Leadership Team
Walter L. Darr, Jr
President & CEO
Walter L. Darr, Jr. is President and CEO of the Organization, where he leads strategic direction, growth, and operational excellence, while managing key relationships and ensuring long-term success. A sought-after Neutral, Walter brings over 36 years of expertise in labor relations, mediation, and collective bargaining.
Previously, Walter served as Field Operations Manager at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), supervising more than 20 mediators across the southern and midwestern U.S., and as Commissioner for Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana. Earlier, he spent nearly five years as a Mediator with the National Mediation Board (NMB), facilitating positive labor-management relations for industries governed by the Railway Labor Act and instructing in Dominican University’s Masters of Conflict Resolution program.
As Principal of his own consulting firm, Walter provided services in mediation, alternative dispute resolution, human resources, labor relations, contract negotiations, and organizational effectiveness for clients across both the Railway Labor Act and National Labor Relations Act sectors.
He co-authored “Options for Improving Negotiations and Dispute Resolution: A Report of the Working Group on Airline Labor Relations” with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and MIT’s Global Airline Industry Study. Walter earned a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, completed training in Interest Based Bargaining and Grievance Mediation, and holds a certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution from the University of Houston Law Center.
Active in the field, he serves on the Board of Directors for the Texas Labor Management Conference and as Second Vice President of the Houston Chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Association.
Hon. Justice Jerry Zimmerer
Director of Education, Training, and Credentialing
The Honorable Justice Jerry Zimmerer serves as Director of Education, Training, and Credentialing for the National Mediation and Conciliation Service (NMCS), where he oversees the development of national training programs, credentialing standards, and continuing education for mediators, arbitrators, and other dispute resolution professionals.
With a distinguished legal and judicial career spanning more than four decades, Justice Zimmerer brings unmatched depth and experience to the field of dispute resolution. His leadership at NMCS reflects a lifelong commitment to professionalism, impartiality, and access to justice.
Justice Zimmerer previously served with distinction on the Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals, where he authored hundreds of legal opinions and was widely recognized for his clarity, fairness, and commitment to the rule of law. He has also served in various capacities as a trial and appellate advocate, arbitrator, and mediator, and has been instrumental in designing education programs for judges, lawyers, and neutrals across the country.
Throughout his career, Justice Zimmerer has advanced initiatives promoting judicial integrity, ethics in dispute resolutions, and increased access to quality dispute resolution services. A respected legal scholar and thought leader, he frequently lectures on arbitration ethics, hybrid dispute processes, and innovations in mediation.
*Justice Zimmerer also serves as a neutral in labor relations mediations.