Global Ties U.S. is proud to support a Network-wide Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Working Group, which will have two objectives: 1) to examine our current practices with implementing the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and make recommendations to improve diversity and inclusion practices in programming, home hospitality, resource, and volunteer recruitment, etc. to, as Anne Grimes said, “be part of a solution that advances racial justice and equity, and further showcases the rich tapestry of American experiences to our international visitors” and 2) to develop a community of practice to support organizational leadership in meeting our collective DEI goals.Drafted and Co-Developed the Programmers Toolkit to enhance multicultural competency in the implementation of the Department of State VLP programming in the U.S.

Provide leadership for GPPAC, a civil society organization based in the Hague representing more than 1500 civil society organizations around the world, for 10+ years. As Chair (2018 - 2020) and Co-Chair of the PEWG (2005 - 2017), brought together civil society, peace education practitioners, academia and representatives of Ministries of Education or relevant government agencies to 1) build capacity of peace educators, teachers, and civil society organizations; 2) convene Ministries of Education/government equivalents to endorse and support peace education in national curricula; 3) support the exchange of materials, manuals, curricula, learning modules and lessons learned around peace education; and 4) maintain and develop a network of organizations and individuals engaged with peace education to support learning around peace education.Recent Projects:+ (2020 - 2021) Good Practice Guidance for Implementing Education for Peace, Conflict Resolution and Social Emotional Learning at Scale in Education Systems, Webinar Series, Co-Hosted with Dr. Margaret Sinclair+ Developed and facilitated two 6 week on-line courses for global government and international CSO professionals 1. Teaching Social Emotional Learning, Conflict Resolution and Peace Education through Technology September - November 2020; 2. Core Skills for Teaching Peace, Conflict Resolution Education and Social Emotional Learning in the Classroom November - December 2020+ Developing, Coordinating, and Co-Facilitating the 9th International Seminar for Colleges and Universities Developing and Enhancing their Peace and Conflict Studies Programs March - April 2021 (Virtual)

The Ohio Peace and Conflict Studies Network, founded in 2019, brings together 19+ colleges and universities from across the state of Ohio that are promoting peace and constructive approaches to conflict. Coordinate the expansion of the network and its resources through collaborative efforts with the partner educational institutions to offer webinars, resources, events, professional development and special projects. Current projects include the development of a searchable database for student internships in the field, a monthly student leadership award, and a database of student peace and related clubs in Ohio. There are free webinars offered monthly presented by the experts at each institution.

Serve on the Advisory for the Center for Conflict Managements and as the training coordinator for the Center. Provide custom training in conflict management and related topics for community organizations (Including the City of Canton, City of Akron)+ UA departments, administrators, faculty, staff and students.The global education and technology course, taught both to graduates and undergraduates through the College of Education, Curricular and Instructional Studies Department, covers Theories, materials, and methods for teaching global education through e-learning and web-based tools. The focus is on opportunities and challenges in using technology to teach about the world, its people, and issues.. The Introduction to the teaching profession is designed to explore the purposes of schools in society and what is required to be an effective teacher today. It includes 10 field hours of field observation in an urban setting.

The focus of this course is on providing in-service teachers with knowledge and skills related to conflict resolution that can be directly applied to various classroom settings, emphasizing the balance between social and emotional learning needed to sustain productive learning environments. As professionals seeking to advance their teaching skills, students examine their own pedagogical strategies that promote a healthy learning environment in the classroom. Students hands-on experiences in the integration of educational theory and practice involve them reading and discussing educational research and theory as they engage in teaching and reflection. Students become familiar with principles of conflict resolution and related instructional strategies appropriate for various learners and contexts, identify appropriate classroom management skills and techniques, develop relevant means of assessing diverse students, and apply principles and strategies for use in actual classroom settings.

2011 - 2016 - Serve as a topic expert speaker in education and violence prevention, school safety, peacebuilding and conflict resolution. Host international delegates and Fulbright students for dinners, special events, and for week long U.S. Department of State educational learning exchanges. 2015 - Elected to the boardJuly, 2016 - Elected as Vice PresidentAugust 2016 - December 2016 - Serving as Mentor for IREX Community Solutions Program Leader from GhanaSeptember 2018Organize and facilitate International Visitor Leadership Programs funded by the U.S. Department of State on topics such as Countering Violent Extremism, Conflict Resolution, Peacebuilding, Youth and Violence Prevention, Human Trafficking2021 - Coordinate joint City Book Read; Coordinate public school citizen journalist interviews for editions of the Karen and Congolese Global Threads Akron on-line Editions scheduled for Spring 20212022 - Program Officer for International Visitor Leadership Programs (IVLP)

Coordinating efforts of the volunteer Hudson DEI Taskforce in their development of a 501(c)3 (housed within the Hudson Community Foundation). We strive to create a culture that welcomes, celebrates, and advocates for all expressions of identity and differences and actively ensures the respect and dignity of every person. Current efforts - Bringing therapy dogs into the local schools to assist with mental health needs of students, coordinating the city-wide civic engagement dialogue training, and coordinating the city-wide collaborative efforts to support refugee resettlement in Summit County through the International Institute of Akron. Sample Past Projects: Coordinate the City-wide book read and dialogue series and the 3-part webinar series Jan. 11, 20, and Feb.4 on Constructive Conversations: Finding Valid Information and How to Use it.

* HTAC was dedicated to improving the lives of children in Afghanistan through quality education and helping them become educated, healthy, productive citizens. http://www.helptheafghanchildren.org/* Prior to serving on the Advisory, coordinated the development of peace education curriculum for secondary schools for use by the Ministry of Education of Afghanistan, under the direction of the Executive Director of HTAC. Project funded by the United States Institute of Peace.

