Karen Dickman's Page

What motivated you (or your organization) to become involved in peace and conflict resolution?

I was appalled by the 2003 bombing of Iraq. It was the birthplace of Abraham. It was like bombing your grandmother's house. It should never be done without a very good reason and we still haven't been given one. I realized the world is in significant peril. I and thousands more need to step up in meaningful ways.

Please feel free to provide a short bio about yourself or the work of your organization (no more than 3 paragraphs)

Karen Dickman is a professional mediator with an extensive background as a civil rights activist and minister. She helped organize West Virginia’s first two Pride Parades. As a lobbyist she was instrumental in preventing “Defense of Marriage Act” language from passing in West Virginia despite numerous separate attempts during her tenure there. Her leadership stopped the reversion process in Charlottesville, VA which would have ended the LGBT civil rights statute in the city code. She was a founding member of the Chicago AntiBashing Network which advocated for victims of hate crimes and publicized the crimes when they were otherwise ignored.
She spent 20 years working with people with AIDS. Her work in mental health and prisons caught the attention of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government resulting in an “Innovations in Government Award” and an invitation to the White House in 2005. She has been a guest speaker at seven colleges and universities, including the University of Virginia, DePaul, and most recently, Harvard.
Rev. Dickman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from Wheeling College (now Wheeling Jesuit University). She continued into graduate studies in Criminal Justice at Rutgers University. She later completed the graduate program at Samaritan Institute of Religious Studies as a prerequisite for ordination. She spent the next ten years doing community organizing and opening new churches for Metropolitan Community Church.

Please list the countries and/or regions in which you (or your organization) have direct and significant expertise

USA

What is your current country of residence (or location of your organization)?

USA

What is your current job (and organization) and/or where and what field are you studying?

Mediator/Conflict Manager

What is one of your favorite websites in the field? (please provide one answer per box)

http://imtd.org/cgi-bin/imtd.cgi

What is one of your favorite websites in the field? (please provide one answer per box)

http://www.swarthmore.edu/pcs.xml

Which are your primary sectoral areas of expertise (or the primary sectoral areas of your organization) ?

Alternative Dispute Resolution, Conflict Resolution

Which are your primary skills areas(or the primary skill areas of your organization)?

Advocacy, Program Administration, Program Design, Program Implemenation