M.A. International Peace and Conflict Resolution, American University, B.A., History Education, University of Delaware
Bio
Rebecca Coughlin is part of the Graduate Enrollment Management Team at SIS. Her goal is to help make SIS a more diverse and inclusive community, knowing that this will contribute to a more representative and better prepared workforce in the field of international affairs. Her work includes strategic recruitment efforts as well as program and partnership development that aim to increase retention of historically underrepresented groups while also building a community that is intentional about inclusion and belonging. She especially enjoys meeting with prospective students and assisting them in identifying the graduate program that best fits their research interests and professional goals.
Rebecca joined the American University community in 2006 as both staff and student. She previously worked with University Communications and Marketing as the University’s Photo Librarian (2006-07) and as the International Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) Program Coordinator in SIS (2007-2012).
In 2011 Rebecca completed her MA in IPCR with a focus on facilitation of intergroup processes and identity-based conflict. Her thesis focused on understanding how meaningful- but ordinary- contact with a different identity group can contribute to the breakdown of stereotypes in the context of a case study race relations in present-day Selma, AL.
Prior to coming to AU, Rebecca was a high school teacher at her alma mater, Good Counsel High School in Maryland. Studying abroad in South Africa and volunteering in an Americorps Program in Selma, AL strongly influenced her decision to leave teaching to earn a graduate degree that would allow her professional focus to shift to conflict resolution. She currently addresses conflict in the context of on-going structural racial and socio-economic inequities that are obstacles to positive peace (a society where everyone can thrive) and sees educational access as a means to addressing these issues.
