Catherine Quinn's Page

What motivated you to become involved in peace and conflict resolution?

I studied Latin America in Undergrad and it is a place that has suffered from constant social injustice as well as conflict, because of different power dynamics and inequality. Originally I was interested in CT because of my undergrad degree, but I think also looking within the U.S. I noticed quite a bit of injustices and conflicts resulting from that - gangs, violence, discrimination and hate-crimes. So when I applied to the School for International Training, Conflict Transformation was the most interesting for me.

Please feel free to provide a short bio about yourself (no more than 3 paragraphs)

I did my undergrad at the University of Washington, where I studied Spanish and Latin American Studies. There I volunteered at two different places, one was the Seattle Midwifery School and the other was Washington State Jobs With Justice - each was for about 3 months. I also worked at a tutoring center, for 3 years, helping younger kids with reading and math (sometimes) but mostly I graded papers. After that I worked for two years at a couple of different office jobs.

Now I'm currently a student at the School for International Training in Brattleboro, VT. I'm studying Conflict Transformation. I hope to do my practicum at the Peace Corps, but I'm still open to other ideas at the moment. I currently work in the PIM office - doing more office type work, such as filing, copying as well as decorating bulletin boards. My interest is mainly in Latin America, due to my studies in undergrad, although lately, after studying Conflict situations, I've become very interested in Africa as well as United States conflict - Iraq/Muslim and the border conflict.

Please list the countries and/or regions in which you have direct and significant expertise

Spain
Peru
U.S.A.

What is your current country of residence?

U.S.A.

What is your current job (and organization) and/or where and what field are you studying?

Conflict Transformation

Which are your primary sectoral areas of expertise?

Peacebuilding, Conflict Resolution

Which are your primary skills areas?

Training, Advocacy

What are some of your current areas of research (if any)?

Bolivia - How the War on Drugs has Affected their Economy - Senior Thesis