Maria Jessop's Page

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

A desire to integrate my values with my work and contribute to making a more peaceful world.

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

Maria Jessop has a dozen years of experience in the conflict resolution field in the US and abroad, as a mediator, facilitator, and peace educator. Since 2007, she has been a program officer with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), developing peace and human rights training and education programs for Iraqi educators, civil society leaders, and government officials.

Prior to joining USIP, she managed the office of the Mohammed Said Farsi Chair of Islamic Peace at American University, which promotes the study and understanding of Islamic values, traditions, and contributions to the quest for global peace, through teaching, curriculum development, scholarship, and academic conferences. Also while at AU, in collaboration with fellow students and IPCR faculty, Jessop founded and led The Dialogue Development Group which engages the university community in single and multiple-session intergroup dialogues on topics related to social identities, differences and inequalities.

Maria Jessop was raised internationally, served in the Peace Corps (St. Lucia 1994-96), and speaks French and Spanish fluently. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and is currently completing her thesis for an M.A. in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University.

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

Iraq, Latin America/Caribbean, France.

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?

Program Officer, Education and Training Center/International, United States Institute of Peace

What is your personal or organizational website?

http://www.usip.org

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

http://www.beyondintractability.com

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

http://www.c-r.org

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

Alternative Dispute Resolution, Civil Society, Conflict Resolution, Education

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

Program Design, Training

What are some of your current areas of research (if any)?

Peace and human rights education and training methodologies in zones of conflict and post-conflict.

If appropriate feel free to list several of your (or your organization's) publications

“The Ripe Moment for Civil Society” co-authored with Diana Aljets and Betsie Chacko, International Negotiation: A Journal of Theory and Practice (2008).