Common Ground

Morgan Tregenza, CEO & Founder of levelheaded
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Hosted by Morgan Tregenza, CEO & Founder of levelheaded (belevelheaded.com), with regular co-contributor Colin Rule, CEO of mediate.com and one of the architects of modern online dispute resolution. Every episode, we sit down with the practitioners, innovators, and leaders who are shaping how the world resolves disputes. Because everyone deserves to move on with life.  New episodes every two weeks.

  1. Sep 26

    Wired for Conflict: Shira May on Presence, Repair, and Peace as a Human Skill (Ep. 60)

    Shira May, PhD, board president of NYSDRA and founder of The Peace Office, joins Mo ahead of NYSDRA's 2026 Annual Conference: October 8 (virtual) and October 9 (in person, Albany). Register here: https://www.nysdra.org/2026-annual-conference Shira shares how early childhood education led her into mediation, why conflict isn't a moral failing, and what real accountability looks like. She and Mo cover settling vs. transforming disputes, what she would never hand to AI, and why mediation shouldn't belong only to professionals. About Shira: Shira May, PhD, founded The Peace Office, which teaches the skills of practicing peace in workplaces, schools, and communities. She is board president of NYSDRA and previously served five years as President and CEO of the Center for Dispute Settlement in Rochester, NY. She holds a PhD in education from the University of Rochester and a BA in cognitive science from UC Berkeley.

  2. Aug 28

    Catching Disputes Before They Become Disputes: Tracey Frisch on AI, Self-Determination, and Moving Resolution Upstream

    What if we could catch disputes before anyone thinks of themselves as being in one? Mo sits down with Tracey Frisch, Division Vice President of Mediation at the American Arbitration Association-ICDR, to talk about pushing resolution upstream. Tracey shares how she went from high school peer mediator to leading the AAA's mediation business, why the construction industry has quietly figured out dispute resolution, and how mediators in Dayton, Ohio are now responding to low-level 911 calls instead of police. They also dig into the hard questions on AI in mediation: what "governed AI" actually means, whether an algorithm suggesting a settlement range empowers self-determination or erodes it, and why informed consent may be the most important design principle for any resolution tool. About the AAA-ICDR Foundation Tracey's featured cause is the AAA-ICDR Foundation, whose mission is to support the prevention and resolution of conflicts by expanding access to alternative dispute resolution. Its current priority is bringing mediation and conflict resolution into alternative crisis response programs, supporting community-centered approaches to public safety and law enforcement engagement. Learn more or donate: https://www.aaaicdrfoundation.org Fundraiser: November 5, New York City

  3. Jun 5

    From Litigator to AI Mediator: Rethinking How Disputes Get Resolved, with Renee Jackson (Ep. 58)

    What happens when a self-described non-entrepreneur sets out to build an AI mediator? Host Morgan "Mo" Tregenza talks with Renee Jackson, founder of Dyspute.ai and creator of the AI mediator Adri, about her path from litigation to legal tech and why she flipped traditional mediation on its head. They cover her AI-versus-human mediator experiment, the guardrails behind responsible legal AI, and the "shadow market" of disputes that never reach resolution. A candid, optimistic look at where technology can expand access to mediation, and what we should be careful not to lose. Renee and Mo, with John Lande, speak at the 2026 ODR Conference on June 11th.

  4. Jun 4

    Modernizing Mediation and More: Welcoming Morgan ”Mo” Tregenza as Host, with Colin Rule (Ep. 57)

    In this episode, we welcome Morgan Tregenza of Levelheaded as the show's new host. Morgan sits down with Colin Rule to talk about where mediation is headed: what modernizing the practice really looks like, where technology helps (and where it gets in the way), and how the field can resolve more disputes before they ever reach a courtroom. It's part introduction, part conversation about the future of dispute resolution, and a good listen whether you're a working mediator or just curious about how the field is changing.

  5. Mar 26

    Using Technology (not AI) for Pre-Mediation Case Assessment, with Jurie Groenewald (Ep. 56)

    In this episode Colin speaks with Jurie Groenewald, a South African commercial attorney and mediator with 25+ years experience, about his new RAMUS tool for pre-mediation case assessment. RAMUS is a self-service engine that takes your mediation brief and delivers a complete 9-section Assessment Pack in minutes — Readiness Score, ZOPA mapping, Creative Pivot™ strategy, caucus plans, prepared questions, and compliant legal templates. 40–60 pages of structured preparation. The mediator walks in knowing the settlement landscape before anyone sits down. You can learn more about the tool and run it yourself at mediate.ramus.co.za.

  6. Jan 9

    Building BridgeGrades.org, a Rotten Tomatoes for Political Collaboration, with Brad Porteus (Ep. 55)

    In this episode Colin interviews Brad Porteus, founder of BridgeGrades.org, a report card for Congress that grades politicians on how collaboratively or divisively they govern by compiling objective 3rd-party data. Bridge Grades offers citizen voters an alternative lens to evaluate and assess the performance of our United States legislators beyond ideology or party affiliation. Brad was motivated to create BridgeGrades.org because he believes toxic polarization and hyper-partisanship is holding us back. His multi-year quest is to build Bridge Grades into a transparent, open source, crowdsourced, and independently governed system protected from special interests. Durable and self-sustaining, Bridge Grades aspires to be a public utility that offers citizen voters an easy way to sort Congressional bridgers from dividers, creating incentives that can lead toward more collaborative governance for our common interests. Learn more about BridgeGrades.org Learn more about Brad

  7. 12/18/2025

    Avoiding Online ADR Scammers, with Arbitrator and Mediator Julie Walker (Ep. 54)

    In this episode we speak with Julie M. Walker, an experienced arbitrator and mediator from Denver, Colorado, about a recent scam attempt she experienced and thwarted.  We discuss how to recognize such scams, the best steps to take in response, and the growing prevalence of such schemes. Learn more about Julie here: https://irelandstapleton.com/people/julie-m-walker/

  8. 10/14/2025

    Mediating court referred/litigated cases, with mediator Nelson Timken (Ep. 53)

    In this episode, Colin Rule interviews Nelson Timken, founder of http://www.resolveourdispute.com, about mediating court referred cases and the specific challenges involved with handling litigated cases. This conversation builds on many of the points Nelson made in his mediate.com article Mastering Mediation Advocacy: Essential Skills for the Modern Litigator, co-authored with John Siffert. About Nelson: Nelson is an experienced neutral whose ADR practice is driven by a deep commitment to fair process, empowering parties, fostering understanding, and achieving results by perseverance. He values impartiality, integrity, and professionalism above financial gain.  His approach to dispute resolution is to continue to work on a case until the parties are satisfied that every avenue of resolution has been explored. He has over 30 years of experience resolving cases in litigation, specialized industry knowledge, a high success rate, innovative approaches to problem-solving, and a commitment to client education. He offers a client-centric approach where self-determination is king. Nelson's website is at https://www.timkendisputeresolution.com/ and https://www.resolveourdispute.com/  His mediate.com profile page (with a list of his articles) is at https://mediate.com/mediator-profile/Nelson-Edward-Timken/

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Hosted by Morgan Tregenza, CEO & Founder of levelheaded (belevelheaded.com), with regular co-contributor Colin Rule, CEO of mediate.com and one of the architects of modern online dispute resolution. Every episode, we sit down with the practitioners, innovators, and leaders who are shaping how the world resolves disputes. Because everyone deserves to move on with life.  New episodes every two weeks.

Information

  • Creator
    Morgan Tregenza, CEO & Founder of levelheaded
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    62
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Common Ground

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