Jerry Straks is a management consultant and certified professional coach in the San Francisco Bay Area specializing in sustainable leadership development and strategic organization development. Both are aimed at helping organizations respond more nimbly and proactively to competitive challenges in an increasingly dynamic and changing world. In these roles he often finds himself helping clients manage conflict more effectively. His passion for alternative dispute resolution originated from experiences during his 25 years in high-tech management. To refine his own skills in conflict management he continues to take graduate-level courses on the topic at John F. Kennedy University, in Pleasant Hill, CA.