Sunny Sassaman grew up in Southern California and arrived in Portland, Oregon after 20 years of residing in Hawaii. Always passionate about fairness and access to justice, she became a volunteer mediator with Mediation Services of Maui before founding Common Ground Mediation Services LLC in 2001 and ADR Group NW in 2021. She has a Master’s in Negotiation and Conflict Management from Cal State Dominguez Hills, is a former board member and president of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) and continues to be a member. She works in, has contracts with and provides services to private, non-profit and governmental agencies, has served as a lecturer for UH Manoa, WSU-Vancouver, and Portland State University. She is also a Reservist ADR Advisor for FEMA providing embedded conflict management services at disaster sites across the nation.
