Diego Bartesaghi, 2013. I was born and raised in Peru. I did my undergraduate in Sociology and Anthropology at Rutgers University-Newark. My interests are working with refugees, more specifically LGBTI refugees and asylees. However, a more broad interest would be violence, gender, and migration.
Alexander Cagnacci, 2015. A unique blend of personal experience and undergrad studies in Anthropology, Philosophy, and History has shaped me and my journey in unforeseen ways. My passion is theory (how we form concepts, support them, act based on them, and the consequences of their practical application). I have always equally been driven by a desire to make a change, whether big changes in the world or just the perspective of an individual. The Peace and Conflict Studies program is the perfect place to channel this passion and drive, concentrating on political, environmental, and educational interests/aspects.
Alyssa Ciesla, 2013. As a returned Peace Corps volunteer (Guyana, South America) my interests lie strongly in community development with a heavy focus on urban and international development. Before the Peace Corps I worked in South Africa with hiv/aids affected children. The peace and conflict studies program at Rutgers will prepare me to start my own non-profit organization serving underserved children internationally and here at home.
Rachel Denno, 2013. I'm interested in both domestic issues of equality (gender, race, socioeconomic status, etc) and in aiding victimized groups, especially victims of trafficking or domestic violence. I'm also interested in issues of national security, particularly preventing violence and protecting human/civil rights.
Jackie Finkelstein, 2014. My interests: rock climbing, organic gardening, running, painting, wife, mom of three, vegan, social and environmental activist interested in learning and understanding the root cause of conflict (gender, cultural), the road to peace, and how I can help the globe achieve some type of harmonious co-existence. And I have a secret fascination for Scandinavian culture.
Rok Hamze, 2014. As a transgender Lebanese immigrant to the United States, I came here in search of healthcare, employment, and a chance to freely be myself without major fear of persecution or street and workplace harassment. I have dedicated the last decade of my life to working with underprivileged and underserved communities in healthcare and social services. The Peace and Conflict Studies department at Rutgers has been the missing piece in my quest to build a career out of my multiple passions and experiences in healthcare, immigration, social justice and post-conflict growth and recovery.
Michael Ordonez, 2014. The preservation of cultural traditions and cultural narrative (film, music, dance, folklore, history) significantly interest me, as does creating social systems which preserve them. Community building and enrichment are what I do on my free time while working with the Queens World Film Festival in New York, where I am creatively enabled to engage with my childhood borough of Queens, which touts to be the most diverse community on the planet. Now I wish to expand on my passions academically and later apply it professionally at a greater and more efficient scale.
Elise Popp, 2014. Areas of interest include social movements, theories of power, organizational structure, cultural forms of nonviolent resistance, Buddhist and religious violence in Southeast Asia, post-Cold War Mongolia, liberation theology movements in Latin America, urban decay, and spatial justice. Elise is a 2014-15 Fellow with the Center for Law in Metropolitan Equity and an avid adventurer.
Clara Ross, 2013. Poverty and racism are human-made. I have conceptualized what I call “potential dignity”. For the purpose of this synopsis, I am interested in (1) the re-characterization of poverty as a lack of distribution of surplus; and (2) a muzzle for acts of racism. Motivating and empowering oppressed human beings is idyllic to me.
Alea Rouse, 2015. I received my B.A. in anthropology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. My academic interests include studying human rights in local, cross-cultural, and global contexts. I am specfically interested in non-violent social movements, post-conflict reconstruction, and social justice. I’m also interested in understanding more about the connection between anthropology and modern concepts of peace. Anthropology can offer theoretical insights for understanding peace, whether it may concern building or repairing social issues and conflict. I want to facilitate and engage issues within communities on a local and global level.
Cagri Surek, 2013. My field of interest is ethnic violence by utilizing perspectives from multiple academic disciplines applied to different cases. More specifically, I am trying to focus on cases of insurgencies and examine how ethnicity plays as a dynamic force in emergence and development of these conflicts.
Tulika Tripathi, 2014. The interaction between the 'real world' and abstract theories fascinates me, as ideas fly between people, the pages of a good book, tv screens, newspapers, the internet etc., animating lives everywhere. I am interested in probing how issues affect each other and ripple across the world and through history. Topics pertaining the developing world, democracy, human rights, social justice, international relations, gender, conflict resolution, peace-building and arts are of my primary interest although I enjoy meandering into different fields, recognizing their immense inter-connectivity. I am from Mumbai, India and find myself afflicted by the cliché of wanting to "do something good" in whatever humble capacity I can.
Marina Wari, 2014. I'm interested in both domestic issues of equality (gender, race, socioeconomic status, etc.) and in aiding victimized groups, especially victims of trafficking or domestic violence. I'm also interested in issues of national security, particularly preventing violence and protecting human/civil rights.