Edgework founder Ellis Amdur received his B.A. in psychology from Yale University in 1974, and his M.A. in psychology from Seattle University in 1990. He is both a National Certified Counselor and a State Certified Child Mental Health Specialist.

Since the late 1960s, Ellis has trained in various martial arts systems, spending thirteen of these years studying in Japan. He is a recognized expert in classical and modern Japanese martial traditions, and has authored two iconoclastic books, Dueling with O-sensei: Grappling with the Myth of the Warrior Sage and Old School: Essays on Japanese Martial Traditions, as well as one instructional DVD, Ukemi From the Ground Up.

Since his return to America in 1988, Ellis has worked in the field of crisis intervention. He has developed a range of training and consultation services, as well as a unique style of assessment and psychotherapy. These are based on a combination of phenomenological psychology and the underlying philosophical premises of classical Japanese martial traditions. Ellis’s professional philosophy can best be summed up in this idea: the development of an individual’s integrity and dignity is the paramount virtue. This can only occur when people live courageously, regardless of the circumstances, and take responsibility for their roles in making the changes they desire.

Ellis Amdur is a dynamic public speaker and trainer who presents his work throughout the U.S. and internationally. He is noted for his sometimes outrageous humor as well as his profound breadth of knowledge. Ellis’s vivid descriptions of aggressive and mentally ill people and his true-to-life role-playing of the behaviors in question give participants an almost first-hand experience of facing the real individuals in question.

To learn more about Ellis Amdur, please go to www.edgework.info

In 2004, Dr. Dixon became a certified trainer of NAMI’s Family to Family Education Program. She served as a board member of her regional NAMI chapter from 2001-2004, and was a presenter at the Washington Chapter of NAMI, and at the Conference of the World Fellowship for Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders in Kyoto Japan, 2002. Dr. Dixon earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles, CA, and completed pre- and post-doctoral training at the Johns Hopkins Health System in Baltimore Maryland. Dr. Dixon also holds a Diploma in Tropical medicine from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium and a B.S. in Nursing from the University of Leuven, Belgium.

Melanie Sears has been a trainer for the Center of Nonviolent Communications since 1991. She trains businesses, hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, individuals, couples and parents in the process of Nonviolent Communication. Melanie has also worked as a R.N. for twenty six years. She has worked in all areas of the hospital, home care and hospice and has been an administrator and a consultant. Her latest nursing position was as a psychiatric nurse on an acute inpatient unit. She has two grown children both of whom live in Seattle.  Melanie presents Nonviolent Communication at conventions, at universities, and at churches. She has been interviewed on the radio and is a published author. Her presentations have been described as exciting, inspiring, educational, and transformative. Melanie says, "Everything is about communications. Any problem can be resolved within minutes when negative energy is transformed into caring connections."

To learn more about Melanie, please go to her web site: www.dnadialogues.com