Craft Mediation Northwest was founded by former Assistant U.S. Attorney and Washington and Oregon employment lawyer, Robert S. Milesnick, J.D.

After years as an adjunct professor at Portland State University, non-profit CEO, and case manager for the Oregon Judicial Department, Rob spent almost two decades primarily in employment litigation representing plaintiffs and defendants.

A certified mediator for the past 23 years, Rob served a USDOJ collateral duty mediator appointment for EEO disputes with the Executive Office of United States Attorneys. He uses interpersonal, facilitative, and evaluative mediation techniques, based on the needs of the case and the personalities of the parties, and draws on years of experience in state and federal litigation, mediation, and advanced mediation trainings from the Syracuse University College of Law Mediation Assistance Program, negotiation and mediation training from the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Advocacy Center, and from the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation in conflict management and mediations. 

Rob serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Oregon Mediation Association and served on the Board of Governors for the Oregon State Bar from 2020-2024. He follows the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR); American Arbitration Association (AAA) model standards of conduct for mediators Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators; as well as Washington RCP 2.4 and Oregon RCP 2.4.

Rob received his Bachelor of Arts in English and Psychology cum laude from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1999, and his Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law in 2002, where he was a member of the Moot Court Honor Society and a National Moot Court Best Advocate recipient. He is admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Washington and Oregon, and before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.