Ignite Portland

I am a recovering violent person. I have a passion for non-coercive conflict resolution and effective communication, having grown up in an era when physical punishment, bullying, and nuclear bomb threats were the norm.

I have a Master’s degree in systematic design-planning as taught to me by an associate of R. Buckminster Fuller, one of the early holistic thinkers. Now, as the Oregon State Coordinator for the campaign to establish a U.S. Department of Peace, an amazing systems approach to violence, I have found a vehicle for the expression of my deepest values.

Violence is a self-inflicted cultural story, a behavioral disease, and a public health problem of massive proportions. A holistic understanding of repeated cycles of violence and a vision of life without violence can empower an entire culture to recover. The process of returning to health uses outer, transitory goals such as the establishment of a Department of Peace or a City of Peace. Ultimately, it moves us through inner, personal layers of grief and despair into forgiveness, hope, civic responsibility, and true security.