Jeff Edelstein is principal of Edelstein Associates Mediation & Facilitation, and a consulting partner with the Consensus Building Institute, a Harvard and MIT-affiliated non-profit at the forefront of public policy dispute resolution globally.  

 

Jeff has helped resolve some of the nation’s most challenging public policy conflicts, including:

 

• U.S.-Canada oil pipeline development

• Superfund cleanup of New York City’s Gowanus Canal

• Greater Yellowstone region hydrofracturing natural gas development

• Ohio River Basin Clean Water Act/Safe Drinking Water Act interstate litigation

• Federal policymaking at agency and Congressional levels for U.S. coastal management, forest management, off-shore renewable energy development, National Ocean Policy, and more.

 

Jeff has also led landmark state and local policymaking initiatives, including Vermont’s groundbreaking “Zero Waste” planning process; Maine legislature’s passage of its first-ever statewide building code; and the Greater Portland (Maine) Interlocal Stormwater Working Group, a national model for intermunicipal Clean Water Act collaboration.    

 

With the release of his 2016 book, From Oath to Action: Simple Acts of Courage to Rebuild American Democracy, Jeff turned towards transformative change in the U.S. Congress. His advocacy helped turn one of his book’s flagship ideas - pairing Democrat and Republican members of Congress for joint tours of each other’s districts and states – into action with the 2018 launch of the American Congressional Exchange. He worked behind the scenes to spur the re-launch of the Senate Former Governors Caucus, and is now leading the development of a full suite of additional cross-partisan activities for Congressional members and staff. He is also leading an effort to create a federal Dreamer Corps program, to help resolve the decades-long conflict over passage of the Dream Act.   

 

Jeff holds a B.S. in Agricultural Engineering from Cornell University and is a former licensed Professional Engineer. His work in the highly conflictual arena of industrial-scale recycling facility development, and subsequent work as an independent environmental consultant for entities entangled in public policy disputes, led to a twenty-five career as a public policy mediator and facilitator.

 

Jeff has been a national leader in the public policy dispute resolution field, serving on the Leadership Council of the Environment and Public Policy (EPP) Chapter of the Association for Conflict Resolution; leading national trainings through the National Center for Environmental Conflict Resolution, a Congressionally-chartered public entity; and now playing a unique role in Washington, as one of the few mediators bringing public policy dispute resolution practices and principles to Congress.