USD Magazine Fall 2010

AROUND  THE PARK

IN PERFECT HARMONY [ p e a c e s e e k e r ] Ami Carpenter ’ s work i s   al l about resolving conf l i ct

t’s usually one of the first les- sons taught to young children: Treat other people as you’d like to be treated. But for Ami Carpenter, an assistant professor at the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies (KSPS), this life lesson is her life’s work. Carpenter — who teaches Analysis and Resolution of Vio- lent Conflict, Interpersonal and Small Group Conflict Resolution and Conflict Resolution in Com- munities and Organizations — spends much of her time study- ing the way people interact with each other under immense pres- sure and strife. Consequently, she focuses on ways that people can more effectively co-exist and resolve conflicts. Carpenter was born in Arkan- sas, the middle child of 10 sib- lings. “I learned conflict resolu- tion at a very young age,” she jokes. Studying psychology and communication studies at New Mexico State University, she graduated from her master’s program lacking certainty over which career path to follow. Ini- tially thinking she’d pursue a career as a clinical psychologist, Carpenter spent a year in the field at a counseling center but found herself burnt out after just a year. She noticed, howev- by Melissa Wagoner I

er, that many of her clients were suffering from a lack of a very basic skill — how to man- age basic conflicts. While designing a course on interper- sonal conflict skills, she stum- bled across the larger field of conflict analysis and resolution. She knew then that she’d found her calling. Carpenter headed east on a full scholarship to begin her PhD work at George Mason University’s Insti- tute of Conflict Analysis and Reso- center of domestic and global governance, and home to an astonishing array of organiza- tions advancing peacebuilding,” explains Carpenter. But when 9/11 happened, the focus of the world shifted, and so did Carpenter’s. Basic conflict reso- lution took on a new meaning, and became a concern not just in the classroom, but in living rooms and at kitchen tables across the United States. “I think the discourse of con- flict analysis and resolution took a blow after 9/11,” she muses. “It got subsumed in a national discourse that justifiably gave voice to our collective grief, but channeled it into an agenda of retaliation. We definitely started lution in northern Virginia. “Washington D.C. is the

paying more attention to inter- ethnic relationships inside our own communities here at home.” Beginning her third year at USD, Carpenter hasn’t wasted any time becoming involved in conflict resolution both here in San Diego and halfway around the world. She’s embarking on two major initiatives that put her, and USD, in the center of conflict resolution. Her efforts have drawn the attention of local leaders; in fact, she was named one of the “50 to Watch” by San Diego Magazine this year. Now Carpenter and the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice have joined forces with the San Diego County Office of Educa- tion, the City of San Diego Com- mission on Gang Prevention and Intervention and various founda-

tions to launch the second annu- al Gang Prevention and Interven- tion Summit. The summit, a countywide event hosted at USD, will bring together city policy- makers, community and school- based leaders and organizations, law enforcement and community members in mid-September. Throughout the summit, con- tributors will share information about strategies to prevent the growth of gang activity and violence in San Diego neighbor- hoods, promote networking among the governmental, pri- vate and non-profit organiza- tions in San Diego County, and facilitate whole-community involvement through strategic guidance and leadership in North County, East County and five sub-regions of the City of San

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