Curriculum Vitae: Maria Ramos - Chertok, Esq.

Maria Ramos-Chertok is an independent consultant, trainer and mediator specializing in nonprofit organizations and public agencies.  Her areas of expertise include conflict resolution, communication, teambuilding, sexual harassment prevention, leadership development and multiculturalism.  She has extensive experience as a group facilitator that includes a twenty year history of nonprofit experience in crisis counseling, advocacy and teaching.

Since 1996, she has also worked with CompassPoint Nonprofit Services doing organizational development consulting and providing workshops on a wide variety of topics including, “Advanced Problem Solving for Supervisors”, “Communication and Conflict Resolution”, “Employee Retention” and “Communication Styles”.

She received her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law (Class of 1987) where she was the recipient of the Fordham Human Rights Award for the most outstanding contribution to the advancement of individual freedom and human dignity. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley (1984).

In March of 1998, Maria was hired by the Family Violence Prevention Fund to write a national benchbook for judges. The Benchbook, "Cultural Considerations In Domestic Violence Cases" was published in August 1999 and shortly thereafter was nominated for the annual Howell Heflin Award - an award given to State Justice Institute (SJI) supported projects that have a high likelihood of significantly improving the quality of justice in state courts across the nation.

Maria was selected to participate in the National Hispana Leadership Institute (NHLI) Year 2001 Fellowship Program. The program prepares selected Latina women who have demonstrated leadership at the local level for positions of national influence and public policy impact. As part of the fellowship, she completed a weeklong session at the Center for Creative Leadership in their Leadership Development Program and a week at the JFK School of Public Policy at Harvard University.

In December 2003, Maria received a Women to Watch Award from Jewish Women International (JWI), an award given to “outstanding and accomplished women who are making significant contributions to contemporary life.”

She has also been a part of the training team with the National Indian Justice Center and has worked with members of numerous tribal communities in an effort to help make tribal court systems responsive to the needs of families in crisis.

Beginning in 2008, she will join the training team of Rockwood Leadership Programs.

Maria’s mediation practice focuses on employment issues and conflicts involving nonprofit organizations. She has received 92 hours of mediation training from the Center for Mediation and Law and has assisted Gary Friedman as a coach in his Fundamentals of Mediation course.

She is bilingual in Spanish.