John Davies: Dr. Davies' current research interests are in prevention, mitigation and transformation of religious and other complex societal conflicts, particularly in or linked to the Islamic world; in multi-track diplomacy, peace building and development of inclusive democratic political cultures; and in mediation and integrative transformation of organizational and community conflicts. He teaches the University of Maryland’s Programs in Multi-Track Diplomacy and Conflict Transformation, and provides consulting, training workshops and seminars in peace building, peace keeping, democratic transition, and applied conflict transformation or prevention. He is conducting research on perceptions among Islamic, Christian and Muslim populations of what their own and others' faith traditions have to say about the limits on use of violence. He is also an expert in the area of conflict analysis and risk assessment. He consults with the US Department of State, the US Agency for International Development and US Department of Defense (on development of their early warning, vulnerability assessment and alert systems), and for the White-House-initiated Task Force on Political Instability and Genocide Early Warning Projects. Finally, he has worked to support democratic transitions in several of the countries listed above, including in Africa, Middle East, Asia and Central/Eastern Europe, focusing on issues of democratization in the context of global change and building on cultural strengths, emphasizing dynamics of endogenously driven political and economic development and political culture. For more information, please visit his profile found here.

Edy KaufmanEdy Kaufman is a foremost authority on the theory and practice of human rights and conflict resolution who consults widely with governments, intergovernmental organizations (including the UN), NGOs, and civil society activists.  For more than twenty years, he has co-taught with a Palestinian scholar-diplomat a groundbreaking course on the Israel-Palestine conflict.  Among Kaufman's most recent publications (co-edited with  W. Salem and J. Verhoeven) is Bridging The Divide: Peacebuilding in the Israeli-palestinian Conflict.  An expert on democratization and ethnic, religious and resource (water and border) conflicts, his current research and teaching initiatives include "Bridging the Paradigms of Universal Human Rights and Conflict Transformation in Theory and Praxis" and "Diaspora and Conflict: Testing the 'Long Distance Nationalism' Theory." For more information, please visit Dr. Kaufman's profile found here.

Stacy Kosko: With an emphasis on development ethics, Dr. Kosko's research asks questions central to the international development and human rights agendas.  Her focus includes, but is not limited to, state multiculturalism, citizenship and self-determination, minority and group rights, and individual and collective agency, in particular the intersection of these areas of inquiry.  Her populations of interest include severely marginalized groups and indigenous peoples and she has particular expertise in Roma and Traveller populations.  Her most recent works include a co-edited volume entitled Agency and Democracy in Development Ethics (under contract with Cambridge University Press) and a number of articles and chapters forthcoming and in print on topics of minority rights, culture and education, and value formation.  For MIDCM, she teaches the gateway course, Introduction to International Development and Conflict Management (GVPT354) and the Capstone in International Development (GVPT356), including both the Global Classroom and Fearless Ideas versions.  Please see her "Research Faculty" profile on the GVPT website for more information about her professional affiliations and leadership roles, as well as her experience as a practitioner. For more information on Dr. Kosko, please visit her profile found here.

Kelvin WongFor the last 18 years Dr. Wong’s research has centered on International Development. Working on scholarly-policy implementation frontiers, he has examined issues ranging from how international development donors operationalize conflict dynamics to solutions to extend affordable high-quality broadband telecommunications services in the developing world. He was the lead author of Web and Mobile Applications for International Development (2013) and Methodology and Implementation Approaches to Counter Ebola Virus Disease with Health Systems and Mobile Payments Applications (2015). In 2015 he launched a research project on how USAID designs, implements, and manages innovation. This research includes establishing a database incorporating information on funding, sector, innovation approaches, and success or failure of innovation projects. For more information, please visit his profile found here.