Timothy Jaasko-Fisher, M.A., J.D.

Founder and Principal Consultant, 
TJF Consulting

Tim works with people and organizations to build capacity to thrive in complexity.  He catalyzes positive change on a strategic, systemic, and individual level.  Through the use of Liberating Structures and other tools, he helps groups to meaningfully include everyone in exploring the complex challenges they face, and provides concrete, meaningful ways to unleash a groups full potential to maximize return on investment.  Tim serves as the Director of Internal Capacity Building for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau’s Capacity Building Center for Courts, where he provides consulting, coaching, and advice to a team of national experts working to build courts’ capacity to respond to child abuse and neglect on a systemic level.

Tim served as the Senior Director of Curriculum and Program Development at the Civility Center for the Law at Seattle University School of Law and was the founding director of the Court Improvement Training Academy (CITA) at the University of Washington School of Law.  He was a member of the federal Quality Improvement Center on Youth Representation curriculum team. In 2010, he was awarded the Lee Ann Miller Individual Award for outstanding leadership in furthering the goals of the Washington State Children’s Justice Act and he led the Court Improvement Training Academy to receive the Lee Ann Miller Team award in 2014.

Tim worked as an Assistant Attorney General for 11 years. He has litigated at all levels of the justice system in Washington State, including administrative tribunals, the Superior Court, the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court. He presents nationally and internationally on issues relating to leadership, civility, and engaging groups in complex problem-solving. 

To learn more about Tim’s work, visit www.TJFConsulting.org.

Paula Lustbader, J.D.

President/Executive Director, The Civility Fund
President/Executive Director, Alfie’s Fund
Professor Emerita, Seattle University School of Law

Professor Paula Lustbader is highly respected internationally in the legal-education academy and locally in the Seattle legal community for the passion and energy she brought to her work as co-founder and director of the Academic Resource Center and its Access Admissions program at Seattle University School of Law. For 28 years, she provided instruction, support, and mentorship to law students from under-represented groups and, in the process, has been instrumental in increasing the diversity of the legal profession. She has touched the lives of more than 1,000 law students who, on graduation, have gone on to impact the lives of literally thousands of clients and fellow citizens in Washington and across the country.

Professor Lustbader’s contribution to the academy was acknowledged in 2015, when she was given the Association of American Law Schools Section on Academic Support Award for Excellence in Legal Education. The Washington State Bar Association recognized Professor Lustbader’s outstanding contributions by naming her co-recipient of the organization’s Award for Excellence in Diversity (2006). In 2010, she received the Loren Miller Bar Association President’s Award for her role in increasing the diversity in the legal profession.

Professor Lustbader is an internationally recognized leader, scholar, and speaker on law school academic support programs, learning theory, teaching methods, and diversity. She has also lectured in England, Switzerland, Spain, and Italy. In addition to using her vision to help found two national organization sections on Law School Academic Support and the Center for Teaching and Learning at Seattle University, she has assumed numerous leadership roles with the legal academy’s national organizations.

She retired from Seattle University School of Law in 2015. Between 2010 and 2015, Professor Lustbader began phased retirement from the Law School in order to enable her to shift her focus to her work as president of Robert’s Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering civility in the legal profession. In that role, she has undertaken a variety of initiatives. In addition to writing articles about civility, she is developing curriculum, programs, and seminars to promote civility; she is facilitating conversations on civility with focus groups; and she is making multiple presentations and providing consulting to law firms and other legal professional organizations.

In 2014, Professor Lustbader became the president of Alfie’s Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing support to help change a life. She is currently spearheading the foundation’s first initiative, Alfie Scholars at Seattle University, whose mission is to make the dream of a bachelor’s degree achievable for diverse transfer students who are committed to fostering civility. 

Scott Petit, M.A., LMHC

Senior Director of the Psychology of Civility Curriculum and Program Development

Scott Petit brings his 25 years working as a psychotherapist to The Civility Fund. His work with individuals and couples has provided him with a unique perspective and skill-set that helps people gain self-awareness and psychological health, and develop effective ways of relating with others. These are critical aspects to foster civility. Scott works with the Fund’s two main programs: The Civility Center for the Law and Alfie Scholars. As the Associate Director of the Fund, he is responsible for developing the curricula on the Psychology of Civility and on the Fundamentals of Civil Communication. This work combines compassionate self-awareness and effective communication skills, with the goal of cultivating ambassadors and leaders for civility who can inspire and teach others.

