSON MAYER, MSW, Mediator, COO, CFO has worked at Erickson Mediation Institute since 1994 and continues to enjoy the day-to-day adventures of helping people in conflict.  She received her master’s degree in social work in 2001 and for her thesis, conducted a qualitative program evaluation of the divorce education program provided by EMI.  She co-authored the article “Mandatory Divorce Education Classes: What do the Parents Say,” published in the William Mitchell Law Review and has taught as adjunct professor at William Mitchell College of Law in the past.  She has also taught divorce education classes for EMI and presented at the Association for Conflict Resolution’s annual conferences.  She continues to work in all aspects of EMI including business development, marketing, management, accounting, client services as well as keeping track of Marilyn and Steve.  She is married to an art teacher and has two highly energetic children, as well as two very quiet cats. When she is not running EMI or running after her kids, she enjoys reading, glass fusing, gardening and all kinds of paper crafts. You can contact Solveig at solveig@ericksonmediation.com

KRISTIAN BROGGER, JD, Mediator has dedicated his professional life to helping people in conflict resolve their differences in a respectful, dignified setting since graduating from William Mitchell College of Law in 2009. Kristian had his “moment of clarity” during his last year of law school when he received his civil mediation training under Judge Robert Awsumb. At that point, Kristian realized he’d rather help solve a problem through mediation than fight about it in litigation, and so turned his sights to building a career in conflict resolution.  Since obtaining his family mediation training and joining the Erickson Mediation Institute in 2009, Kristian has been involved in over 200 cases. Through these cases, Kristian has worked closely with clients to resolve issues around child-support and parenting-time conflicts, property disputes, real and personal property division, spousal maintenance, domestic partnership dissolution, tax implications of divorce, living arrangements for children, parenting responsibilities, and many more.  A child of divorce himself, Kristian has a unique passion for helping families and spouses avoid involving children in a court system that can quickly dehumanize and damage its participants.  In his free time, Kristian enjoys restoring his 1973 Dodge Charger, playing golf badly, and camping with his family. You can contact Kristian at kristian@ericksonmediation.com.

JENNIFER ZACHARIAS, JD, Mediator, Neutral Scrivener is a trained Mediator in Divorce and Elder (Adult Family) Mediation, a Neutral Scrivener, and Project Coordinator at Erickson Mediation Institute.   As a Neutral Scrivener, Jennifer provides neutral drafting services to unrepresented mediation clients.  She enjoys using her legal education and organizational skills to assist clients in filing their divorce and post-decree agreements with the court.  Jennifer graduated from William Mitchell College of Law in 2009, where she completed her long paper on Mediation and Domestic Violence and she has degrees in Finance and Economics from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.  During law school Jennifer took Erickson Mediation’s 40 Hour Client-Centered Divorce Mediation training and observed over 100 hours of mediation during two consecutive externships at EMI.  Jennifer is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association’s ADR and Family Sections, a member of Conflict Resolution Minnesota, and a member of the Academy of Professional Family Mediators. Prior to attending law school and joining Erickson Mediation Institute, Jennifer worked as a Short Call Substitute Special Education Teacher and as an In Home Support Specialist working with Adults with disabilities.  Jennifer grew up in Mahtomedi, MN and currently resides in Stillwater, MN with her husband, 2 kids, and 2 dogs.  When she is not working, Jennifer spends time with her family and with her younger sister, Amy, who has Downs Syndrome. You can contact Jennifer at jennifer@ericksonmediation.com.

Pascal Comvalius, Mediator began his mediation career in 2007 after a career in HR and technology, and considerable training in negotiation skills. He lives in the Netherlands, but studied at EMI, where he began his mediation training with the 40-hour Family Mediation Course, and interned intermittently during times when he was in Minnesota.  Pascal’s wife, Valery, is from St. Paul, MN, and they travel frequently to Minnesota where she is employed as a member of the Theatre of the Dolls ballet troupe.  He worked at various positions while he built his career in mediation in the Netherlands beginning in 2008.  He has passed the certification requirement for Professional Mediator status in the Netherlands. He has been active in the ACR Family Section where he served on the Family Mediator Standards Committee and on the Conference Committee for the 2011 ACR Family Section Conference.  He has a great interest in the Family Mediator Standards of Practice and in the development of a certification process for family mediators and is interested in the technology connected with growing the Academy of Professional Family Mediators. You can contact Pascal at pascal@ericksonmediation.com.

ROSEMARY MAJERUS, Client Services has been the Client Services Specialist with Erickson Mediation Institute since 2008.  She received an AA Degree from Minneapolis Community College and a Legal Secretary Diploma from Minnesota School of Business and went on to work for almost a decade with mental health patients in a hospital setting.  Much like her previous job, she is on the front lines here at EMI responding to calls from people who are scared, confused and angry.  She is the keeper of schedules, events, client files and about 100 other things; and loves it!  Her kind heart, understanding voice and welcoming presence are essential to our office.  She can truly relate to the people inquiring about our services.  Having created a multi-faceted blended family, Rosemary’s gentle touch and deep understanding of the mediation process combine to produce first-impression client interactions that are second to none.   In her spare time, (what spare time?!) she enjoys scrapbooking, designing custom jewelry, cheering on her kids at football, volleyball and softball games, camping and most of all fishing. You can contact Rosemary at rosemary@ericksonmediation.com.