Post-Apartheid South Africa

I work in the fields of relief, development, and conflict resolution,
and I teach these topics to students and practitioners around the world.

I am also a researcher at Stanford University focusing on use of
new media and technology in teaching. I've developed methodologies that are especially powerful for introducing students to the depth and breadth of international crisis, along with corresponding efforts to alleviate suffering and solve problems.

For example, first-person accounts provide a compelling window into the human problems that motivate these efforts. First-person accounts inspire students to reach beyond what they've known about the world, connect with others, and delve into peer-reviewed research.

A good case is this documentary on post-apartheid South Africa, which I produced for my students at Hunter College in New York City, and which was later distributed across the U.S. by the Discovery Channel.

International Conflict Resolution

New media and technology make it possible to teach difficult topics—and to share first-person perspectives—at unprecedented scale.

With funding from the State Department, I designed and produced a three-part online course in international conflict resolution.

The course included extended case studies on the genocide in Rwanda, the war in Kosovo, multi-party negotiations to end apartheid in
South Africa, international negotiations to implement and maintain the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and interfaith conflict resolution efforts in Nigeria and Guatemala.

Designed for Foreign Service Officers, the course quickly went viral.
It was blended into curricula at universities around the world, translated into French, Spanish, Arabic, and Farsi, and completed by close to 30,000 students and practitioners, including many who took the course from internet cafes and refugee camps.

Faith & Culture in Iraq

Beyond reading books and articles, beyond listening to people talk, students learn more when they can see and hear for themselves—
when they can put together physical environments, ambient sounds, facial expressions, and all of the small but telling cues that coalesce into holistic experience.

A good illustration is this discussion on faith and culture in Iraq.
With funding from the State Department, I designed and produced an interactive program on lessons learned in the early years of the war, which became part of standard training for all Foreign Service Officers during the latter years.

The program included interviews with the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, the Iraqi Ambassador to the U.S., and many others, each illustrated in detail with live footage and sounds. I personally demonstrated it for the Under Secretary of State, the Senate Appropriations Committee, and others in and around Washington.

Post-Conflict Simulation

There is no substitute for the coaching and mentoring of face-to-face teaching and learning. At the same time,
new media & technology offer unprecedented capabilities. The best of both worlds is what we call blended learning.

A good example is the SENSE simulation, developed for NATO to train students and practitioners in the U.S., the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Georgia, Ukraine, and Iraq. The multi-player simulation includes 40-60 roles for
key decision makers, and requires them to engage in collaborative problem solving in a simulated society emerging from conflict.

My colleagues and I developed blended learning programs using SENSE, and I led the production of the video orientation, excerpted here.

Global Disaster Preparedness

Humanitarian response inevitably requires close collaboration between local and international professionals. International responders cannot work effectively without deep understanding of local cultures and contexts, while local responders typically lack the resources necessary to manage large-scale humanitarian interventions.

The crisis in Haiti provides an especially powerful case in point. Local and international responders alleviated unprecedented human suffering, but poor communication and coordination also led to misunderstanding and ill will, weakening humanitarian response.

Developed for Relief International, the LEAP Foundation, and Kaiser Permanente, this Continuing Medical Education course focuses on lessons learned in Haiti in order to improve emergency response.

Virtual Student Exchange

For decades, universities have set up in-person exchange programs to help students overcome negative stereotypes, build relationships on firm foundations, and engage in productive collaboration. But in-person exchange is a difficult and expensive form of educational experience, which substantially limits access.

At Stanford, I am developing the Virtual Student Exchange program in collaboration with San Jose State University, the Modern University for Business & Science in Beirut, Lebanon, RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, and the University of Peshawar, in Peshawar, Pakistan, near the border with Afghanistan, just down from the Khyber Pass.

The program is currently available to students of journalism, child development, and education. We are now working to make it available to students of global health.