Upcoming Webinars

Integrating Community Trauma Into Humanitarian Work

May 21, 2021, 4-5 p.m. ET

Although trauma is often a concept that is linked to individual experience, scholars and activists are bringing to light the impact trauma can have on a community and the ways community members express historical and present-day group experience. For humanitarian workers and those working in emergency management and other crisis- and first-response fields, factors stemming from community-level trauma may create obstacles to response, recovery, and future preparedness. The impact of individual-level trauma is increasingly appreciated in both scholarship and practice, constructive ways to discuss community-level trauma and strategies to integrate it into crisis planning remain elusive. Dr. Melanie Hetzel-Riggin (Professor of Psychology, Penn State Behrend) and Dr. Jess Bonnan-White (Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, Stockton University, and Director of Education & Training, Forage Center for Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Education) will discuss how trauma intersects with community conflict escalation, as well as building community resilience before and after crisis events. They will also discuss reasons and strategies for incorporating aspects of community-level trauma into experiential learning and training for current and future students and practitioners.

Emergency Management - A Leadership Career Path for Women: Challenges and Opportunities

February 12, 2021 3:00p.m. ET

Join the Forage Center for Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Education for a discussion the perspective of being "newer" in the field, emergency management professionals Anna Feigum and Shayle Sabo will reflect upon their experiences joining and building careers as women in the field of emergency management. Moderated by friend and social worker, Chelsea Cornwell, they will identify challenges they have faced and supports that have enabled them to build confidence and navigate the subtle ways in which prejudice can present itself in this demanding and often male-dominated field. Anna and Shayle will discuss how their training within a theoretical framework of disaster resiliency has impacted their perspective and approach to addressing the multi-faceted challenges of crisis management.

CPTSS Peacebuilding Careers: In a Time of Global Change and Disruption with David J. Smith

November 24, 2020 5:00p.m.-6:00p.m. EST

David J. Smith will explore options for careers and professional pathways for those pursuing peacebuilding work. He will focus on the present moment. David will consider myriad challenges facing us today: social justice, political polarization, climate change, and the pandemic, and look at opportunities that come from the present conditions.

8th Annual National Community College Peacebuilding Virtual Seminar Builds Community During the Pandemic

October 30-31, November 6-7, November 13-14

The 8th Annual National Community College Peacebuilding Seminar was held over three consecutive Fridays and Saturdays: 10/30-31, 11/6-7, and 11/13-14. Nearly 60 faculty, administrators, and students attended – the largest number to date. The large number, the virtual setting, and the reduced costs to attend suggests benefits for virtual gatherings.

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This year’s event was jointly sponsored by the Forage Center for Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Education, Inc., and David J. Smith Consulting, LLC.

Developing Cultural Competencies for Conscious Humanitarian Work

October 28, 2020 4:00p.m. EDT

Join the Forage Center for Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Education for a discussion on developing cultural competencies for conscious humanitarian work. Engaging in effective humanitarian work requires understanding how our identities and socialization inform and impact the ways we interact with people. Learn about how current work in anti-bias anti-racist (ABAR) training is relevant to humanitarian work. We will also discuss how humanitarian work can mimic missionary work, with a focus on how European colonization and White Christian missions were two of the primary forces that brought harmful messages about race, gender, and sexuality to Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities and White nation-states.

Best Practices in Humanitarian Education in Global Times of Change

October 21, 2020 1:30p.m. EDT

Presented at the Association for Conflict Resolution conference on Best Practices in Humanitarian Education in Times of Change.  He looked at how social justice, the current pandemic, political polarization, and climate change can be benefited by humanitarian approaches. 

Making Social and Political Change Through the Application of Humanitarian Skills

Octobe 1, 2020 4:00p.m. EDT

Join the Forage Center for Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Education and cosponsor St. Cloud State University Center for International Studies for a discussion on the intersection of humanitarian skills and aptitudes and making social and political change. Heather Payne, Forage Center alum and former Nonviolent Peaceforce protection officer, and Eli McCarthy, coordinator of DC Peace Team and Georgetown University adjunct instructor, will share their ideas on how humanitarian and peacebuilding training can be used to effectuate social and political change.

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An ASL Interpreter will be provided 

Humanitarianism is My Day Job: Finding a Career that Brings Meaning

August 6, 2020 3:30p.m. EDT

Join staff from the Forage Center for Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Education for a discussion on careers in the humanitarian, emergency management, relief, and peacebuilding fields. Craig Zelizer, founder of PCDN Global, will join David J. Smith, president of the Forage Center, for wide-ranging discussion on trends in careers and strategies for launching your professional life.

Upcoming Webinars

The Power in the Peer: Peer Partnership Development in Humanitarian Education Confirmation

July 1, 2020 4p.m. EDT

Humanitarian work requires those involved to be in a constant state of flux; whether with people, resources, and oftentimes both. Typically with humanitarian work environments, there is this “boss with the power over workers without power” mentality and that has the potential to create a toxic and resentful community. We will be discussing strategies to create an environment where peer relationships are viewed as an equal partnership rather than those based on power. We will discuss how you can develop a strong, multi-generational, and diverse team while capitalizing on the wealth of experience so everyone feels included and valued.
 

The Power in the Peer: Peer Partnership Development in Humanitarian Education Confirmation

July 1, 2020 4p.m. EDT

Humanitarian work requires those involved to be in a constant state of flux; whether with people, resources, and oftentimes both. Typically with humanitarian work environments, there is this “boss with the power over workers without power” mentality and that has the potential to create a toxic and resentful community. We will be discussing strategies to create an environment where peer relationships are viewed as an equal partnership rather than those based on power. We will discuss how you can develop a strong, multi-generational, and diverse team while capitalizing on the wealth of experience so everyone feels included and valued.
 

Humanitarianism is My Day Job: Finding a Career that Brings Meaning

August 6, 2020 3:30p.m. EDT

Join staff from the Forage Center for Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Education for a discussion on careers in the humanitarian, emergency management, relief, and peacebuilding fields. Craig Zelizer, founder of PCDN Global, will join David J. Smith, president of the Forage Center, for wide-ranging discussion on trends in careers and strategies for launching your professional life.

Making Social and Political Change Through the Application of Humanitarian Skills

October 1, 2020 4:00p.m. EDT

Join the Forage Center for Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Education and cosponsor St. Cloud State University Center for International Studies for a discussion on the intersection of humanitarian skills and aptitudes and making social and political change. Heather Payne, Forage Center alum and former Nonviolent Peaceforce protection officer, and Eli McCarthy, coordinator of DC Peace Team and Georgetown University adjunct instructor, will share their ideas on how humanitarian and peacebuilding training can be used to effectuate social and political change.

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An ASL Interpreter will be provided 

Beyond the Checkbox: Make the Most of Your Training Exercises

April 15, 2020

A discussion of the components often missing from holistic emergency management and crisis response training exercises. Preparedness, response, and recovery activities require so much more than tactical planning – as such, communities depend on agencies to have short- and long-term strategies in mind.