Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Over the summer, high schoolers from around the world came to the Fairfax Campus to learn from the experts how to contribute meaningfully to democratic resilience in the United States and around the world.

A recent sighting of a pair of juvenile green herons at George Mason University's Point of View retreat and conference center in Lorton, Virginia, has drawn attention to the diversity of avian life thriving along the Occoquan River shoreline.

One year after becoming the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) Hub Chair for Sustainable Development Goal 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University is expanding its role as a global convener of research, education, and partnerships aimed at advancing peace and sustainable development.

Silvia Danielak, an assistant professor at George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, is the author of Peace Infrastructures: How UN Peace Operations Build Roads, Bridges, and Solar Farms in the Pursuit of Sustainability (MIT Press, April 2026), the first comprehensive account of infrastructure building in United Nations peace operations. Danielak’s work focuses on sociospatial and infrastructure planning in conflict settings and as part of peace efforts, as well as its coalition with climate and environmental efforts.

When Avery Cotham, MS Conflict Analysis and Resolution ’26, enrolled at George Mason University’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, she was ready for a new challenge. For 15 years, Cotham worked as a vocalist and choral director in Colorado before the COVID-19 pandemic prompted her to rethink her career and search for a new way to serve her community.

The Carter School welcomed a record 63 students from across the U.S. and Jordan to its 10th annual Conflict Resolution Youth Summit (CRYS), where participants built skills in negotiation, facilitation, and conflict analysis. Through hands-on workshops and collaborative projects, students developed innovative solutions to real challenges in their school communities while exploring future opportunities in peacebuilding and conflict resolution.

The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University hosted the Minister of State of Qatar, His Excellency Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, for a presentation on “The Role of Qatar in International Mediation and Peacemaking,” on May 6 at Mason Square.

Honors College student Avery Shippen earned degrees in conflict analysis and resolution and art and visual technology while receiving multiple prestigious scholarships, fellowships, and international study opportunities. Her interdisciplinary work blending graphic design and peacebuilding, along with internships in global affairs and national security, has prepared her to pursue a career in education policy and curriculum development.

Oakley Hill, a PhD candidate at the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, leverages Root Narrative Theory (RNT) to analyze how political narratives shape public perception, ideology, and voting behavior in the United States. His research, including the national Justice Languages of America Survey, highlights the distinct ways liberals, conservatives, and moderates interpret political conflict while advancing practical conflict resolution through mediation and facilitation work.

When George Mason University senior Avery Butler was 16, his family traveled to Cambodia to visit the Killing Fields, the massacre sites associated with the country’s brutal Khmer Rouge era. The experience would change Butler’s perspective on life and inspire him to pursue a professional career in peacebuilding.