Scott’s work has been highly influenced by the work of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell. As a result, he embraces both the personal and mythological dimensions of the human experience. With regard to the psychology of the individual, Scott’s focus is on cultivating radical self-acceptance – the ability to meet every aspect of ourselves with the same kind of unconditional regard that healthy, loving parents have for all of their children.

He also sees built into the very nature of human existence the path of the mythological hero: Are we going to proceed in life in a half-asleep state, based on our programming and wounding since birth; or are we going to choose to awaken, face the dragons of fear and self-doubt, and embrace the destinies with which we were born?

In his work with the Alfie Scholars specifically, Scott incorporates these dimensions to help the scholars learn psychological tools for self-awareness, self-investigation and self-regulation, while at the same time, helping them to see their story as part of the larger, hero’s-journey story that has been with us throughout time – the path of becoming an authentic human being.

Scott received his Masters of Arts in Counseling from the Leadership Institute of Seattle in 1993.

Craig Sims, J.D.

Trial Lawyer

Craig is an accomplished trial lawyer with over 20 years of litigation and leadership experience.  His calling “to be of service to others” is what drew him to his position at Schroeter Goldmark & Bender to represent victims of asbestos exposure. Craig’s focus is to seek accountability while honoring the lives of his clients and their families.  Craig has a proven track record litigating cases including large verdict wins and settlements exceeding $20 million.  He has been the lead trial lawyer in multiple trials with successful settlements and plaintiff verdicts, including the largest asbestos jury award in the state of Oregon.

Craig’s focus on asbestos trial work began in late 2015.  Prior to his asbestos litigation practice, Craig served as the Criminal Division Chief in the Seattle Attorney’s Office where he led a team of more than sixty attorneys and staff.  Craig has also served as a Senior King County Prosecutor. While on assignment with the Most Dangerous Offender Program, he prosecuted a number of homicides and high-profile cases; seeking justice while advocating for those who’d been harmed.

Craig has taught as an adjunct professor at Seattle University School of Law and a visiting lecturer at the University of Washington Law School. He’s a member and past-president of the Loren Miller Bar Association, which gave him the Excellence in the Legal Profession award in 2013. Craig is also a member of the Washington State Bar Association, and a board member for the Washington State Bar Leadership Institute. The King County Bar Association designated him Mentor of the Year for the Young Lawyers Division in 2013.

Craig has traveled the country consulting on issues of diversity and equity.  He is often asked to speak at lawyer trainings on all aspects of trial presentations.  He also enjoys spending time with his family and barbequing year round.

Sergio Tamassia

Learn more about Mr. Tamassia

sergiotamassia.it

Artist in Residence

Sergio Tamassia received his degree from the State Institute of Art, Florence, in 1966. Since 1978, he has resided in Sorano, Italy. He is an accomplished photographer and visual artist, having shown his work in Austria, Germany, Holland, and throughout his home country.

In addition to teaching seminars in traditional art such as drawing, painting, frescos, and mural painting, Sergio created and teaches art programs designed to help students find their creative flow. He believes that through the process of making art, we can discover our emotions, learn to see from different perspectives, and find ways to express ourselves. To him, art is self-expression.

He also directs and teaches Socializing Through Visual Art, a program for regional schools in Tuscany.

Debra Wiley, M.A., J.D.

Debra is based in Alexandria, Virginia, and has been associated with Roberts Fund and the Civility Center for Law Italy seminars since the inaugural class of 2011.

A graduate of Seattle University School of Law, Debra practiced briefly in Tacoma and was Executive Director of the Pierce County Center for Dispute Resolution before joining the U.S. Department of Education. She served as the first Federal Student Aid Ombudsman and later as Senior Advisor for Customer Experience, until leaving federal service in late 2012. Debra also holds an M.A. in Educational Psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She was formerly with state higher education agencies in Colorado and Virginia and a coordinator of the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP). Known for her intense interest in conflict resolution, consumer issues, and end-user perspectives, Debra focuses on program and policy development to minimize conflict and maximize efficiency. She is also a licensed tour guide for the District of Columbia and is a member of the Guild of Professional Tour Guides of Washington, DC.