Stephen Erickson co-founded Erickson Mediation Institute (EMI) in 1977. Since that time, he has been practicing family mediation and other types of mediation as well as training mediators nationally and internationally. Steve and his wife, Marilyn McKnight, have co-authored numerous articles and several books including The Children's Book: For the Sake of the Children (1992) and Mediating Divorce: A Client Workbook (2000). Both are past Presidents of the Academy of Family Mediators, and continue to contribute to the field as consultants and trainers.

Marilyn McKnight has practiced exclusively in the field of mediation since founding Erickson Mediation Institute in 1977. A former member of the Board and former President of the Academy of Family Mediators (AFM), Marilyn served on the Test Design Project for the study of mediator certification. In 1996, she and Stephen Erickson were awarded AFM’s Distinguished Mediator Award for their outstanding contributions to the field of mediation.  Marilyn served as the president of the Minnesota Chapter of ACR when it merged with the state mediation association, and continues to serve on the board of the merged organization, Conflict Resolution Minnesota.  She has co-authored five highly successful books on mediation and is an adjunct professor at the William Mitchell College of Law.