Alison Block Gerson

Alison Gerson is a trained mediator in New York City with expertise in family mediation. After staying at home to raise her children, she decided to apply her negotiating skills to the service of others. Having completed her training at the Center for Mediation and Training in Manhattan, she became a certified mediator with Community Mediation Services in Queens. Alison also mediates cases for The Dispute Resolution Center in Kingston, New York and mentors apprentice Community Mediators.  She serves on the New York City Family Court Custody and Visitation Mediation Panel as a Consultant Mediator. 

Alison passionately believes that people can avert misunderstanding and resentment if they relate openly during difficult times. When her parents divorced, they continued to co-parent and never stopped talking with each other. This taught Alison that, while divorce is never easy for children, honest communication lessens the stress and nurtures healthier relationships in the long run.

Alison is a member of The Association for Conflict Resolution, New York State Council on Divorce Mediation, Family & Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York, and New York State Dispute Resolution Association. She facilitates discussion groups for Parents in Action, a Manhattan non-profit dedicated to the belief that communication between parent and child is the most effective tool in raising children.  She graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis.  She lives in Manhattan and Woodstock with her husband, her son and their cocker spaniel.

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Andrea Hirshman, Esq.

Andrea Hirshman spent the majority of her career practicing family law. After learning the limitations of litigation for families who are interested in solutions, Andrea sought mediation as a healthier forum to resolve conflicts. She trained at the Center for Mediation and Training in Manhattan and became a certified mediator through Community Mediation Services in Queens. Andrea brings to mediation a firm belief that all conflicts can best be resolved through communication and understanding, and that litigation nearly always results in broken relationships with both parties losing dearly. Unlike litigation, both parties can win in mediation.

Andrea’s proudest accomplishment is the successful mediation of the longstanding discord between her parents, four decades after their divorce. No longer do she and her siblings have to grapple with the emotions involved in navigating between hostile parents. The joy they experience now, even as adult children, can be keenly felt at family gatherings and life cycle events, and her parents feel relief as well.

Andrea graduated magna cum laude from SUNY Buffalo, earned her Juris Doctor degree from CUNY Law School and is admitted to practice law in New York State. She serves on the New York City Family Court Custody and Visitation Mediation Panel as a Consultant Mediator. In addition, she serves on the New York State Office of Court Administration Roster of Collaborative Divorce Professionals. Andrea is a member of the Family and Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York, the Association for Conflict Resolution, the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, and the New York State Council on Divorce Mediation where she serves on its Ethics Committee. She facilitates group discussions for Parents in Action, an organization dedicated to fostering communication between parents and their children. Andrea lives in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn with her husband, her sons and their dog.

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