Conflict Resolution Month 2026

Meet the Speakers

Dr. Amy Salazar 
President & Principal Consultant | Higher Heights Consulting

Dr. Amy Salazar is President and Principal Consultant of Higher Heights Consulting, where she partners with a wide range of colleges and universities—from large flagship institutions to regional public colleges—to develop strategic initiatives that improve student success, institutional effectiveness, and organizational performance. She also collaborates with organizations beyond higher education to advance strategic planning, project management, and organizational excellence. In addition to her consulting work, Dr. Salazar serves as an Assistant Professor in the College of Human Environmental Sciences at The University of Alabama, where she is a core faculty member for the Graduate Certificate in Conflict Resolution and teaches graduate courses in leadership, emotional intelligence, and conflict negotiation. Through her work as both a consultant and educator, Dr. Salazar is dedicated to helping individuals and organizations build stronger cultures, develop effective leaders, and achieve meaningful, lasting results.

Bryan Carlisle, MS
Director of Safety and Risk Management | Blinn College District

Bryan Carlisle is a seasoned crisis management executive and professional speaker with over three decades of leadership experience across law enforcement and higher education. He currently serves as the Director of Safety and Risk Management for the Blinn College District, where he oversees campus safety, emergency planning and response, and behavioral threat assessment and management. Bryan’s expertise in conflict resolution is rooted in his extensive field experience, including his tenure as a Crisis Negotiation Team Commander, Criminal Investigator, and senior command-level officer.

A recognized authority in de-escalation and crisis communications, Bryan is a Department of Homeland Security Master Trainer in Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management and the founder of Crisis Training Solutions, established in 2004. He holds a master’s degree in criminal justice leadership & management from SHSU and is a graduate of both the prestigious FBI National Academy and Leadership Command College. Bryan has served as an adjunct instructor for Sam Houston State University College of Criminal Justice and the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas . His unique blend of tactical negotiation experience and academic rigor allows him to translate high-stakes crisis strategies into practical, masterable skills for any professional environment.

Peter Reilly, JD
Professor of Law and Associate Director of Aggie Dispute Resolution Program | Texas A&M University School of Law 

Peter Reilly is professor of law and associate director of the Aggie Dispute Resolution program at Texas A&M University School of Law. He teaches classes in ADR, Professional Responsibility, and Negotiation. Prior to entering academia, Reilly was attorney-advisor within the Office of General Counsel at the United States Commission on Civil Rights in Washington, DC. Reilly's scholarship focuses on dispute resolution, with a strong interest in deferred prosecution, ethics, emotional intelligence, and theories of influence and persuasion within the context of mediation and negotiation. Reilly has received the Dean’s Scholarship Award at Texas A&M Law, recognizing faculty members who demonstrate “steadfast commitment and contribution to legal scholarship.” Reilly earned a B.A. from Princeton University, J.D. from Harvard Law School, and LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center. 

For the last several years, Professor Reilly has been a consultant in the federal prosecution of Boeing surrounding two Boeing 737 MAX crashes that resulted in 346 deaths in 2018 and 2019. Reilly was part of a team led by Professor Paul Cassell (Utah Law School), an expert on the Crime Victims' Rights Act (CVRA) who was lead counsel for 15 families who lost loved ones in the Boeing tragedies. The government used several ADR instruments to resolve the case (including a deferred prosecution agreement or DPA, a plea deal, and finally a non-prosecution agreement). Reilly will talk about his experiences working on the case, focusing in particular on the advantages and disadvantages of the government using a DPA at the outset of the case. Reilly has spent much of his career highlighting the advantages of turning to Alternative Dispute Resolution to resolve issues, and working on the Boeing case has made him think through some of its drawbacks.

Shreya Mehta and Kaisa Goodman
Stanford University

Shreya Mehta recently graduated from Stanford University (data science and social systems major), and Kaisa Goodman recently graduated from Stanford Law School. They were recently recognized by Stanford University with its ePluribus Stanford award, which recognizes critical inquiry, constructive dialogue, and civic engagement. They have significant experience with civil discourse at the university-level, and will present their experiences about how to have discussions on difficult subjects that are essential to democracy. You can read about their work and their recognition here: https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2026/06/epluribus-award-civic-engagement-dialogue

Henry E. Farber, JD
Mediator and Arbitrator | RanierADR

Henry E. Farber is a mediator and labor arbitrator based in Washington and California.  He began his career as a neutral with the National Labor Relations Board.  After law school, Henry practiced labor and employment law representing employers and individuals for 39 years.  He began mediating in 2021, and focuses mostly on employment litigation matters in tech, health care, and government workplaces.  Henry is also a Commissioner on the Washington State Public Employment Relations Commission, has been named a “Best Lawyer in America” since 2001, and is a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.