Marshall Peter

Marshall Peter is the Director of the Consortium for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE) which is funded by the United States Department of Education to serve as the National Center on Dispute Resolution. He also is the Executive Director of Direction Service, a multi-program family support agency in Eugene, Oregon. The father of a now deceased child with multiple disabilities, Peter has provided case coordination and advocacy services to more than 500 families. Peter's early work as an aggressive advocate evolved into an interest in developing methods for facilitating home school partnerships that are respectful, considerate and yield positive results for children. That interest was further informed by training and experience using the team conciliation model developed by the San Francisco Community Boards. From 1992-1996 Peter directed the successful, OSEP funded Ombudsperson Project that field tested a conciliation model aimed at addressing the cultural barriers that interfere with the effective utilization of special education services. Peter's work in the area of conflict resolution has included presentations, training and consultation throughout the Unted States on appropriate dispute resolution, conflict resolution system design interagency collaboration and parent/consumer advocacy and empowerment. Peter has also delivered consultation and training on wraparound services for children with emotional/behavioral disorders. Peter served on the City of Eugene Human Rights Commission for fourteen years and and on the Oregon State Advisory Council for Special Education. Peter's work in the areas of advocacy and human rights has resulted in him receiving the Lisl Waechter Award from the ARC, the Exemplary Service Award from COPE (Oregon's Parent Training and Information Center), the Distinguished Service Award from the Oregon Disabilities Commission and the Barrier Awareness Day Award from the City of Eugene. He was designated a "Hometown Hero" at the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights.