Future Vision: Kjerstin Pugh ’03 on Peacebuilding, Art, and Ellis
Peacebuilding can feel like a big, complicated system—and sometimes it is—but Kjerstin Pugh ’03 knows that often it starts with bringing people together and making space.
Kjerstin is the Deputy Program Director for the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution program at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies, and through both this work and a love of art, she has focused her career on inclusion, youth development, community building, and conflict analysis.
She has formally trained in restorative practices, facilitation, family engagement, and Kingian Nonviolence, and has worked with numerous organizations, including: JAMS, NYCID, Mediators Beyond Borders, CT State Department of Education, Educational Opportunities Civil Rights Working Group, Anti-Defamation League, and CMMI Institute.
What do you enjoy most about working in this field?
The most fulfilling part of this work is that I do a lot of organizing, especially for opportunities for professional development, bringing communities together, creating networks, and connecting people. Conflict is everywhere. You can have internal conflict with yourself. You can have interpersonal conflict with other people or groups, or within families, organizations, and communities, and nationally or globally. Helping people understand how vast and broad conflict can be, talking to people about their own definition of it, and getting them to understand that conflict is natural is really important. But then to help them understand that there are a lot of different ways to deal with it and that conflict can actually be an opportunity to transform relationships, evolve yourself, and really connect with people in a different way is rewarding. There’s some creative thinking that goes into this. It applies to all of our lives, and to all of our professions.
Why is it important for people to have this skill set?
What values did you learn at Ellis that have carried into your career or personal life?
Hard work and critical thinking are so key. I was so lucky to be in an environment where that was standard, and that gave me a really great advantage, especially in college. I feel like the thing I most reference about Ellis is actually the motto, Esse Quam Videri. I appreciated it when I was in high school, but I have thought about it many times at many stages throughout my life. It’s a reflection on authenticity and on being true to yourself. We change over time and being able to show up authentically and not performatively, is important. That's a really great north star, to be honest, and I've really kept that as mine.
Is there any advice or encouragement you'd like to share with current Ellis students?
You know, sometimes when we think about education, we think of checking boxes—high school? Check. College? Check. But I do feel like Ellis instills this passion for learning, and that is something that is a lifelong pursuit. Ellis is really great at both inspiring and grounding you to help you trust yourself and trust your gut. When I look back, I certainly felt more confident in myself at Ellis than maybe I would have in another learning environment. I’m very grateful. As an Ellis student, you have an incredibly solid foundation for entering adulthood.
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She has formally trained in restorative practices, facilitation, family engagement, and Kingian Nonviolence, and has worked with numerous organizations, including: JAMS, NYCID, Mediators Beyond Borders, CT State Department of Education, Educational Opportunities Civil Rights Working Group, Anti-Defamation League, and CMMI Institute.
Separate from her work in conflict resolution, but still strongly connected to and inspired by that mission, Kjerstin is the Founder and Executive Director of Offroute Art. This Pittsburgh-based nonprofit organization supports artists aged 16-24 to display and sell their artwork, and to tell the stories of different neighborhoods in the process. Artists receive 100% of the profits from their sales.
Kjerstin said Offroute is about a future vision, in which we think about the world we want to participate in and support change for the better. Creating new futures is a part of the creative process, and one that she sees as a form of peace building.
“That’s a very deliberate age group,” she said. “That's a challenging time in life. This is really about representing young adults and emerging artists from all different backgrounds, identities, and life experiences, and supporting them at this very specific time in their lives.”
Kjerstin holds an M.S. in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution from Columbia University and a B.A. in Urban Studies from New School University. She is currently pursuing an Ed.D. at Teachers College, Columbia University in Adult Learning and Leadership.
What drew you to a career in Conflict Resolution?
I worked in New Haven, Connecticut for about eight years through a partnership between Yale University, New Haven Public School District, and the State Department of Education. I was working with young adults in public schools, and seeing phenomenal partnerships with community organizations that were doing great workshops about peace building, conflict resolution skills, and nonviolent communication. I was just amazed to experience how much that affected how everyone in the room communicated and behaved—both the teenagers and the adults, myself included. I started to realize that these are all different aspects of conflict resolution work, but I didn't know it was actually a field of study, and the field has really expanded since then. I was thinking about going to graduate school, and I ended up attending Columbia University’s Negotiation and Conflict Resolution program. It was so impactful. If you took a class one day, you could apply the skills and frameworks to your work the next day. I started doing community engagement work, such as small group facilitations, across New York City. One thing led to another, and I became the Associate Director of Curriculum Development for the program, and then for a little more than a year now, I've served as the Deputy Program Director.
Do you work in a particular area of the Conflict Resolution field?
I do a lot around how our identities shape our world views and our experiences. I also focus on self awareness, which is critical to having cultural competence and cultural humility. Right now, I'm really working on domestic peacebuilding. We have a different set of rhetoric for peacebuilding in the United States, and we have different concepts compared to what you encounter internationally. What's going on in the United States is really important to me. What drew you to a career in Conflict Resolution?
