Maria R. Volpe, Ph.D. is Professor of Sociology, Director of the Dispute Resolution Program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice - City University of New York, and Director of the CUNY Dispute Resolution Center, a university-wide center focusing on dispute resolution research and innovative program development.

An internationally known scholar, Dr. Volpe has lectured, researched, and written extensively about dispute resolution processes, particularly mediation, and has been widely recognized for her distinguished career in the field of dispute resolution, including the 2023 Chuck M. Newman Award - NYS Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section; 2022 DRI Law Firm / Corporate Legal Department Diversity Award to the Members of the DRI ADR Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative;  2017 NYS Council on Divorce Mediation Lifetime Achievement Award; 2016 Arab Students United; 2015 James E. Jones Diversity Award; 2014 Faculty Advisor of the Year; 2013 FamilyKind Recognition; 2011 Frontline Champion Award; 2010 Association for Conflict Resolution of Greater New York Achievement Award; 2008 Lawrence Cooke Peace Innovator Award; 2008 Network for Peace Recognition, among others. In addition to teaching and research, she mediates conflicts in educational settings, conducts dispute resolution skills training, administers grant-funded projects, and facilitates for a wide range of groups. At John Jay College, she has created and facilitated town meetings, cops and kids dialogues, Muslim/Non-Muslim student dialogues, Black Jewish Dialogues, intergenerational dialogues, and Asian American student discussions. Since 9/11 she initiated the NYC-DR listserv, the monthly NYC-DR Roundtable Breakfast, and a variety of dispute resolution public awareness initiatives.

Dr. Volpe is an Editorial Board Member of Conflict Resolution Quarterly, Negotiation Journal at Harvard Law School, and Practical Dispute Resolution; Past-President of the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution [now the Association for Conflict Resolution]; Founder and Ex-President of the New York City Chapter of SPIDR [now ACR GNY]; Member of Dispute Resolution Advisory Committee of the NYS Unified Court System; Former Board Member of the National Conference on Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution [NCPCR]; Ex-Board Member of the Association for Conflict Resolution of Greater New York; ex-Board Member, New York Peace Institute; Member of Association for Conflict Resolution Diversity and Equity Network; Member, Global Advisory Board, Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies;  American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section Diversity and Ombuds Committees, among others.

Dr. Volpe's current research focuses on police use of mediation, conflict resolution in higher education, dispute resolution responses to disasters since 9/11, informal responses to conflict used by immigrants, roots of diversity in the dispute resolution field, the role of religion in reconciliation, and barriers to minority participation in dispute resolution. She received her Ph.D. from New York University where she was an NIMH Fellow. Her full cv is available at https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/faculty/maria-r-volpe