CHERYL R. HOWARD
MEDIATION & CONSULTING
539 WEST 217TH, NY, NY 10034
(212) 569-1163
BIOGRAPHY
Prior to my current mediation and consulting practice, I practiced law for eighteen
years as a member of the New York Bar. I have been a mediator for fourteen years.
For the past ten years I have trained both lawyers and non-lawyers in mediation
and employment law.
EMPLOYMENT LAW EXPERIENCE
I served as General Counsel at the New York City Commission on Human Rights
for ten years. As chief legal officer for the agency, I defended the agency
in employment related suits as well as in labor arbitrations and contract disputes.
Additionally, I have drafted legislation and was responsible for reviewing decisions
of the administrative law judges for legal sufficiency and consistency with
The City’s Human Rights Law. Before becoming General Counsel, I served
as an administrative law judge at the Commission where I presided over hearings
on discrimination complaints.
MEDIATION
In addition to my duties as General Counsel at the Commission on Human Rights,
I was the director of the Commission’s Office of Mediation and Conflict
Resolution. The program consists of three full time mediators who are available
to mediate cases brought at the Commission. In 1989, during my tenure as an
administrative law judge, I was trained as a mediator. The Commission instituted
a pilot program where the judges mediated one another’s cases before they
went to trial. The success of this program gave rise to the Commission’s
Office of Mediation and Conflict Resolution. I am presently in private practice
as a mediator. I am also a contract mediator for the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission.
TRAINING
I have an extensive training background. Among the organizations where I have
conducted mediation trainings are the New York City Bar Association and the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. I have also designed training programs
for non-legal staff at the Commission on Human Rights and at Bailey House, an
AIDs service organization. I am presently an adjunct professor at New York City
University School of Law where I teach in the Mediation Clinic. I also teach
Advance Issues in Employment Law, EEO Law II and Principles of Management and
Organization I at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional
Studies.
EDUCATION
J.D. New York University School of Law
B.A. Bryn Mawr College