Join us for an enlightening evening with conflict resolution expert Ken Feinberg, renowned for his role as the special master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. In that role, Feinberg was responsible for designing an unprecedented program to distribute government funds for death and injury claims related to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, one of the most determinative moments of the 21st century and one with a particularly enduring resonance for our area.
In this Common Ground Initiative conversation, Feinberg will share his invaluable experience and expertise in bringing people together to analyze, understand, and resolve complex disputes. He will be in discussion with moderator Steve Parrish.
During more than 40 years of public service, Feinberg has established himself as the nation’s leading expert in bringing conflicting parties together to reach acceptable resolution of their complex disagreements. That work includes his his appointment with the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, where he served for 33 months. Feinberg wrote movingly about the experience in his best-selling book What is Life Worth, which was the basis for the 2005 movie Worth, starring Michael Keaton.
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The Common Ground Initiative is The Westport Library’s forum for public discourse on topical issues of importance to the community.
This event is designed to provide insight into conflict resolution that you can apply to your professional or personal life and as an opportunity to learn from an expert in the field who has successfully mediated some of the most challenging disputes in modern American history. It will focus on techniques for fostering civil discourse and conflict resolution.
Don't miss this unique opportunity to learn from a master mediator!
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Kenneth R. Feinberg is one of the nation’s leading experts in alternative dispute resolution. He is currently the court-appointed mediator in the Imerys/Cyprus talc bankruptcy in Delaware and was formerly the court-appointed mediator in the Hess-Honx asbestos bankruptcy in Texas. He previously served as the voluntary mediator in the Georgia Pacific/Bestwall bankruptcy in North Carolina, was co-mediator in the successful Owens Illinois/Paddock asbestos bankruptcy proceeding in North Carolina, and was formerly the court-ordered estimation expert in the Johnson & Johnson/LTL Management bankruptcy in New Jersey.
Feinberg has been designated by the federal government to serve in a variety of public compensation and related funding programs over the past 25 years. He previously served as special master of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, the Department of Justice Victims of State-Sponsored Terrorism Fund, the Department of Justice Boeing 737 Max Crash Victim Beneficiaries Compensation Fund, the Department of the Treasury’s TARP Executive Compensation Program, and the Treasury’s Private Multiemployer Pension Reform program. He was also appointed by the Obama Administration to oversee compensation of victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He also was the mediator in the successful effort to return an original Chagall painting from the Museum of Modern Art in New York City to its original family owners in Europe.
Steve Parrish is the founder of Steve Parrish Consulting Group, LLC, which specializes in crisis management, corporate social responsibility, public affairs, and communications for senior executives of corporations, law firms, and nonprofit organizations. Previously, Parrish was senior vice president, corporate affairs, of Altria Group, Inc., and served as secretary of the Public Affairs and Social Responsibility Committee of the board of directors of Altria Group, Inc.
Parrish is a member of the board of directors of Orchestra Lumos (formerly the Stamford Symphony Orchestra). He also is board member emeritus and past board chair of Safe Horizon, an internationally recognized leader in the field of victim assistance, as well as a board member emeritus of Carleton College.
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The aim of the Common Ground Initiative is to host a positive, productive conversation on how we: work together to move forward as a civil society; encourage respectful, constructive dialogue; and build capacity to tackle challenging and/or controversial issues. The program planning for the initiative is led by The Westport Library in conjunction with community leaders representing a wide array of constituents and ideological standpoints.
