Yavapai College’s Respect Campaign and Justice Institute are co-hosting a Peace Summit on Thursday April 3 and Friday April 4, 2025. This event will create a venue for the different constituencies of Yavapai College and nearby communities to coalesce around important values such as mutuality, open-mindedness, empathy and courteous conversation. It is our hope that such a gathering will be an effective and cathartic opportunity to employ healing and unity to undermine divisiveness.

Peace is sorely needed during this difficult era of political, economic, social, and environmental uncertainty. And this is not simply because peace may bring a sense of respite from these challenges or restore a feeling of well-being; it’s because the effects of peace are far-reaching. Peace is a state of affairs that positively impacts safety, collaborative problem-solving (from the local to the global levels), educational opportunities, and the economy, to name just a few from a long list. But a harmonious environment in which all can thrive is not an automatic phenomenon, nor does it happen overnight. From all of us it requires investment and involvement. It is a collective undertaking that depends on patience, grace, and commitment to an extended process. But the outcome is worth the effort: we come away with a community fabric made strong and resilient by the threads interwoven by each of us. Our tapestry is rich with individual nuances that comprise a single harmonious composition.

The work of the Yavapai College Respect Campaign, which began in 2016, is a dynamic collaboration between students, faculty, staff and administrators to actively promote a culture of respect, acceptance and open dialogue by sponsoring event programming and information campaigns that meet its mission. In 2019 the group began working in tandem with the Yavapai College Justice Institute, which oversees the college’s administration of justice programs and certificates. Because these groups have parallel aims to affect positive change, their cooperative efforts have led to a more profound, widespread impact. They have been able to engage more deeply with students, to liaise with international peace organizations and community groups, and to extend their work into the law-enforcement, social-services and education sectors.

The Peace Summit represents a high point for the kind of rewarding endeavors that the Respect Campaign and Justice Institute routinely take on. It is a symposium that invites speakers from different backgrounds and different lived experiences — community members, students, academics and professionals. Together they will offer a range of diverse perspectives on the nature of peace within myriad contexts. It is a much-needed opportunity for us to simply come together, to talk to one another, listen and appreciate the wonderful people who are our neighbors, colleagues, friends and fellow residents of this lovely area. It will ultimately help us better understand our individual relationship with peace and, more important, how we can, through small yet significant actions, put this concept into everyday practice.

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Peace Summit Agenda

‍Thursday, April 3

9:15-10:15am: Debate and Civil Dialogue – Mark Woosley, Professor of Communications

‍10:30-11:30am: Harmony in Diversity: Learning from Nature – Brandelyn Andres, Professor of Art History and Respect Campaign Chair

‍12:30-1:30: Sing a New Song: Creativity, Community, Voice and Healing – Meg Bohrman, Community Musician and Educator

‍2:00-3:00pm: Dance/Improvisation – Mary Heller, Professor of Dance

‍3:15-4:15: The Science of Kindness – Bobby Kipper, Co-Founder, Performance-Driven Thinking

‍6-7:30pm: Panel Discussion: Peace in Action; a Q&A-driven conversation about how individuals in various roles can promote kindness, peace, and civility. Panelists: Tyran Payne, Police Chief and Faculty, Yavapai College; Athena Alverez, Yavapai College Student and Americorps Intern; Meredith Dunlap-Sterrett, Board Member, Actively Caring for People Program; Bobby Kipper, Co-Founder, Performance-Driven Thinking.

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Friday, April 4

9-10am: The Transformative Power of Gratitude,

Forgiveness and Peace – Brandelyn Andres, Professor of Art History and Respect Campaign Chair, and Jerald Monahan, Professor of Administration of Justice

10-11am: Jewish and Navajo Cultural and Educational

Experiences – Jessica Hawk, Professor of Biology

11:15am-12:15pm: Principles of Peaceful Order

– Jerald Monahan, Professor of Administration of Justice

1:15-2:15pm: #Endtraffiking – Rita Toikka, Professor of Art

** pin sales to benefit The Launch Pad Teen Center

2:30-3:30pm: Leadership and Peace – Yavapai College Student Government Association

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The summit will take place on the Yavapai College Prescott campus in Building 19, Room 147. All sessions are free and open to the public. For more information contact Brandelyn Andres (brandelyn.andres@yc.edu; 928-717-7739) or Jerald Monahan (jerald.monahan@yc.edu; 928-776-2184).