At the time, Steiner was enrolled in , and had taken a few courses at 91短视频 (91短视频). But the recurring request for local mediation made him reevaluate his educational path.

Steiner gathered a trusted group to help discern his next step. He decided to transfer into the at 贰惭鲍鈥檚 . He devoted the required semester-long practicum to exploring mediation possibilities in Ohio.

Two years after earning his master鈥檚 degree 鈥� and the practicum experience which provided the foundation 鈥� Steiner and his community partners have created , a nonprofit organization committed to 鈥渢ransforming the culture of conflict in Holmes and Wayne counties of Ohio.鈥�

Professor , Steiner鈥檚 advisor during his practicum, says CJP students typically come in on one of two tracks. Some enter the program unsure of their focus and discover it along the way.

Others, like Steiner, enter with a vision of the work they are called to do. CJP then equips them to achieve those goals.

鈥淭hat kind of entrepreneurship is what the peacebuilding community needs,鈥� says Brubaker.

Localized needs assessment conducted during practicum

Steiner鈥檚 practicum experience was a key piece of the strategic planning process that led to Connexus.

For his four-month practicum, Steiner decided 鈥渢o flesh out more in depth that question of developing conflict mediation resources for our community.鈥�

Steiner returned to Ohio and began his research. What current and historical resources were available for conflict management and mediation? What did local nonprofits, business leaders, churches and residents lack in this area? How were other mediation organizations operated, such as in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and in Bryan, Ohio?

This research culminated in a 鈥渧isioning session鈥� in July 2014. Steiner invited key stakeholders from Holmes and Wayne counties to brainstorm how a mediation center might look and function. He also invited Brubaker to facilitate the gathering so that Steiner himself could present on the results of his extensive conversations with leaders from throughout the two-county area.

Steiner says this was 鈥渢he moment that really helped me coalesce.鈥� The group identified education and training in conflict transformation and networking for existing mediation resources as their primary objectives. They also decided to proceed in 鈥渁n organic model,鈥� says Steiner, gathering volunteer efforts rather than building an organization from the top down.

Broad community support is more important, Steiner says, than 鈥渢he injection of a lot of energy, a lot of vision, a lot of money, a lot of building.鈥� This approach means that growth is slow, but hopefully, more sustainable. Twelve individuals continued to meet, forming a steering committee.

Educating the community

Almost three years later, Connexus 鈥� the organization that grew out of that visioning session 鈥� has conducted mediations, built a network of mediation practitioners, published a website, assembled a board, and gained non-profit status. Steiner volunteers for the organization while working at Venture Products, a small-scale tractor developer based in Orrville.

In November, Connexus began hosting storytelling events to demonstrate mediation to those unfamiliar with the practice.

鈥淚鈥檝e come to realize that people still stigmatize conflict,鈥� says Steiner. 鈥淚t feels as though, if you ask for help in a conflict, that somehow there鈥檚 something really wrong with you … it helped me realize how hard this journey was going to be.鈥�

In the spring, Steiner combined a guest sermon at an area church with a basic communication and conflict management training. By these small steps, an organization is built, as people learn what exactly Connexus could offer their family or community.

One insight Steiner took away from his practicum dealt with questions of efficacy. In general, he says, communities with longstanding not-for-profit mediation centers all had 鈥済raduates鈥� who had gone on to develop their own niche practices.

鈥淥ur goal is not so much to develop the empire,鈥� explains Steiner. 鈥淚t鈥檚 to build the capacity in our community so that, if there are people who want to develop their own practice, they have those skills. It鈥檚 not about Connexus so much as it鈥檚 about our long-term community goals.鈥�

The event is also designed to give participants a preview of the community atmosphere and courses offered at SPI, a program of the which hosts five sessions in May and June on a variety of topics including trauma awareness, restorative justice, leadership, program management and responding to violent extremism.

Since 1994, more than 3,000 people have attended SPI from more than 120 countries. While the early years of SPI were geared more towards international participants, there has been a push in the last few years to attract local participants and respond to local situations.

鈥淭his is a way to give more focus to the local community,鈥� says , admissions director.

Last year, a middle school teacher, veteran, pastor and community kitchen manager were among the 65 regional peacebuilders in attendance at SPI Community Day. After 鈥渟uch a positive response鈥� last year, Roth Shank says the maximum attendance has been increased to 80.

The event includes a breakfast presentation on community organizing by Dr. , professor of restorative justice; two 90-minute workshops, a lunch presentation and a networking event.

