Dr. Joe P. Dunn, the Charles A. Dana Professor and Chair of the Department of History & Politics at Converse College, is the author of five books and more than one hundred published articles, book chapters, and academic essays. He has won teaching awards at the local, state, and national levels, and he has conducted numerous teaching seminars. He is the executive director of the Carolinas Committee on U.S.-Arab Relations, editor of its newsletter, Newslines, and he has been involved in Model Arab League for 24 years.  He is director of the Southeast Model Arab League, the senior faculty member of the National Model Arab League, and the recipient of the Model Arab League Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council on U.S. Arab Relations. He also runs the International Model NATO event. Dr. Dunn has traveled extensively around the world and in the Middle East where he has been a several-time Joseph J. Malone Faculty Fellow.

Holly Maassarani is the Director of the Youth Restorative Justice Initiative at the Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County (CRCMC). She is a graduate of American University’s School of International Service, with a master’s degree in International Peace and Conflict Resolution. Her graduate studies focused on reconciliation, and community-based forms of justice. Her work with youth began while in law school, where she volunteered as a Judge Advocate for the Youth Court Diversion Program in D.C.  Holly is a passionate advocate for alternative processes to achieve justice and positive ways to engage with conflict and healing in communities. She is trained in various processes including negotiation, mediation, Open Space Technology, Help Increase the Peace Program (HIPP), community conferencing, peacemaking circles, and victim offender mediation in crimes of severe violence. Her work at CRCMC includes running the Dialogue Circle and Community Conferencing programs.

Linda Lauretta, LCSW is a psychotherapist and peacebuilder. She has over 15 years of individual and group counseling experience as well as workshop presentation and facilitation with a specialization in adolescent issues and family mediation. She is a council member of the United Religions Initiative - Mid-Hudson Valley, NY (www.uri.org) and a UN Representative with The Wittenberg Center, (www.wittenbergcenter.org), which is in consultative status to the UN ECOSOC (Economic and Social Division). She is a member emeritus of The Northeast Citizens for Media Reform, an organization that advocated and acted for true freedom of the press and citizen’s rights to accurate information. Linda has also organized and produced several events for International Day of Peace and World Peace and Prayer Day. Her peacebuilding efforts focus on fostering inter-religious understanding and cooperation through the use of dialogue, music and multi-faith presentations. Workshops offered were primarily in Lifestyle Management and Self-Improvement.

Tarek Farouk Maassarani works with at-risk youth in the community peacebuilding team of the Latin American Youth Center and leads an interfaith teen group in Washington, DC. He is also a lecturer in the field of peacebuilding and human rights at the George Washington University’s Elliott School for International Affairs and American University’s School for International Service.  He provides dispute resolution services, including mediation, dialogue facilitation, training, and peace education to organizations, schools, and businesses. Tarek holds a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School for International and Public Affairs, a J.D. from Georgetown University, as well as a B.S. in Environmental Studies and B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Sarah Warrick is a senior politics major and a three-year member of the Converse College Model Arab League delegation, where she is a multiple-time award winning debater on both MAL and International Model NATO and she serves as the co-head delegate of MAL. Very active in American domestic politics, she has served on the campaign staff and the Washington office of Congressman Heath Shuler of North Carolina and she is the recipient of the Richardson-Thurmond Award for excellence in preparation for a political career.

Hilary Berry is a senior politics major at Converse College. She is a four-year member of the Converse Model Arab League delegation on which she has excelled as a debater and chair, and she presently serves as co-head delegate of the group responsible for training and administration of the organization. She has been the president of her class several years, including being the senior class president. Beyond campus, she served last year as Secretary General of the Southeast MAL and Assistant Secretary General of the National MAL. This year she is the Secretary General of both the National MAL and International Model NATO. After graduation, Hilary will attend law school or pursue a masters degree in public administration.

Katie Hudson is a history and politics major and a four year member of the Converse MAL program. She has chaired at several models and she won the outstanding chair award last year at the International Model NATO. Beside winning debate awards on various committees, Katie has argued legal cases on the Arab Court of Justice and she won an award last year at Model UN for her performance on the International Court of Justice. Katie plans to attend law school next year.

Stephanie Jennings is a politics and German major and a four year member of the Converse MAL program. She is a top debater with various awards and has argued cases on the Arab Court of Justice. Last year she was the Converse representative on the North Atlantic Council at the International Model NATO, and she will chair at the event this year. She studied abroad in Germany last fall. Stephanie is a candidate for a Fulbright Fellowship and she plans to go to graduate school in international studies.

Monica Lineberger is a politics and Spanish major and a four year member of the Converse MAL program. Monica has won debate awards in virtually every competition that she has participated in since her freshman year. She is chairing for the first time this year. Monica studied in Spain last spring, she won the Thurmond-Richardson Award last year for the top aspiring student preparing to go into the political arena, and she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in some aspect of public policy or international studies.