About

the Center for Multicultural Mediation

Our History

We started CMM to help Somali and East African communities find resolution.

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Our Mission

As a 501(c)3 non-profit, everything CMM does is directed by the mission and value established by our Board of Directors.

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Meet Abdi

CMM was founded by Abdi Ali. Learn more about our founder and why this work is important to him.

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Donation Options

Partner with us to help provide this service in the most affordable ways possible.

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Why CMM?

Mediation is often the best option for resolution when conflict arises. The problem is that many African communities face systemic barriers to achieving meaningful resolution. These systems don’t factor in the cultural and generational factors that are unique to the communities they serve. The one-size-fits-all approach is under-equipped to help these demographics. It needs some help. That’s where we come in. 

We started CMM to help Somali and East African communities find resolution. Our staff has a deep knowledge of both mediation and the communities we serve, pairing these together to resolve conflicts in culturally responsive ways. As a neutral entity, we help both parties find commonality so that they can come together to mutually solve the problems they face.

History

Originally The Center for Multicultural Mediation And Restorative Justice, the roots for CMM go back as far as 2004, when Abdi Ali met a young Somali woman and an Oromo teenager at a homeless youth shelter in North Minneapolis. Abdi’s realization that there were significant cultural hurdles for many of the youth in these underserved communities led to a Human Rights Fellowship from the Otto Bremmer Foundation in 2006 to better understand the causes of Somali youth and the cultural responsiveness of the organizations that work with them.

Since then, The Center for Multicultural Mediation has evolved to meet the needs of these communities and the parties they interact with. Focusing on a multi-pronged approach to addressing these issues, CMM’s goal is to lay the foundation for future educational and employment self-sufficiency in the African population. 

A Community in Crisis

As Somali and East African families integrate into American culture and systems, their communities face unique instabilities due to conflicts brought by changing family structures.

Somali and other East African communities must balance both traditional and American cultures while navigating numerous challenges such as religious, cultural, and racial discrimination. This is on top of the language and cultural barriers as well as inter-generational and inter-familial conflicts.

As a result, the fabric of Somali and East African families can fracture under the strain of cultural challenges while integrating into their new homes in the USA.

In this cultural crisis, Somali youth are susceptible to experiencing cultural disputes, conflicts, misunderstandings and/or engagement in risky or offending behaviors. An increasing number of Somali youths are committing offenses, sometimes repeatedly, and ending up in the juvenile justice system. 

While Minnesota’s Somali population and mainstream stakeholders recognize the instability, and family dysfunction, the community had no solutions. Previously, the community would have relied on Imams and elders to resolve conflicts and restore youth to a life-giving path.  But this traditional Islamic structure lacks the resources and capacity to address the current community crisis.

Likewise, the criminal justice system and big-box organizations are not equipped nor culturally prepared to facilitate mediation and conflict resolution services for those who are going through these complex and dynamic cultural shifts.

Somali and East African communities are in the midst of a cultural crisis and they need someone to provide a path toward resolution and justice. They need someone who knows where they are coming from and how to get where they need to go. This is why CMM exists.

Work we've done:

  • In 2019, we diverted over 160 youth

    from the criminal justice system to more effective, restorative forms of justice through our African Youth Diversion program.

  • 10 years as a Qualified Neutral

    According to MN Rule 114. 

  • Facilitated community conversations

    around culturally sensitive topics. For example: discussing redevelopment of public housing buildings in the Elliot Twins neighborhood and other scattered sites for public housing buildings.

  • Conducted trainings

    for governmental service providers working with East African communities. For example: working with the MN Department of Education to train special education mediators and facilitators on Somali culture, disability, and inclusion.

  • Educated non-profit organizations

    in culturally aware practices with Somali and East African communities.

  • 80% decrease in illegal activities

     and re-offending for youth who go through our African Youth Diversion program.

  • Worked with service providers

    to increase understanding of race, religion, culture, and ethnicity in serving their clients.