I worked in New Haven, Connecticut for about eight years through a partnership between Yale University, New Haven Public School District, and the State Department of Education. I was working with young adults in public schools, and seeing phenomenal partnerships with community organizations that were doing great workshops about peace building, conflict resolution skills, and nonviolent communication. I was just amazed to experience how much that affected how everyone in the room communicated and behaved—both the teenagers and the adults, myself included. I started to realize that these are all different aspects of conflict resolution work, but I didn't know it was actually a field of study, and the field has really expanded since then. I was thinking about going to graduate school, and I ended up attending Columbia University’s Negotiation and Conflict Resolution program. It was so impactful. If you took a class one day, you could apply the skills and frameworks to your work the next day. I started doing community engagement work, such as small group facilitations, across New York City. One thing led to another, and I became the Associate Director of Curriculum Development for the program, and then for a little more than a year now, I've served as the Deputy Program Director.
Do you work in a particular area of the Conflict Resolution field?
What do you enjoy most about working in this field?
The most fulfilling part of this work is that I do a lot of organizing, especially for opportunities for professional development, bringing communities together, creating networks, and connecting people. Conflict is everywhere. You can have internal conflict with yourself. You can have interpersonal conflict with other people or groups, or within families, organizations, and communities, and nationally or globally. Helping people understand how vast and broad conflict can be, talking to people about their own definition of it, and getting them to understand that conflict is natural is really important. But then to help them understand that there are a lot of different ways to deal with it and that conflict can actually be an opportunity to transform relationships, evolve yourself, and really connect with people in a different way is rewarding. There’s some creative thinking that goes into this. It applies to all of our lives, and to all of our professions.
Why is it important for people to have this skill set?
These are 21st-century skills. What's exciting is that people are recognizing this. If you have mediation skills and a depth of self awareness, you can have such an impact. These are the people companies and organizations want to bring on board—those who can impact a culture or a community culture in a positive way, and be leaders and role models for other people. I feel very strongly about the importance of modeling behaviors, this is an important part of leadership. We naturally make assumptions and have biases. You don’t have to agree with a person, but being able to connect with and respect other people who may have very different points of view is crucial.
Ellis’ mission statement calls for us to be “bold, authentic changemakers.” What does it mean to be bold in your chosen career?
It can mean a lot of things. But my biggest takeaway is that when I think about boldness, I actually think about inclusion. Inclusion is not passive, it’s active. It’s about reaching out to people and making connections and building bridges, which I see as a very bold act. That can be uncomfortable, and it’s something that sometimes our society has made us a little afraid of, especially with reaching out to people who might be perceived to be “different” than us. Being actively inclusive is a lot harder than it sounds, and I think being able to do that diligently, and being brave enough to do it consistently, is an act of boldness.
What were the experiences you most enjoyed as an Ellis student?
I was in about a million clubs! It was terrific for my personal development because I was able to explore so many different pursuits. Learning what you like, as well as what you don't like, is critical to help inform you as a person and what you want to do with your time and your energies. I loved the days when we would come in on a Saturday to work on the newspaper. I also really just appreciated the ethic of hard work– it's important to remember that no job is too small and sometimes you just have to get things done. It’s a lesson in finding your passions and also learning the humility and dedication to see a project through to fruition. It's satisfying to be able to finish something and to be proud of it.Ellis’ mission statement calls for us to be “bold, authentic changemakers.” What does it mean to be bold in your chosen career?
It can mean a lot of things. But my biggest takeaway is that when I think about boldness, I actually think about inclusion. Inclusion is not passive, it’s active. It’s about reaching out to people and making connections and building bridges, which I see as a very bold act. That can be uncomfortable, and it’s something that sometimes our society has made us a little afraid of, especially with reaching out to people who might be perceived to be “different” than us. Being actively inclusive is a lot harder than it sounds, and I think being able to do that diligently, and being brave enough to do it consistently, is an act of boldness.
What were the experiences you most enjoyed as an Ellis student?
What values did you learn at Ellis that have carried into your career or personal life?
Hard work and critical thinking are so key. I was so lucky to be in an environment where that was standard, and that gave me a really great advantage, especially in college. I feel like the thing I most reference about Ellis is actually the motto, Esse Quam Videri. I appreciated it when I was in high school, but I have thought about it many times at many stages throughout my life. It’s a reflection on authenticity and on being true to yourself. We change over time and being able to show up authentically and not performatively, is important. That's a really great north star, to be honest, and I've really kept that as mine.
Is there any advice or encouragement you'd like to share with current Ellis students?
You know, sometimes when we think about education, we think of checking boxes—high school? Check. College? Check. But I do feel like Ellis instills this passion for learning, and that is something that is a lifelong pursuit. Ellis is really great at both inspiring and grounding you to help you trust yourself and trust your gut. When I look back, I certainly felt more confident in myself at Ellis than maybe I would have in another learning environment. I’m very grateful. As an Ellis student, you have an incredibly solid foundation for entering adulthood.
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