David Gage, Ph.D.

Disciplines: Mediator and Clinical Psychologist

David Gage is a leader in the field of business mediation and the founder of BMC Associates. Dr. Gage has over 25 years of experience as a mediator and 30 years of experience as a clinical psychologist. In his clinical practice, he specialized in couples, family, and group therapy. He has spoken to bar associations and business and professional organizations locally and nationally, has been interviewed on radio and TV, written for the Washington Business Journal, Executive Excellence, Family Business, and was featured in the New York Times, Fortune, Nation’s Business, and The Washington Post. Dr. Gage’s book on effective partnerships, The Partnership Charter: How To Start Out Right With Your New Business Partnership (Or Fix The One You’re In), was published in July of 2004. He has served in the following roles:

• Founder and Director, BMC Associates. 1990-present.
• Clinical Psychologist Private Practice. 1981-present.
• Adjunct Professor, Kogod College of Business Administration, American University. Teaching courses on family-owned businesses. 1997-2016.
• Co-owner and Director, Travel Horizons, Inc., Arlington, Virginia. 1980-2007.
• Mediator, Mediation Trainer, and Consultant. Dispute Resolution Division, D.C. Superior Court. 1987-1995.
• Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland. Supervised psychiatry residents in couples and family therapy. 1984-1988.
• Consultant, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. Performed psychological evaluations and diagnoses. 1984-1987.
• Assistant Supervisor for Clinical Training, Family Therapy Practice Center of Washington. Supervised therapists in couples and family therapy. 1983-1987.

EDUCATION
1983 Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.
1975 B.A. with Distinction, Major in Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
1969-71 United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Licensed Psychologist, Virginia
Member, Family Firm Institute
Member, American Psychological Association
Member, District of Columbia Psychological Association
Member, American Bar Association, Section of Dispute Resolution

BOOK:

• The Partnership Charter: How To Start Out Right With Your New Business Partnership (Or Fix The One You’re In), David Gage

ARTICLES AND CHAPTERS IN BOOKS:

• Estate Planning as a Family: A Collaborative Approach, Passages: National Center for Family Philanthropy, David Gage
• Holistic Estate Planning and Integrating Mediation in the Planning Process, Real Property, Probate and Trust Journal (American Bar Association), David Gage, John Gromala, and Edward Kopf
• O Partner, Where Art Thou? Kogod Today (American University Kogod School of Business), David Gage
• Marital Charters and Prenuptial Agreements, American Journal of Family Law, David Gage, Edward Kopf, and John Gromala
• Mediating Personality Differences Behind Internal Business Disputes, The CPA Journal, John Gromala and David Gage
• Business Partners Need Mediation – Before They Know It, NC Bar Dispute Resolution Section
• Achieving Collaboration through Mediation, In The Family Business Conflict Resolution Handbook (Family Business Publishing Company), David Gage and Scott Meza
• Not All Business! Mediating the Personality Differences behind Internal Business Disputes, GPSolo (American Bar Association), David Gage and John Gromala
• Successor Partners: Gifting or Transferring a Business or Real Property to the Next Generation, ACTEC Journal (The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel), David Gage, John Gromala, and Edward Kopf
• Partners, Fairness and Compensation, In The Family Business Compensation Handbook (Family Business Publishing Company), David Gage
• Stepping into the Fray: Mediating Client Disputes, CPA Administrator’s & Manager’s Report, David Gage
• A Family Charter to Keep the Family Business Running Smoothly, Bottom Line Business, David Gage
• Tools for Family Business Teams: Partnership Charters, In The Family Business Handbook: Building Strong Family Teams (Family Business Publishing Company), David Gage, Dawn Martin, and John Gromala
• Avoiding Costly Legal Battles Through Mediation, Management Productivity Review, David Gage
• Business Mediation Helps A/E Firms Make Leadership Changes, Engineering Times, David Gage and John Gromala
• Choosing Between Siblings: Take a Test Drive, Nation’s Business, David Gage
• Choosing the Right Partner, Journal of Clinical Orthodontics, David Gage
• The Use of Mediation in Estate Planning, Trusts & Estates, John Gromala and David Gage
• Clearing the Heir: Defuse Conflicts Before the Handoff, Textile Rental, David Gage
• Family Estate Feuds: Inevitable or Avoidable? Ticker, David Gage and John Gromala
• Having Partners: A Bad Idea? Growing Companies (American Express), David Gage
• Ingredients for a Successful Partnership, Camping Magazine, Tony Stein and David Gage
• Mediation Retreats: A Pre-Estate Planning Strategy, Private Wealth Management, David Gage and John Gromala
• Mediation in Estate Planning: A Strategy for Everyone’s Benefit, Elder’s Advisor: The Journal of Elder Law and Post-retirement Planning, David Gage and John Gromala
• Mediation: One Discipline or Many? National Institute for Dispute Resolution Journal, David Gage and Melinda Ostermeyer
• Preventing Conflict, Executive Excellence, David Gage
• Resolving Disputes Among Business Partners and Owners, California Psychologist, David Gage and John Gromala
• Resolving Disputes in Family Businesses, Chesapeake Bay Organization Development Newsletter, David Gage
• Taking the Headache Out of Succession Planning, Rural Telecommunications, David Gage
• The Hafts and Mediation: Lessons for Businesses, The Washington Business Journal, David Gage
• Trustee/Beneficiary Mediation = Less Litigation, Trusts & Estates, John Gromala and David Gage
• Minimize Litigation in Estates, Trusts, and Among Business Owners Through Mediation During the Planning Stage, Southern California Tax and Estate Planning Forum (CPE Tape), David Gage, John Gromala, and Jan Bohn
• Estate Planning and Family Business Mediation, ADR Report (The Bureau of National Affairs), John Gromala and David Gage
• Selecting a Partner to Assure a Successful Medical/Dental Partnership, In Change Your Practice Successfully (Canterbury Press), David Gage
• Mediation: An Important Tool for Family Owned Businesses, Small Business News, David Gage
• Leaders Who Err…and Fall, The Washington Business Journal, David Gage
• The Benefits of Mediated Family Estate-Planning Retreats, ACResolution (The Association for Conflict Resolution), David Gage and Dawn Martin
• Addressing Partnership Issues as a Preventive Measure, In The Family Conflict Resolution Handbook (Family Business Publishing Company), David Gage, Dawn Martin, and John Gromala

BLOG POSTS:

• Co-Ownership of Property: Generations Repeating Generations, David Gage
• Fairness and Pay in Family Business, David Gage and Liubov Sivokhina
• Solving the Partner Puzzle: Mediators Find the Pieces, David Gage