鈥淭he underlying focus is going to be community organizing and leading,鈥� says Roth Shank. 鈥淚n the current political climate 鈥� people are looking for ways to build bridges and be engaged.鈥�

Workshop offerings include

• Organizational Use of Circles, with Dr. ;
• Leadership and Management for the Common Good, with Dr. ;
• Conflict Coaching, with Dr. ;
• Program and Project Management, with ;
• Transforming Power of Identity and Dignity, with Dr. ;
• Faith-Based Peacebuilding: Structuring Hope Locally, with The Rev. Roy Hange.

Participants will depart with deeper networks and valuable skills related to organizational leadership, says SPI Director , while also learning more about the resources of SPI and the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding.

鈥淚 believe, as do many others, that in the coming years, communities are going to have to increasingly rely on their own organizations and service providers as there will be less help forthcoming from the federal government,鈥� says Goldberg. 鈥淪PI Community Day is a great chance for 91短视频 to make better connections with these local providers, give them the skills they need to succeed and help them become better connected with each other.鈥�

The conference is hosted by the (PJSA), dedicated to bringing together academics, K-12 teachers, and grassroots activists to explore alternatives to violence and share visions and strategies for peacebuilding, social justice and social聽change.

“PJSA is an important bi-national alliance for peacebuilding research, scholarship, training and activism,鈥� says , executive director of 贰惭鲍鈥檚 . 鈥淚t is a great honor that so many CJP and 91短视频 faculty, staff and graduates will be featured in prominent conference roles this year, and allows a rare opportunity to highlight our distinctive contributions to the peacebuilding field.”

Those 鈥渄istinctive contributions鈥� include both conceptual and practical dimensions to the fields of , , , peace and justice studies pedagogy and the pedagogy of practice within the field, experiential education, reflective pedagogy and the arts and peacebuilding.

Catherine Barnes offers keynote address

Dr. Catherine Barnes, affiliate professor at CJP, will share from more than 30 years of experience working with deliberative dialogue processes in places as varied as the UN General Assembly Hall to village gathering places. Her address is titled 鈥淓ngaging together: exploring deliberative dialogue as a path towards systemic transformation.鈥�

鈥淒eliberative dialogue鈥� is a process that can empower participants to foster collaborative relationships and perceive the underlying mental models that maintain the status quo with the goal of fostering new approaches to complex challenges.

For the past seven years, Barnes has been working in support of transitional processes in Burma/Myanmar. She has worked and lived in more than 30 countries as a teacher, trainer, researcher, policy advocate and consultant with the focus of helping civil society activists, diplomats and politicians, and armed groups to build their capacities for preventing violence and using conflict as an opportunity for addressing the underlying causes giving rise to grievance. Barnes has worked with numerous peacebuilding and human rights organizations, including Conciliation Resources and Minority Rights Group International.

Focusing on education

贰惭鲍鈥檚 on peace and justice guides its educators, many of whom are sharing their pedagogical practices and discussing ways to educate future peacebuilders in the 鈥渆ducator鈥檚 strand,鈥� designed for personal and professional development of K-12 teachers, undergraduate and community educators. Themes include pedagogy, curriculum development, building a culture of peace in your classroom or school, alternative education programs, and restorative聽practices.

On the undergraduate level, professor , who leads the in the department of applied social sciences, leads a roundtable discussion for faculty and administrators of peace and justice studies programs.

, the with CJP鈥檚 , joins professor and graduate students in a session on mentoring student peacebuilders and the importance of those mentors being experienced practitioners themselves.

Restorative practices are highlighted by professors and in a 鈥渞elational justice鈥� workshop on how mindful teachers can prepare and prime 鈥渢heir best selves鈥� in preparation for inviting students into models of restorative justice. Mullet also joins , professor of education at Bridgewater College, for a workshop on relational literacy in multicultural K-12 classrooms.

Cheree Hammond, professor of counseling, leads educators in a workshop on contemplative pedagogies and the cultivation of a just and peaceful self.

Restorative justice, trauma healing, playback theater featured

The conference offers an opportunity to highlight 贰惭鲍鈥檚 unique peacebuilding initiatives. The brings together practitioners from 91短视频 and JMU, as well as local law enforcement. Collaborators in the initiative will speak: , co-director of the; education professor ; Harrisonburg Police Department lieutenant Kurt Boshart; , restorative justice coordinator at the ; and , director of JMU鈥檚 Office of Student Accountability and Restorative Practices.

Another definitive CJP program, (Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience), will be introduced in a workshop by professor and program director .

troupe co-founders and lead a workshop on playback theater as qualitative research. Vogel is a professor of theater; Foster instructs in the applied social sciences department and with CJP. The applied theater method invites dialogue and healing through community-building, as audience members share stories and watch as they are 鈥減layed back鈥� on the stage. Among other settings, Inside Out has performed on campus with college students returning from cross-culturals, among international peacebuilders and in workshops for and research about trauma and sexual abuse survivors.

