"Courageous Conversations" with Carol Li, Laura Rouse, & Jinny Wang

Interactive Session Facilitated by the Matsunaga Institute Student Team

The Session

Leaders are often called upon to facilitate meaningful, civil, and sometimes difficult conversations. Come to this workshop to learn about why such conversations are as important as ever, and experience how they can be structured to encourage open and inclusive dialogue. This workshop is relevant for students working with teams and communities and anyone wanting to learn more about effective communication in challenging spaces. Join Carol Li, Laura Rouse, and Jinny Wang (Matsunaga Institute students) in this highly interactive session that will include a facilitated courageous conversation and tools for doing this in other spaces.

About Carol Li

Carol Li is a MA student studying Asian International Affairs and also pursuing a Graduate in Certificate Conflict Resolution. Carol holds a B.A. in Civic Communications & Media from Willamette University in Oregon and has taught English to students in mainland China, Hong Kong, and the Republic of Korea. She cares about social justice and peacebuilding efforts and currently works for the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and the Better Tomorrow Speaker Series as the main social media coordinator. She also plans the East-West Center’s evening program “The Exchange” and participates in Women Cross DMZ and Korea Peace Now's advocacy efforts.

About Laura Rouse

Laura Rouse is a Ph.D. student studying sociology with a concentration in in feminist criminology at the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa, where she holds a B.A. in the same field. Her research interests focus on the construction of punishment, particularly through a critical lens. She is employed both as a Graduate Research Assistant for the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution and a Student Assistant for the William S. Richardson School of Law doing work for clinical programs like the Hawai`i Innocence Project, and in her free time she volunteers for the nonprofit Breaking Code Silence doing administrative coordination for their academic research division.

About Jinny Wang

Jinny Wang is a junior double majoring in Finance and Chinese. She is also pursuing a Peace Corps Prep Certificate through the PREP program. Currently, she is working as a student assistant at the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and is looking forward to the highly interactive workshop on Courageous Conversations. Throughout these past few years, she has realized that having difficult conversations are extremely important. Therefore, she is always looking for opportunities to learn effective communication skills as it will help her through both her personal and professional life.