Mediator and special education practitioner Sadie Cort joined Mosaic Collaborative Consulting to help families, schools, and children navigate complex education-related conflicts through compassionate and collaborative dispute resolution, informed by her unique expertise.
Date: 5/28/26
By Alec Chapa
For many families, few things are more emotionally charged than disputes involving their children’s education.
And when special education services, behavioral needs, disabilities, accommodations, or Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) become part of the equation, those conflicts can quickly grow overwhelming for everyone involved.
Parents feel unheard.
Schools feel stretched beyond capacity.
Children often sit at the center of the stress.
Increasingly, these conflicts are becoming more adversarial, more expensive, and more emotionally exhausting nationwide.
That’s part of why Sadie Cort joining Mosaic Collaborative Consulting in 2022 represented such a meaningful expansion of Mosaic’s mission and multidisciplinary approach to conflict resolution.
From College Peers to Professionals in Practice
Sadie and Mosaic founder Alec Chapa first met while studying in the Conflict Resolution program at Portland State University. After graduation, they later reconnected to discuss career development, the evolving dispute resolution landscape, and their shared belief that conflict is not something people should fear or avoid.
Instead, they believed conflict is a normal part of life — one that can be approached in healthier, more collaborative, and more resilient ways.
“More than anything, I want to help people understand ‘Conflict is Normal!’” Sadie shared. “It’s a normal part of life and we don’t have to run from it. We can lean in and do it better. And it starts by talking about it.”
That philosophy strongly aligned with Mosaic’s broader mission surrounding the creation of readily accessible conflict resolution systems far and wide, so that anyone can get help when the need arises, not long after it’s boiled over and lawsuits come into the fold.
One Foot in Experience, the Other in Practice: Sadie’s Unique Expertise
Aside from sharing a vision to make conflict normal and conflict resolution accessible, what made Sadie’s perspective especially unique was not only her formal conflict resolution training — it was the combination of professional experience and lived experience she brought into the work.
Alongside her mediation background, Sadie’s experience includes youth behavioral health intervention services and work as a Certified Behavioral Therapist supporting children on the autism spectrum. In those roles, she collaborated with case managers, clinicians, educators, and families to help children navigate behavioral improvement plans and individualized support systems.
At the same time, Sadie also personally navigated the education system as a child with special needs herself, including having an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).
Rather than positioning herself as a distant academic expert, Sadie emphasizes the value of practical understanding, empathy, and relationship-centered support grounded in both lived experience and professional training. This is exactly why educators and parents alike have praised her conference presentations, which they say have “empowered them to utilize conflict resolution techniques.”
Reflecting on her 2025 presentation, “From Silence to Synergy: Unleashing the Power of Student Voice in the IEP Process” at the SELPA Administrators of California ADR Conference, Sadie wrote:
“In these turbulent times, spaces like [the SELPA conference] and the dedicated professionals within them give me hope. They inspire me to use my voice—a voice that was empowered by the countless educators who have committed their lives to teaching and advocating for students.
In this spirit, it was an absolute honor to speak on a topic I am deeply passionate about: Student Voice in the IEP process. This year, I had the privilege of hearing from numerous parents of students with special needs, who shared both their fears and hopes for their children to have a voice in their education. The vulnerability and stories people entrusted me with were humbling, and they reinforced just how crucial this work is.”
Rising Education Issues Demand Early Intervention, Holistic Approach
Her work today focuses on helping families, schools, and communities navigate education-related conflicts with approaches that are collaborative, sensitive to special needs, and solution-oriented.
That includes integrating behavioral support practices and mediation techniques to help parties create agreements that are realistic, sustainable, accountable, and focused on the long-term well-being of children and family systems.
And the need for that kind of support is growing rapidly.
Nationally, formal special education disputes (including due process complaints, mediations, and state complaints) have increased dramatically over the past decade. Experts increasingly describe the system as adversarial, financially unsustainable, and emotionally draining for families and schools alike.
At the same time, mediation and early collaborative intervention continue showing strong outcomes for preserving relationships, reducing costs, and improving educational outcomes for children.
Sadie’s background uniquely positions her within that growing need.
A Rising Star in the Mediation and Special Education Fields
Before joining Mosaic, she conducted court-ordered mediations through the Multnomah County Courthouse mediation program. When discussing Sadie’s experience with founder Alec Chapa, Program Coordinator Kathy Scott praised Sadie’s mediation skills, ethics, and professionalism: “she’s a natural mediator, and stands out as one of the best among a roster of over 70.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted court operations, Sadie also helped support the transition to online mediation systems — work that impacted dozens of mediators, program staff, hundreds of cases, and thousands of litigants.
Since joining Mosaic, Sadie has continued expanding her leadership in education and dispute resolution spaces.
Over the past several years, she has:
- mediated for Multnomah County Courts for more than six years, since 2019
- presented nationally in education and dispute resolution settings,
- spoken at conferences including East Valley SELPA,
- taught mediation at Portland Community College,
- and in 2025 was nominated as Vice President of Kids Managing Conflict for the Southern California Mediation Association Education Foundation.
She has also contributed to the Conflict Intervention Service (CIS) program under the Bar Association of San Francisco, a multidisciplinary housing conflict initiative Mosaic helped support that integrated mediation, ombuds practices, and behavioral health expertise all for the purpose of supporting housing stability and economic development.
Sadie Offers What Mosaic Values Most: A Human-Centered Approach
Today, Sadie continues supporting children and families through California’s Early Start program while advancing her work in special education conflict resolution and collaborative problem solving.
Her addition to Mosaic reflects something central to our philosophy:
Effective conflict resolution is not only about credentials, litigation, or formal authority. Sometimes, the people best positioned to help navigate conflict are those who deeply understand the systems, pressures, emotions, and human realities behind the dispute itself… not from only a compassionate ear, something Sadie certainly has, but also lived experience.
And in education-related conflict especially, that kind of personal touch can make all the difference.
Learn More About Sadie’s Professional Work
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