, professor of applied social sciences, speaks about social capital networks as forms of resistance among battered undocumented Latinas, sharing just one strand of a .

, assistant professor of restorative justice and peacebuilding, leads a discussion on the film 鈥淰ision is Our Power,鈥� a film about black youth ending violence in all its forms. The documentary was created by four young filmmakers participating in a multi-year arts and leadership Vision to Peace Project led by Turner; the film debuted in 2008 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

And more鈥�

, professor of English, presents on life narratives and identity issues in the Balkans with his wife Daria, a CJP graduate who teaches in the counseling department at JMU. The two lived and taught in the Balkans.

, professor of philosophy and theology, explores the recent work in philosophy and science on theory of emotion.

, a new faculty member coming to 91短视频 next semester after concluding his PhD research at American University, participates several panels, with a diversity of topics including transnational solidarity and police brutality and racism in the contested areas of Palestine and Ferguson, Missouri. Seidel is a board member of PJSA.

Among the alumni presenting: Vesna Hart, Sue Praill and Tom Brenneman join a panel discussion on justice and the nature of human nature. Ted Swartz presents the satire with Tim Ruebke and JMU professor of theater Ingrid DeSanctis.

View the . Registration聽fees will be covered for attendees聽from the Shenandoah Valley who are affiliated with or sponsored by Bridgewater College, James Madison University, 91短视频, or Mary Baldwin College. For more information, click .

The answer: (CBD), which describes itself as 鈥渁 consortium of peacebuilding practitioners, each committed to creating a more just and peaceful world by enabling healthier families, organizations, communities, and societies.鈥� Initially growing out of a network of peacemakers in Arizona in the early 1990s organized by CBD member and 91短视频 graduate Tom Brenneman, the consortium today includes ten members, seven of them with 91短视频 connections.

The congregation contacted CBD member , associate professor of organizational studies at 贰惭鲍鈥檚 (CJP). Brubaker and a recent CJP alumnus facilitated a conversation that led to a vision statement and a plan to move the congregation from a board-commission structure to a more flexible, team-based model. It was unanimously adopted.

Grounded in faith

Church consultations like that one comprise the majority of CBD鈥檚 work, but the practitioners鈥� diverse skills are also applied in a variety of other settings. Their focus areas include change management, strategic planning, congregational revitalization, conflict transformation, mediation, facilitation, coaching and training.

Brubaker says the work is deeply grounded in faith and spirituality.

鈥淭o me it is a reflection of God鈥檚 desire for a more peaceful and just world,鈥� Brubaker says. 鈥淚f we can do it congregation by congregation and organization by organization, then we鈥檙e participating in God鈥檚 vision, even when we鈥檙e doing it imperfectly.鈥�

Much of the work comes from referrals, about one a month on average, but CBD recently formalized one relationship when it entered an agreement to partner with the North Carolina-based (CHC) and assist CHC in its work with congregations in Virginia. Particular attention will be given to proactive initiatives that address conflict before it reaches the crisis stage.

鈥淲e encourage people to consider consultants at an early entry point of a conflict or strategic planning,鈥� says CBD member , who also serves as university ombudsman for 91短视频. 鈥淲e very much encourage people to be open, transparent and involved鈥攊ncluding those who may have a contrary vision. Stepping into (conflict) can be a healthy, normal, practical thing.鈥�

‘Holders of the process, not the solution’

Brubaker says he and Reid recently worked with a 鈥淟evel 5鈥� conflict in a congregation that had let a problem fester too long, as many congregations and other groups do. 鈥淥ne of the toughest I鈥檝e ever done,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good when congregations are more proactive. It鈥檚 so much more effective at the front end.鈥�

The CBD members emphasize that they are not some sort of peacemaking superheroes who can speed in and solve a conflict. They simply provide an outside perspective, help all voices be heard, and give guidance for the way forward. 鈥淩eference teams鈥� composed of key stakeholders in the situation at hand are formed to carry out the desired outcome.

鈥淲e are holders of the process, not the solution,鈥� says CBD member Roxy Allen Kioko, a graduate of 贰惭鲍鈥檚 program and instructor with the and in 贰惭鲍鈥檚 . 鈥淎 lot of consultants go in and make a recommendation and the congregation is supposed to implement it. But a lot of times it fails because there is no ownership of it. By collaborating with a diverse and well respected team within the congregation, they take ownership. They are involved from day one, from assessment to implementation and follow-up. It鈥檚 a unique thing about our model that can hopefully lead to better success.鈥