Laurel Kaufer

Laurel Kaufer, JD, CEO and Co-founder of Prison of Peace, was honored by California Lawyer Magazine as a California Attorney of the Year in 2012 for this work. A Mediator and Arbitrator in Los Angeles, CA, Laurel transitioned from litigation to full-time neutral practice in 1995.  With a peer rating of AV Preeminent, she has been recognized as one of Southern California's "Best Lawyers" in the field of Alternate Dispute Resolution since 2010 by U.S. News & World Report.  

Laurel has served as chair of the Standing Committee on Dispute Resolution of the California State Bar Association, a Diplomat of both the California and National Academies of Distinguished Neutrals, Adjunct Faculty at Pepperdine School of Law, with full responsibility for the Criminal Justice Dispute Resolution Practicum, and taught Mediation at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Kaufer served for years on the Board of the Southern California Mediation Association, as well as numerous other organizations. 

Douglas Noll

Douglas E. Noll, JD, MA, Co-founder of Prison of Peace, left a successful career as a trial lawyer to become a peacemaker. His calling is to serve humanity, and he executes his calling at many levels. He is an award-winning author, teacher, and trainer. He is a highly experienced mediator. Doug’s work carries him from international work to helping people resolve deep interpersonal and ideological conflicts. He sits on many boards, including Mediators Beyond Borders, an international NGO accredited to the United Nations.

Like Laurel, Doug is peer-rated as AV Preeminent, and was honored as a California Lawyer of the Year.  Doug was honored as Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in America, was named as an Encore Fellow in 2014 by encore.org, and was honored with the 2011 Outstanding Book Award by the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution. Doug is an adjunct faculty member of the San Joaquin College of Law and adjunct faculty member of the Pepperdine School of Law Straus Institute. He also serves as a core faculty member of the American Institute of Mediation and has several of his courses in negotiation and deep, empathic listening available online. Doug is a sought-after speaker and workshop presenter in negotiation, mediation, leadership, and problem-solving skills.

Dimitra Gavriil

Dimitra Gavriil is the Director of European Programs for Prison of Peace. Dimitra holds a JD and a LLM in EU Law from the University of Strasbourg, France. A lawyer with the Athens Bar Association since 1998, Dimitra became a full time mediator and conflict resolution practitioner in 2012. Her practice includes consulting and coaching as well as training in mediation and Restorative Practices within various settings that extend from businesses to schools to prisons. Dimitra is a Senior JAMs-Weinstein Foundation Fellow, a co-founder and a member of several ADR related organizations in Greece and internationally. As of late 2016, Dimitra began implementing the Prison of Peace Program in Greek Prisons. As of 2021, she is also supervising the implementation of Prison of Peace in Italy. She is fluent in Greek, French and English

The personal generosity and early participation of the following professionals in 2010 assisted our team in establishing the unshakable foundation of Prison of Peace.

Stacey Marcel, Attorney at Law/Mediator, New Orleans, Louisiana

James Forkner, Corporate Trainer/Ridge Training, San Francisco, California

Barbara “Zellda” Zelly, Corporate Trainer/Ridge Training, Cleveland, Ohio