Dr.Susan Zaidel was born and raised in the United States. She came to live in Israel in 1970 after completing her graduate studies in clinical psychology (Ph.D. from University of California, Los Angeles). Her professional life has been primarily as a psychologist in a variety of public and private settings, mainly in Haifa, and included teaching in Tel Aviv University (counselling department that no longer exists) and Haifa University (law school). Susan was active as a volunteer in the Israel Family Therapy Association, first as founder and chairman of the Haifa branch (1981-1987) and later as President of the national association (1988-1993). In addition to her work as a psychologist and couple therapist, she was one of the leaders in bringing mediation to Israel. She was among the founders of the first mediation center in Haifa (1994) and was the chairperson from 1997-2000. She trained thousands of lawyers and other professionals in mediation courses around the country (1988-2015), and served as a divorce mediator for thousands of couples over the years (1991- present). Dr. Zaidel served on several committees concerning mediation in the Ministry of Justice and in the court system (1992-2005). She wrote the first book about divorce mediation in Israel Divorce With Respect, 1991 and the Hebrew version, גירושין בדרך אחרת, 1993. Her more recent book was published in 2004, only in Hebrew, להתגרש ולהישאר חברים. Dr. Zaidel moved to Herzliya in 2018 and has become involved in ESRA as a volunteer counsellor. She maintains a private practice as a psychologist, marriage counsellor and family mediator. Susan and her Israeli husband have four children and eleven grandchildren.