Welcome! I am an interdisciplinary scholar and conflict resolution practitioner interested in core questions of identity- including religious, cultural, national and gender identities- in peace and reconciliation. My work focuses on political science, with strong roots in political psychology, social psychology, sociology and cultural anthropology. It is based in a scholar-practitioner approach informed by my own work and training in conciliation, facilitation, negotiation and mediation.
I am an Assistant Professor at Kent State University in the School of Peace and Conflict Studies, focusing on community conflicts and conflict resolution. My prior position was as the Mellon Post-Doctoral Scholar in Peace and Conflict Studies at Grinnell College located in beautiful Grinnell, Iowa. In the past I have taught at UC Irvine, San Diego State University and Chapman University on topics including alternative dispute resolution, conflict resolution, gender, public policy, the Middle East, and research methods. I hold a PhD from the Department of Political Science at the University of California Irvine. In addition I hold a BA from the University of Chicago in Comparative Human Development, a MA in Counseling Psychology from Northwestern University, and a MA in Political Psychology from UC Irvine.
I am also a certified mediator in California with hundreds of hours of mediation experience. In Iowa, I continued my conflict resolution practice working with programs such as the Alternatives to Violence Project. In addition to my academic work, I consult with projects that help bring education to women and girls around the world. I have worked with the Harvard Student Study in the past and currently work with groups including CalPak, an education management organization bringing education to girls in Pakistan.
My academic work and practice examines race and religious relations within the United States. I specialize in research and community building around issues of identity in conflict and peace-building. Much of my work focuses on inter-group relations and inter-group contact related to the Israeli Palestinian conflict. This includes political, racial, and religious tensions in the United States. I have worked and continue to work actively with the Olive Tree Initiative, NewGround: Muslim Jewish Partnership for Change, The Department of Justice Community Relations Service, and the National Conflict Resolution Center. I have also conducted international field work in the Middle East; I was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Tel Aviv and Inter-Disciplinary Center in Herzliya as a Rotary Global Grant Scholar during the 2013-2014 academic year.
My research — published in Del Felice and Wisler's (eds.) Peace education evaluation: Learning from experience and exploring prospects and in top peer reviewed journals including Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology— has been supported by Rotary International, the Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC), the School of Social Science Dean's Fellowship, the UCI Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies, the Center for Citizen Peace Building Kugleman Fellowship, and the Department of Political Science at UC Irvine.
My projects on community-centered research and improving diversity and inclusion have been highlighted by the American Political Science Association and various media outlets, including pieces such as "Militarized response to protests nationwide worries local experts" by Jennifer Pignolet of the Akron Beacon Journal (https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/education/2020/06/02/militarized-response-to-protests-nationwide-worries-local-experts/113365250/).
I am an Assistant Professor at Kent State University in the School of Peace and Conflict Studies, focusing on community conflicts and conflict resolution. My prior position was as the Mellon Post-Doctoral Scholar in Peace and Conflict Studies at Grinnell College located in beautiful Grinnell, Iowa. In the past I have taught at UC Irvine, San Diego State University and Chapman University on topics including alternative dispute resolution, conflict resolution, gender, public policy, the Middle East, and research methods. I hold a PhD from the Department of Political Science at the University of California Irvine. In addition I hold a BA from the University of Chicago in Comparative Human Development, a MA in Counseling Psychology from Northwestern University, and a MA in Political Psychology from UC Irvine.
I am also a certified mediator in California with hundreds of hours of mediation experience. In Iowa, I continued my conflict resolution practice working with programs such as the Alternatives to Violence Project. In addition to my academic work, I consult with projects that help bring education to women and girls around the world. I have worked with the Harvard Student Study in the past and currently work with groups including CalPak, an education management organization bringing education to girls in Pakistan.
My academic work and practice examines race and religious relations within the United States. I specialize in research and community building around issues of identity in conflict and peace-building. Much of my work focuses on inter-group relations and inter-group contact related to the Israeli Palestinian conflict. This includes political, racial, and religious tensions in the United States. I have worked and continue to work actively with the Olive Tree Initiative, NewGround: Muslim Jewish Partnership for Change, The Department of Justice Community Relations Service, and the National Conflict Resolution Center. I have also conducted international field work in the Middle East; I was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Tel Aviv and Inter-Disciplinary Center in Herzliya as a Rotary Global Grant Scholar during the 2013-2014 academic year.
My research — published in Del Felice and Wisler's (eds.) Peace education evaluation: Learning from experience and exploring prospects and in top peer reviewed journals including Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology— has been supported by Rotary International, the Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC), the School of Social Science Dean's Fellowship, the UCI Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies, the Center for Citizen Peace Building Kugleman Fellowship, and the Department of Political Science at UC Irvine.
My projects on community-centered research and improving diversity and inclusion have been highlighted by the American Political Science Association and various media outlets, including pieces such as "Militarized response to protests nationwide worries local experts" by Jennifer Pignolet of the Akron Beacon Journal (https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/education/2020/06/02/militarized-response-to-protests-nationwide-worries-local-experts/113365250/).
