Center for Dispute Settlement Names Jose Cruzado President & CEO
Veteran court administrator, mediator and nonprofit executive brings decades of leadership and public-service experience to Rochester-based dispute resolution organization
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — August 18, 2026 — The Center for Dispute Settlement (CDS) is pleased to announce the appointment of Jose Cruzado as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective August 1, 2026.
Cruzado brings extensive experience in court administration, nonprofit leadership, mediation, organizational operations and community service to the role. He most recently served as Director of Operations for the Center for Dispute Settlement, giving him direct experience with the organization, its staff, programs, partners and the communities it serves.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead the Center for Dispute Settlement into its next chapter,” Cruzado said. “Conflict is an inevitable part of our families, workplaces and communities. What matters is how we respond to it. CDS has the opportunity not only to help people resolve disputes, but to give individuals and communities the skills and resources to approach conflict differently.”
As President and CEO, Cruzado will focus on strengthening CDS's mediation services, expanding community programming, developing new partnerships, investing in staff training and professional development, and identifying innovative opportunities to make conflict-resolution services more accessible throughout the communities CDS serves. His leadership philosophy will center on three principles: transparency, innovation and integrity.
“My goal is for CDS to be an organization that listens—to our clients, our employees, our courts, our community partners, and all of those we serve,” Cruzado said. “We should continually be asking, where do people need help, and how we can bring meaningful dispute-resolution resources to those places before conflict escalates.”
Cruzado's career has been distinguished by leadership in both the public and nonprofit sectors. Before joining CDS, he served as Chief Administrative Officer for the IberoAmerican Action League, where his responsibilities included executive oversight of human resources, training and development, facility operations, information technology, compliance and risk management.
He previously spent more than a decade with the New York State Unified Court System, including serving as Chief Clerk of Livingston County Supreme and County Courts and Commissioner of Jurors. His court leadership responsibilities included personnel and budget management, strategic and operational planning, training, case-processing operations and collaboration with judges, attorneys, court administrators and members of the public.
Earlier in his career, Cruzado served with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, ultimately supervising court-security personnel. In addition to his executive and court-management experience, Cruzado is a trained mediator with certifications in transformative and facilitative mediation and several specialized areas, including custody and visitation, divorce, commercial, kinship and child permanency mediation. He has mediated court-referred matters, workplace and private disputes.
Cruzado holds a Master of Science in Strategic Leadership from Roberts Wesleyan College, a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Language from Brockport University, and an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts from Monroe Community College.
Cruzado said collaboration will be central to the organization's future. “CDS cannot do this work alone. I welcome partnerships with residents, courts, businesses, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, schools and community groups that share our commitment to helping people navigate conflict constructively. Every dispute successfully addressed represents an opportunity to strengthen a family, a workplace, a neighborhood or a community.”
About the Center for Dispute Settlement
The Center for Dispute Settlement (CDS) is a Rochester, New York-based organization providing mediation, dispute-resolution and conflict-management services to individuals, families and communities. Through mediation, training, education and community partnerships, CDS works to provide constructive alternatives for addressing conflict and resolving disputes. For more information about the Center for Dispute Settlement, visit www.cdsadr.org