one of the first facilitators for the victimoffender reconciliation program in Korea, including at Seoul Family Court, and has conducted various trainings for school personnel, government officers, NGO activists, and organizations in Korea. In addition, Jae Young facilitates a mediation course at Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute in Philippines. Lam Oryem Cosmas, MA ’04 (conflict transformation), Kampala, Uganda, led a training for county peace mobilizers from six counties of Jonlei in June 2012 with a project of the Sudan Council of Churches called “Peace from the Roots.” It was intended to organize church leaders, representatives of civil society groups, women leaders, and local administrators to form a cohesive group for engaging in transformative peacebuilding in their respective communities, between and among their neighbors. Rania Kharma, MA ‘04 (conflict transformation), Brussels, Belgium, is currently pursuing a master's in European policies with the Institut d'études européennes (Institute of European Studies) at the University Catholique de Louvain. The program provides skills and knowledge pertinent to the history and integration of the European Union and its system as a whole, especially with regard to economic integration. Raghda Quandour, MA ‘04 (conflict transformation), Amman, Jordan, is currently an organizational development expert through Agriteam Canada at the School Directorate Improvement Program, Jordan’s Education Reform for Knowledge Economy. Rachel Springer, MDiv ‘05, Gerber, Bloomington, Ind., recently became the new half-time denominational minister for youth and young adults on the Leadership Development team of Mennonite Church USA. In her new role, Gerber will provide resources for and facilitate connections between youth and young adult groups and ministries across the church. Katherine (Katie) Resendiz, MA ‘05 (conflict transformation), Phoenix, Ariz., is program director of Training and Resources United to Stop Trafficking, a multidisciplinary effort to coordinate anti-trafficking efforts in Arizona and ultimately increase public awareness about the crisis as it relates to Arizona’s children. The program works to identify and collaborate with stakeholders, including key lawmakers, law enforcement, medical providers, educators, local and state government officials, business leaders, faith-based community groups, and non-profit providers and funders. Jesse Rodriguez ‘05, Keezletown, Va., is currently working at Region 5 Training and Technical Assistance Center (T/TAC) at James Madison University under the Virginia Department of Education as the education coordinator. The mission
of T/TAC is to improve educational opportunities and contribute to the success of children and youth with disabilities (birth - 22 years). The centers provide quality training and technical assistance in response to local, regional, and state needs. T/TAC services increase the capacity of schools, school personnel, service providers, and families to meet the needs of children and youth. Doreen Ruto, MA ‘05 (conflict transformation), Nairobi, Kenya, Africa, is currently the director of Daima Initiatives for Peace and Development (DiPaD) Kenya, a national non-governmental organization she founded in 2010. Her organization is currently implementing a program on “Justice that Heals” and looks at ways of expanding the concept of justice to include the needs of both the victims and offenders in society using trauma awareness and resilience approaches in the aftermath of violence. Doreen also works as a consultant and trainer on trauma and peacebuiding and more recently, she represented the CJP/ STAR program at the African Union in Addis Ababa in October 2013,where she presented a paper on “How unhealed trauma is linked to cycles of violence.” Doreen is a STAR trainer and has conducted various STAR trainings in the East Africa and the Great Lakes Region. Judah Oudshoorn, MA ‘06 (conflict transformation), Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, is a professor of community and criminal justice at Conestoga College, a sessional lecturer in peace and conflict studies at the University of Waterloo, a restorative justice mediator with the Correctional Service of Canada, and a PhD student in social work at the Wilfrid Laurier University. His work centers on making justice systems more trauma informed and finding meaningful ways to hold men accountable who have used violence toward partners and children. Judah also reports that he likes hot coffee, cold beer, warm sunshine, and comfortable chairs, but most importantly, that he is a proud dad and husband. Justin Shenk ‘06 and Valerie Showalter ‘06, London, United Kingdom, have completed half a year of ministry as community hosts through Mennonite Missions Network (MMN) with their Clapton Park United Reformed Church family in the East End of London, United Kingdom. MMN would appreciate prayers as they learn deeper ways of being Christ’s body with this congregation. Brian Bloch, MA ‘07 (conflict transformation), Washington D.C. area, has been the ombudsman at the U.S. Department of the Interior since the summer of 2011. He currently serves on the Board of the International Ombudsman Association and volunteers with ISKCONResolve, the integrated conflict management system for the Hare Krishna community.
Current professor David Glanzer, PhD, was one of the founding members of the MA in counseling program 20 years ago. (Photo by Jon Styer)
Counseling program celebrates 20th anniversary Turning 20 is a life milepost worth celebrating. What’s true for an individual is equally true for Eastern Mennonite University’s MA in counseling program. Since 1995 when the inaugural cohort of ten future counselors and therapists completed their rigorous two years of professional studies, a total of 227 graduates have earned master's degrees here. Only 62 of that number were EMU undergraduate students. The vast majority were attracted by the program’s reputation for nationally-accredited excellence, a creative community whose goal is to train the whole person (mind, body and spirit) for the challenging work of counseling. “Being part of a small Christian university is actually a strength of our program,” said David Glanzer, PhD, and a founding faculty member. “The sense of community, the shared values of service, and the interdisciplinary opportunities to collaborate with EMU’s other graduate programs, all help to create our program’s distinctive flavor.” These attributes and more were on full display during the hugely successful 2011 attachment conference that filled EMU’s Yoder arena. “It took a village the size of EMU and a cooperative spirit among various academic disciplines to pull together that groundbreaking conference,” noted Annmarie Early, PhD, professor in the counseling program and one of the conference organizers. A community of deep conversation is built into the cohort model of counselor training. A group of 12 to 20 students moves together through the two-year course of full-time study, which expands to three or four years for part-time students. Classes meet two consecutive days a week to fit the schedule of busy working adults. “The professors were extremely knowledgeable, professional, and amazing at their work, but they also were very approachable and made time for each individual student,” reported 2004 graduate Kristene Wellings. “I wasn’t just a student. I ‘belonged’ there. This personal and emotional connection also allowed me to have the courage to develop my counselor identity. If I could sum up the experience in one word it would be ‘grace.’ Faculty members are so gracious with students. Here I learned that counseling is not just a career, it’s building relationships with real people that deserve genuine care.” — Paul Souder www.emu.edu | crossroads | 57