Shari Greenleaf

Project Associate

Special Education Dispute Resolution Center (SEDRC)

shari@osedisputeresolution.org

1-855-RESOLVE (737-6583) ext. 2

Shari Greenleaf, is the Project Associate for the Special Education Dispute Resolution Center (SEDRC), a program of the New York State Education Department managed and administered by the New York State Dispute Resolution Association (NYSDRA, Inc.). Shari works with her team to promote the use of special education mediation as a proactive intervention, facilitate professional development for special education mediators and stakeholders, and provide centralized coordination and support for the special education mediation program statewide.

Shari served as in-house counsel for the Schenectady City School District for 17 years representing the district in state and federal courts and administrative proceedings. She provided legal advice to the board of education and school administrators, including on special education issues.

After retiring from her full-time position as a school attorney, Shari shifted her focus to dispute resolution work. Shari previously served as NYSDRA’s Special Education Mediation Program Coordinator (2016-2019) and provided a wide range of trainings for special education mediators and promoted special education mediation statewide through presentations and outreach activities.

Shari also serves as a volunteer mediator at Mediation Matters and regularly provides mediation in the areas of special education, small claims and community disputes. In addition to being trained as a community mediator, Shari has received advanced training in family mediation, restorative justice, lemon law, and special education mediation. Shari frequently participates in service training sessions through Mediation Matters.

Prior to her tenure at Schenectady City School District, Shari was employed for five years at the New York State School Boards Association and was in private practice in Syracuse and Oswego. Shari received her Juris Doctor from Syracuse University Law School and her Bachelor of Arts from SUNY Potsdam.