Mery Rodriguez's Page

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

Many years of living in civil war and not feeling that I was doing enough or that I knew what to do to stop violence as a resolution tool.

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

Mery Rodriguez was born and raised in Bogota – Colombia. She holds a bachelor’s degree in social communications from the Javeriana Universty in Colombia. She has worked as a human rights activist and social issues researcher and has taught as a professor at the Catholic University of Colombia. She has served six years at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, earning her masters degree in conflict analysis and resolution. She is currently working on a PhD, also from ICAR. She specializes in local peace building initiatives, particularly in Colombia, Peru and Latin America in General. Currently her work focuses on zones of peace and laboratories, and she is part of ICAR’s Zones of Peace project. She also works with immigration, diversity and multiculturalism issues. She teaches in the undergradate program at ICAR

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

Colombia, Peru, Washington DC, but I have a significant understanding of Latin America as a whole.

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

United States

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

GTA, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution Undergraduate Program, George Mason University

What is your personal or organizational website?

http://icar.gmu.edu

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

Peacebuilding, Civil Society

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

Training, Research

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

Peace Laboratories in Colombia, effect of International cooperation in already established civil society programs, Zones of Peace, teaching and trainning in CR