About Surinder

A Career Built on Helping People Find Their Footing

Mediator · CDFA® · Columbia MBA · Community Leader

Man with beard and wearing a turban, sitting on the steps outside, smiling at the camera.
The Foundation

Where It Starts

Long before I sat across the table from couples navigating divorce, I was sitting across the table from people who had lost everything - their housing, their stability, their sense of what came next.

For years, I have served as Chairman of the Board for Brooklyn Community Housing & Services, an organization that provides housing for over 1,200 New Yorkers each year so they can reclaim their independence and rebuild their lives.

That work changed how I think about helping people and it's the belief I carry into every mediation

"People don't need to be rescued. They need the right information, the right structure, and someone genuinely in their corner and they will find their own way forward."

— THE BELIEF BEHIND EVERY MEDIATION

Teaching clarity

An Educator at Heart

Visiting Professor · Business & Entrepreneurship
CEO · Peer PowerED Financial Wellness

My passion for empowering others extends well beyond any single room or role.

As a Visiting Professor of Business and Entrepreneurship, and as the CEO of Peer PowerED Financial Wellness, I've spent years making complex ideas accessible, breaking down financial concepts that can feel intimidating and turning them into tools people can actually use.

Whether I'm teaching a college seminar or helping a couple untangle twenty years of shared finances, my goal is always the same: to move people from uncertainty to clarity, and from clarity to confidence.

I believe that when people truly understand their options, they make better decisions for themselves, their families, and their futures.

A different approach

Why Mediation

I came to divorce mediation because I kept seeing the same thing: smart, capable people handing over the most important decisions of their lives to a legal process that wasn't designed with them in mind.

Litigation is built for conflict. It rewards escalation. And far too often, it leaves both people and their children worse off than they needed to be.

I knew there was a better way. And I had the background to offer it.

My training as a Professional Divorce Mediator, combined with my credential as a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA®) and my foundation in finance from Columbia Business School, allows me to do something most mediators can't: handle both the emotional architecture of the process and the financial complexity underneath it. You get one trusted guide through both.

Professional Divorce Mediator
CDFA® Certified
Columbia Business School
My promise to you

What You Can Expect from Me

I am not a therapist, and I'm not your attorney. What I am is a neutral, skilled professional who is fully committed to making sure both of you leave this process informed, respected, and ready to move forward.

  • Equal information

    No one should sign an agreement they don't fully understand. I bridge the knowledge gap so both partners have equal access to the financial picture.

  • Complexity handled

    The legal and financial details can be overwhelming. I take that weight off your plate and translate it into plain language.

  • The Focus on what matters

    Your children.
    Your long-term security.
    Your ability to build something stable on the other side of this.

  • The better path

    Mediation isn't easy. It requires willingness from both partners. But for families who choose it, it is almost always the right choice.

Ready to talk?

I'd be honored to be part of your next chapter.

If you're ready to explore whether mediation is right for your situation, I invite you to schedule a confidential consultation. There's no pressure and no commitment - just a conversation about where you are and where you want to go.