RCT Visiting Researchers

For the 2020-2021 academic year, RCT invited five researchers/practitioners from the community to associate with our program to engage in mutual learning and define critical questions that we need to address in the field of religion and conflict transformation. They have been meeting monthly to share their current work and elicit feedback from each other. Their diverse faiths and shared commitment to peace making and social justice have created a circle of mutual respect and appreciation. One member recently commented, “I have taught at a number of universities but never have I participated in a colleague group that interacted with such integrity and collaborative spirit.”

We are pleased to be collaborating with the following visiting researchers:

Bob Stains maintains a private conflict transformation practice in Danvers, MA, serving organizations in the US and around the globe. He was a Senior Associate at Essential Partners, and for 23 years has created constructive conversations on sexual orientation, religion, race, abortion, social class, gender, firearms and other divisive issues within and between local, national and international organizations. Bob is a co-founder of The Family Dinner Project, and also consults to the Interpersonal Skills Component of the Harvard Negotiation Project at Harvard Law School.

Fatemeh Haghighatjoo is a reformist and a former member of the Iranian Parliament. She is a leading advocate for a civil, democratic society in Iran, one that grants freedom of speech and human rights, including women’s rights, academic freedom, and a free press. Before entering politics, Dr. Haghighatjoo was a psychologist, holding professorships at Tehran University and Shahid Beheshti University. She has authored a book entitled Search for Truth (published in Persian in 2002), and in 2010, Fatehmeh became a co-founding chair of the Nonviolent Initiative for Democracy, Inc.

Rabbi David Jaffe is the Principal and Founder of Kirva Consulting, which makes Jewish spiritual wisdom accessible to leaders, change-makers and seekers to build healthy, sustainable communities, organizations and relationships. David’s current focus is the Inside Out Wisdom and Action Project, which helps social change leaders integrate applied Jewish ethics and applied Jewish mysticism to the work of social justice. He is the author of Changing the World from the Inside Out: A Jewish Approach to Personal and Social Change, winner of the National Jewish Book Award.

Rev. Irene Monroe is an ordained minister, motivational speaker and African American lesbian feminist theologian who speaks for a sector of society that is frequently invisible. She is a Huffington Post blogger and a syndicated religion columnist, and describes her columns as an interdisciplinary approach drawing on critical race theory, African American, queer and religious studies. Irene is a founder and now member emeritus of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), and a founder of Equal Partners of Faith, the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry (RCFM) and Christian Lesbians Out (CLOUT).

Duncan Hollomon has been a psychotherapist for the past 25 years, integrating spiritual practice and mindfulness. Previously he was a professional actor/singer and attorney. Use of self, particularly as it involves alternative ways of knowing, has been a part of his work for many years. Duncan has taught theories and practices of psychotherapy for more than 7 years, as well as leadership, mindful communication, and dialogue. His current research is on “relational knowing”, drawing on spirituality, neuroscience and developmental psychology.