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	ask the experts ellen craine

Ellen Craine has a law degree from Wayne State University and a Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of Michigan. Ellen completed divorce mediation training in 1996 and has 10 years of experience as a divorce and family mediator. In addition, she has over 20 years of experience in working with children and families.

Ellen is a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW). In 2003 she was appointed to the ethics review committee for Michigan - NASW for a two-year term. That appointment has been extended for another two years. In addition, she is a Board Member (since 1997), Education Chairperson (since 1997), and the immediate Past President of the Michigan Council for Family and Divorce Mediation (she served for two years as President). Furthermore, Ellen is part of the ethics committee for the Association for Conflict Resolution.

Ellen has taught at Eastern Michigan University's Department of Social Work and the University of Michigan School of Social Work.

In addition, she has done extensive public speaking on divorce mediation and domestic abuse. Ellen has authored articles on divorce mediation that have been published in the Michigan Chapter NASW newsletter. Recently, she authored an article about divorce mediation and one on the impact of loss and grief on divorce and effective co-parenting that can be found at www.divorcenet.com and www.helpstartshere.org (a website of the National Association of Social Workers).

Currently, Ellen maintains a private practice specializing in divorce and family mediation (including elder care issues), parenting time facilitation, and educating parents how to co-parent more effectively both during separation/divorce as well as post-divorce. She also educates never married parents.

Personally, Ellen has been married for 10 years and is a mother of two boys, one age six and one half and one age three. She nursed both of her boys for over two years each and is an avid reader of Mothering magazine. In addition, she loves to garden, knit, read, coach her son's soccer team, and help out at her children's school (a Waldorf school in Michigan).