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Beliefs:

Our Mission

Providing accessible paths to resolution for Somali and East African community members and those who interact with Somali and East African community members.

Our Vision

We imagine a strong, united multi-cultural community in the Twin Cities that embraces every person as a full participant and where all people have an accessible path to justice.

Our Core Values

  • Inclusion: All people are welcome at the table. All people's stories, traditions, and cultures are an important part of the conversation.
  • Cultural Competence: Service providers and programs should be effectively equipped to conduct their work with appropriate cultural awareness and linguistic accommodation.
  • Family & Community Support: We believe that family and social structures are the foundation of our society and deserve support.

Meet Abdi

Founder and Executive Director - CMM
Abdi-Ali-1-1-500x500

Experience:

  • 10 years of experience in the field of mediation and dispute resolution.
  • 20 years of experience in consensus building, dialogue and public policy facilitation as a community engagement professional.
  • Virginia McKnight Binger Award in Human Service
  • Community Leadership Award: Hennepin County Attorney's office.

Education/training:

  • Licensed graduate social worker & mental health professional.
  • Masters’ Degree in Public Administration - Hamline University.
  • Certificate in Dispute Resolution - Hamline University.

Passion:

Abdi is passionate about justice and racial reconciliation. He has a especially tender heart toward youth and wants to see more paths toward restorative justice.

My first case:

I was working as Homeless Youth Advocate in North Minneapolis when I met a young Somali girl at a homeless shelter. Her mom had sent her out of the home at 16yrs old and pregnant. She was with an abusive boyfriend at the time. We tried to identify and help with the cause of her homelessness. We reached out to mother to try to get her back home, but, unfortunately, her mom refused. We were able to find  her transitional housing through MPLS Housing Authority.

Meet Aimee

CMM Partner and CEO of Mediation Center

"I am honored to work with Abdi.  He brings humor and cultural capacity to our team and builds strong relationships with his clients.  He is positive, persistent and practical."

Aimee_Gourlay

Experience:

  • 25 years of experience managing mediation programs, designing and providing adult education in conflict resolution topics, and as a mediator/facilitator for complex issues with multiple parties.

Education:

  • Qualified Neutral under Rule 114 of the General Rules of Practice for the MN District Courts.
  • Cum Laude from the University of MN Law School.
  • Teaches Organizational Conflict Management Systems Design and Family Mediation Skills at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, MN.
  • Senior Fellow at the nationally ranked Dispute Resolution Institute.

Community Service:

  • John S. McCain III National Center for Environmental Conflict Resolution Roster of Environmental Dispute Resolution and Consensus Building Professionals.
  • Senior facilitator and mediation panels of the State of MN Department of Administration Master Contract Program.
  • Umpire panel for the WI Department of Natural Resources for environmental remediation disputes.
  • Lead faculty member for MN CLE's court certified Civil Mediation Skills course.
  • MN Supreme Court ADR Ethics Board's Consultant between 2005 and 2018.

With expertise in providing facilitation and other conflict resolution assistance to people who hold diverse worldviews, Aimee mediates and facilitates resolution of workplace issues, public policy concerns and organizational problems.  Her clients include corporations, non-profit organizations, professional associations, state and local governments, and educational institutions.  Her work includes conflict assessments, process design consulting and mediations.  Examples of the broad range of the topics in Aimee’s experience include: conflict resolution for teams within state and local government, facilitation of nonprofit organizational dispute resolution processes, development of and facilitation for community advisory committees;  design and management of community comment processes; mediation to address systemic racial discrimination claims; process design to decide allocation of public resources; legislative policy making dialogue; and mediation of  environmental disputes.  She is also on the team for Strategic Stakeholder Engagement Services’ which focuses on organization-wide collaboration; and served on the EEOC panel of mediators and the United States Postal Service EEOC State of Minnesota Department of Human Rights mediator panels.