Kaitlin Conway, MS Alumna

After graduating from the Masters program in 2014, Kaitlin Conway joined Training Resources Group (TRG), an organization that provides training, consulting, facilitatation, and organizational development services to their clients. "The skills I learned and developed at S-CAR, such as facilitation, reflective practice, and narrative evaluation and praxis, are ever present in my work with our clients who range from large to small corporations, international organizations, federal and state government agencies, as well as non-profit organizations."

Kaitlin Conway, a native of Alabama, attended Troy University, a small yet internationally focused university south of Montgomery. While there, she studied Political Science with a focus on International Politics and Leadership Studies. Kaitlin recalled, "After about a year into my undergraduate degree, I felt that my studies were devoid of an approach that examined international and domestic political trends and historical events in an interdisciplinary manner, especially in a way that I wanted to approach solving some historical conflicts." In addition, Kaitlin was also looking for some level of practice-based curriculum to complement all the theory that she was learning.

For Kaitlin, the "what is next?" question drew her to the program at S-CAR, which promised to bring together the development of theory, research, and practice to address the conflicts of today. "Overall, I think my experiences at S-CAR, especially those focused on practice and field work, showed the impact and application of a variety of intervention strategies on a variety of levels across vast contexts."
Kaitlin recounts initially feeling anxious when she realized that the World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund, and USAID were some of the cleints of TRG. "I remember feeling some pressure when I first started working at TRG. After completing some work for our clients, I came to the realization that my work was just an extension of my S-CAR education, an ongoing process I should add." Kaitlin recalls Dennis Sandole’s Three Pillar approach, an integrative model that encourages a systems approach to both analysis and resolution. It is a model she says informs her own work, but allows flexibility for interventions in that the model explores different levels of the conflict. She says "In my own work this encourages action, as a change at one level will inevitably affect other levels, with deep and broad analysis to ensure effectiveness." In addition to this, she has done some work that involves tracking conversations at a meeting with government and NGOs about the United States National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security as well as successfully organizing an internal learning session based on Sara Cobb’s Narrative Praxis course. "The content was well received and many trainers at TRG were interested in ways that these principles could be implemented in their own work."

Currently, Kailtin is enjoying working for TRG but she hopes to do more in the field. "I am learning a lot and would like to be a trainer/facilitator who works more closely with clients in future."