Education

PhD, Harvard University
AM, Harvard University
BA, University of Colorado, Boulder

Profile

Henry R. Luce Professor of Conflict Resolution, University of Denver (2002-present); Co-Director, Conflict Resolution Institute, and Director of its Center for Research and Practice (2004-present); Associate Professor, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University (1998-2002); Assistant Professor in Psychology, Communication, and Fellow, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Arizona (1990-1997); Fellow, Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, University of Arizona (1992-1993). She is co-author, with Bonnie G. Colby, of Braving the Currents: Evaluating Conflict Resolution in the River Basins of the American West (Springer), as well as several book chapters and articles in various interdisciplinary journals.

Research and Expertise

Social psychological processes in intergroup relations: Conflict dynamics; the formation and maintenance of group identity; the role of social identity needs in conflict and conflict resolution; communication and conflict; stereotyping processes; gender and cultural differences in group process and conflict resolution; perceptions of justice and voice; strategy and dynamics in decision making, problem solving and group process. Processes of negotiation and mediation. Evaluation of conflict interventions.

She has led trainings and facilitated interactive problem-solving workshops in various inter-communal conflict contexts, including Israel-Palestine, Ethiopia, and in US intertribal disputes. She also has directed projects aimed at conflict resolution capacity-building in Israel-Palestine, the Caribbean, Ukraine, and Georgia. She has served as an evaluation consultant to several programs of non-governmental organizations as well as UNESCO, UNDP, USAID, and USIECR. She has worked to develop evaluation frameworks for community mediation centers, for university based mediation centers, for interactive conflict resolution interventions, and for peacebuilding initiatives.

Courses

INTS 3690:  Peacemaking and Peacebuilding
INTS 4613:  Strategic Peacebuilding
CRES 4111: Reflective Practice and Evaluation
CRES 4222: Theories of Practice: Mediation Theory and Issues
CRES 4225: Theories of Practice: Conciliation and Reconciliation
CRES 4333: Resolving Environmental and Public Policy Conflict
CRES 4991: Laboratory in Theories and Methods for Community Conflict Resolution

Programs, Centers and Institutes

Conflict Resolution Institute