Board of Directors
Diane Helms
CRC President, REALTOR and Owner of Sierra Gold Realty and Mediation Services
Diane is passionate about mediation and restoring relationships. She has been a Certified Mediator, Past President and Board Member for CRC since 2000, specializing in both Real Estate and family disputes. A local Real Estate Broker and Owner of Sierra Gold Realty/ Mediation Services, she is a Broker Associate with C 21 Cornerstone with 40 years of Negotiating experience. Diane serves as Vice Chair of the C. A.R. Professional Standards Committee, a Director for the California Association of Realtors and a Certified Ombudsman/Mediator. She is a public speaker, instructor, coach and Mediator in both public and private sectors. Other training includes Victim/Offender classes, Mediation Certification from Pepperdine, Certification from Peacemakers Ministries for Biblical Mediation and Coaching and Lay Counselor training from A New Day. She also serves as Team Leader/Mediator for Twin Cities Church. www.dianehelms.com
Barbara Camarena
CRC Vice-President, Attorney, Certified Mediator
Barbara has been an attorney for 35 years, working in the public sector (juvenile dependency and child support) as well as in private practice (criminal defense). She has volunteered as a judge pro tem for traffic and small claims courts, taught Criminal Law, Evidence, and Ethics for ten years at an evening law school, and has been a speaker at various legal seminars and trainings. Barbara retired as a Supervising Attorney for Santa Clara County Department of Child Support Services in 2015 and moved to Grass Valley in 2017.
Nalini Snell
CRC Board Member, Mediator, Holistic Health Professional
Nalini is passionate about supporting people to resolve conflict, repair relationships and restore well-being. Through her 20 years of experience as a holistic health professional, Nalini found that the stress and dysregulation from conflict (both internal and external) in her client's lives contributed greatly to their physical ailments. She now teaches ways of communicating, listening and relating (with oneself or others) that promote deeper connection, harmony and health. As the youngest and newest board member, Nalini brings freshness to the group and organization.
Debbie Sansome Garber
CRC Board Member, Mediator, Court Coordinator
Debbie has been a certified mediator with CRC since 2010. Guiding people to find their own mutually agreed upon solution to a dispute through communication and discovering common ground, is just one of many aspects of mediation Debbie enjoys. She finds that every mediation presents a new and different challenge and a glimpse of humanity at it finest and often its most vulnerable. She applies the tools, skills, and techniques learned through mediation, in a variety of areas in her life.
Leaving a twenty year career in upper management of a large non-profit community service organization, Debbie moved from Palo Alto to Grass Valley in 1997 to raise her two children in a more rural environment. She soon began a new career as a Special Education Resource Specialist, retiring in June 2020. In addition to mediating in court each week, Debbie looks forward to spending her retirement time in her garden, spending time with friends, traveling, taking long walks with her dog, and finding some peace and joy in each day.
Thomas Lambie (Rio)
CRC Secretary, Builder, Blue Mountain Builders
Rio has been a free-lance builder for more than 30 years, formerly specializing in rammed earth construction. He is also a gold miner and general hunter/gatherer. He has served on the CRC Board of Directors since completing his basic mediation training in early 2007 and is a former Board President and Vice-President. Rio is co-director of CRC’s court mediation program. Like his fellow board members, he loves to mediate and has participated in more than 700 mediations in his 13 years of practice. In addition to his involvement with CRC, Rio is a former board member of Nevada County’s Peace and Justice Center.
Kathy Foster
CRC Treasurer, Certified Mediator
Kathy Foster has a professional background in business administration and project management in both small business and corporate settings. She served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for Alameda County, as well as a staff member or volunteer for numerous non-profit organizations. Her quiet demeanor and natural ability to listen and see multiple sides of situations has contributed to her success in the various roles and environments in which she has worked.
Kathy took the CRC mediation training in October 2015 and has been mediating with CRC since then. She joined the Board of CRC in June 2016.
Aaron Casteel
CRC Board Member, Founder: PeaceArchitect.com, Executive Director: Placer Dispute Resolution
Aaron comes to mediation from a 30 year career as a technology executive. His roles ranged from startup founder to corporate product manager. He has negotiated multimillion-dollar contracts, resolved complex customer satisfaction issues and collaboratively driven high performance with global teams. From these experiences, he has developed a mediator’s skillset of active listening, interest-based negotiation and turning conflict into opportunity.
In 2018, Aaron took the CRC meditation training and completed a certificate program in conflict resolution through U.C. Davis. He has been meditating in both the CRC court program and its community-based meditation program since then. He joined the CRC board in September 2019. In 2021, he helped to found Placer Dispute Resolution, where he serves as the Executive Director.