Developed and convened the International Conference on Conflict Resolution Education in 2014 and 2015. Details at www.CREducation.org/cre/goto/creconf

Conducted global scoping study on existing initiatives and tools that support the integration of crisis- sensitive measures (conflict and disaster risk reduction) in sector planning and curriculum development/implementation processes with an emphasis on good practices of key partners. Created how to guidance documents for ministries of education on Conflict and Disaster Risk Reduction Education curriculum review, curriculum revision, textbook review and revision, teacher training, and monitoring and evaluation. Assisting with the development of corresponding web page with links to free tools on C/DRR for ministries of education and their education partners.

• Advised on strategic planning for the national roll out of the Sustained Dialogue Campus Network (SDCN) to colleges and universities in the U.S.• Provided training and technical assistance to U.S. Colleges and Universities in the Sustained Dialogue Campus Network such as Auburn University, The Ohio State University, Montana State University and Denison College.• Represented IISD and SDCN at conferences and strategic meetings.

Advanced the Centers mission by providing an intl. exchange of best practices to enhance the capacity within our community to address social challenges by convening policy makers, academics, & practitioners to provide a global perspective & design sustainable, multi-cultural solutions.Sample Intl. Experience:* Project assoc. for USIP grant w/Help the Afghan Children, developed natl. peace education (P.E.) curriculum standards for Afghanistan & curriculum* Worked w/Min. of Ed. of Kyrgyzstan to train curriculum developers in conflict resolution (C.R.) to integrate into natl. standards for social studies*Developed intl. faculty development on C.R. in Costa Rica w/Sinclair Community College* Hosted & facilitated 3 Intl.Policy Working Group Meetings for Gov. & NGO representatives from 13 countries in Costa Rica & the U.S.* Hosted 6 intl. conferences on CRE bringing together gov.s & NGOs w/ policies in CRE & PE * Provided training and consultation for educators and policymakers in Australia, Afghanistan, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Guatemala, Colombia, India, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, S. Korea, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad & Tobago, & Ukraine.Sample U.S. Projects:*Initiated & co-led development of Ohios 1st certificate in Conflict Resolution & Peace Studies at a community college (C.C.)*Developed1st Sustained Dialogue Campus Network at a C.C. in U.S., & managed it across 3 campuses *Coordinated natl. seminar on developing peace and conflict studies programs for U.S. colleges for 3 years *Developed pilot peer mediation program, 1st at a C.C. in Ohio* Coordinated development of 1st study abroad in peace and conflict studies for Community Colleges for Intl. Development (CCID) w/ 2 other colleges*Co-coordinated Ohio Criminal Justice grant for creation of curriculum, training, & standards for Ohio County Juvenile Detention Facilities*Co-coordinated development of natl. “How to Manual for Community Colleges Developing Peace & Conflict Studies Programs

* Costa Rica (November 2010) Coordinated a working group policy development meeting of Ministries of Education from Central America and around the globe (13 countries) on the topic of Sustainable regional education efforts for safer more inclusive communities in partnership with the Ministry of Education of Costa Rica. * Three Countries in the Caribbean (2010 - 2011) Providing training for educators, NGOs, and government officials from three countries in the Caribbean for, An Inter-Sectoral Approach to Fostering a Democratic Culture in Schools and Local Communities in Countries of the Caribbean. This builds on earlier work for the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Education in Trinidad and Tobago. Funding provided by the Organization of American States. * Costa Rica (2009 – 2010) Provided a training of trainers for Ministry of Education staff in conflict management, bullying prevention, and classroom management. Prepared the curriculum and training materials which were translated into Spanish. Project funded through the Organization of American States Horizontal Cooperation Fund.* Trinidad and Tobago (2009) Provided training for Ministry of Education and Ministry of Local Government officials in conflict resolution education (CRE) to assist in building the country’s capacity for developing and strengthening a culture of democracy among youth in Trinidad. Project funded through the Organization of American States Horizontal Cooperation Fund.* Guatemala (2008) Served as a facilitator and presenter for the December 2008 meeting for the Organization of American States Advisory Board of the Inter-American Program on Education for Democratic Values and Practices.

Coordinated the maintenance and expansion of school conflict management (SCM) activities through grants, training, technical assistance, event planning, and publications through state agency for all Ohio public Pre-K - 12 schools (approximately 3,600) and teacher training colleges & universities (52).Sample Initiatives:*Designed Ohios first Conflict Resolution Education (CRE) Institute for Higher Educ. Faculty (worked with 36 of our 52 colleges)*Coordinated/designed SCM state-wide grant trainings, 600 + public schools K-12*Initiated Ohios first distance learning course in SCM*Coordinated design of Ohios SCM Curriculum Resource Guides (K-8) and (7-12), used in 1200+ Ohio schools*Exec. Advisory for the Natl. CRE in Teacher Education (CRETE) program for pre-service teachers/faculty in U.S. Colleges of Education*Co-designer of distance learning course on SCM for USDE*Conference Coordinator for the National Conference on CRE 2004 & 2005 *Co-organized CRE Working group for UN symposium, July 2005, Role of Civil Societies in the Prevention of Armed Conflict* Initiated and assisted in the design of Ohios first distance learning course in Creating a Comprehensive School Conflict Management Program offered by the University of Cincinnati* Designed a state-wide youth art exhibition for all of Ohios public schools for the year 2000 International Decade of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World