AI Generated Bio Statement:
Daniel Rainey is a senior practitioner, educator, and writer in the fields of conflict engagement, online dispute resolution (ODR), and mediation. He has served as a mediator, facilitator, and consultant across labor-management, workplace, community, and international contexts.
A recognized leader in the development and integration of technology into conflict resolution practice, Daniel was one of the principal authors of the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution’s Ethical Principles for ODR Practitioners and has advised governments, NGOs, and private organizations on the design of fair and accessible digital dispute resolution systems.
He has held executive and advisory roles with organizations including the National Mediation Board (NMB), where he served as Chief of Staff, helping to expand the use of technology in labor-management relations. Daniel is a founding Board Member of the International Council for Online Dispute Resolution (ICODR) and has taught negotiation, mediation, and ODR at multiple universities and training programs worldwide.
In addition to his practice and teaching, Daniel is the author and editor of numerous publications on conflict engagement and technology, and he continues to work on integrating artificial intelligence, online tools, and human-centered approaches into the evolving practice of dispute resolution.
HOLISTIC SOLUTIONS, INC.
I am a founder and principal in Holistic Solutions, Inc. (HSI), founded in 1996 as a home for my practice, with Julia Morelli, in dispute resolution, organizational development, and communication. Partial Client List
TEACHING AND COURSE DEVELOPMENT
Over time, I have held full time faculty postions at GMU and SMU, and ongoing adjunct postions at Creighton, Dominican, and the University of the Pacific.
I was one of the instructors for the first university ODR course (at the University of Massachusetts Amherst), and (with Colin Rule) designed and taught the first ODR course required in a graduate dispute resolution program (at Creighton University). I have developed graduate level ODR courses for several universities, in addition to skills-based ODR training for dispute resolution centers and professional associations. As a consultant, I have worked with clients in the development of ODR resources, ADR programs, intercultural negotiation skills, Ombudsman programs, and organizational conflict engagement programs in the public, private, and non-profit sectors.
RESEARCH/PRACTICE & PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP
I am a Fellow of the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution, housed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. NCTDR was founded in 1998 with a grant from the Hewlett Foundation. In 2003, the Center began working with the UMASS Department of Computer Science and the National Mediation Board (where I was Director of Alternative Dispute Resolution and later Chief of Staff) to model mediation processes online under the first of two National Science Foundation grants. The ODR standards developed by NCTDR/ICODR, of which I was a principal author, were issued by ISO in March 2025 as the core of ISO Standard 32122: Transaction Assurance in E-commerce — Guidance for Offering Online Dispute Resolution Services.
I am a founding member and current President of The International Council for Online Dispute Resolution (ICODR), a nonprofit consortium, incorporated in the United States, that drives the development, convergence, and adoption of open standards for the global effort to resolve disputes and conflicts using information and communications technology.
I served as the co-chair of the international group that devised the Universal Disclosure Protocol for Mediation, and continue to be active as an advocate for the UDPM.
I served as the Co-Chair of Working Group 3 of the ODR Task Force for the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, and Co-Chair of the International Mediation Institute’s Online Mediator Competency Task Force. I am a past member of the Supreme Court of Virginia’s Access to Justice Commission, Self-Represented Litigants Committee, and a participant observer to the Uniform Law Commission’s Study Committee on the Singapore Convention. I was also a participant observer to the UNCITRAL Working Group III proceedings on international commercial dispute resolution. I am currently a member of the committee of the Virginia Supreme Court reviewing mediator ethics and standards of practice for court certified mediators in Virginia.
PUBLISHING
I am one of the Editors-in-Chief of the International Journal of Online Dispute Resolution, and an author/editor of the award-winning book, Online Dispute Resolution: Theory and Practice (2nd edition published in 2021).
I am the author of numerous other book chapters and articles about ODR and ADR. In 2022, Integrating Technology Into Your Dispute Resolution Practice: Making Friends With the Fourth Party, was released by Eleven International Publishers. My latest book, Governing Artificial Intelligence, with co-authors Leah Wing, Chris Draper, and Scott Cooper, was released in September, 2025.
OF NOTE . . . .
In September, 2017, I retired as the Chief of Staff for the National Mediation Board.
In October, 2017, at the Association for Conflict Resolution annual conference, I received the Mary Parker Follett Award for innovation in dispute resolution.
Just for fun . . . . L’Ordre de Bon Temps
The Order of Good Cheer, or the Order of the Good Times, was originally a French Colonial order in Canada founded in 1606 by suggestion of Samuel de Champlain. I was made an honorary member of the order by a Canadian labor agency while working with the National Mediation Board. What is required is “a stay of at least three days in Nova Scotia where you will have plenty of fun and good food.” I certainly did.