ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Inclusive Peace-Building Carrie Stefansky Huisman '02 Partnership Coordinator—Protection of Civilians Program at PAX for Peace settling in Venezuela always fascinated me. Likely it was that stark contrast of a deep sense of home on one side, and up-rootedness on the other that drew me to international work in rather unstable contexts. While there are a lot of things I am passionate about, I've never wanted to do any kind of work other than peace-building. Even as far back as my time at MA I was captivated by international conflict—understanding both its causes and consequences. I probably retained more from what I learned about Kashmir in one lesson from James Shipman's World Civilizations class than from two full years of Chemistry. (Despite John Hicks' best efforts at keeping my attention with his exploding gummy bears.) I went on to study international affairs with a focus on conflict resolution, both for my Bachelor's and Master's degrees, and have never looked back or really wanted to do anything else.
Carrie with a gift from her local partners in Baghdad After graduating from Marin Academy in 2002 you attended The George Washington University where you got your BA in International Affairs (Conflict and Security, International Politics), and Fine Art, followed by your MA at the Fletcher School at Tufts University where you focused on International Negotiation & Conflict Resolution and Human Security. You have been all around the world doing international work. Was this your calling from a young age and did your time at MA help shape your future career path? I grew up on a farm in Sonoma—the third generation in a line of cattle ranchers and grape growers on the same property—so a career in international development was not necessarily a given. Though I suppose that's literally only half the story; my father was a refugee as a child during WWII. While he died when I was young, the family stories of fleeing Hungary and ultimately
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MARIN ACADEMY
I've never wanted to do any kind of work other than peace-building. Even as far back as my time at MA I was captivated by international conflict— understanding both its causes and consequences.
