Bio/Contact
̌
I am fascinated by the role of narrative and storytelling in conflict transformation.
I am a researcher, writer, and storyteller based in Northern Virginia.
Currently, I am a doctoral candidate at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, where I am focusing on the role of narrative and music in conflict transformation.
I am also the lab manager of The Narrative Transformation Lab, a Carter School Peace Lab that provides a space for research, practice, and community building around the narrative dynamics of conflict transformation.
I am also an amateur composer, reviving my teenage love of piano one song at a time.
How did I get here?
In 2009, I began my undergraduate studies at the University of Iowa. For storytellers, especially of the written word, Iowa City can seem a bit mythic and mystical. I was drawn to the school’s creative writing and literature courses. But I was equally drawn to pressing issues of politics.
So, I spent my days shuttling between my political science classes in Schaeffer Hall and my literature classes in the English and Philosophy Building. But classes on war and film in the former and course on postcolonial literature in the latter helped me to understand that art and politics, policy and stories, are caught up in each other in inextricable ways.
My time after graduation was spent doing policy work in D.C. and research in Turkey. Throughout it all, I found myself constantly returning to questions about the relationship between art and politics, between fact and fiction. What is the power of a good story? And how much good (or bad) can good stories do in the world?
My studies and work at the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution have given me the chance to immerse myself in these questions. In dedicating myself to the lifelong work of parsing out the connections between narrative and conflict transformation, I seek to better understand the mechanics of how conflicts are born, shaped, and transformed through the power of storytelling.
Mostly, however, I seek to become a better storyteller myself, ever mindful of how stories help us to build power, do politics, confront conflict, and take care of each other along the way.
Say Hi
Message me at awill32 [at] gmu [dot] edu
You can also find me on social media:
IN THE NEWS
PODCAST EPISODE – Narrative Transformation: Storytelling for Peace
October 09, 2024
Visualising War & Peace Podcast (Interviewer: Dr. Alice König)
In this podcast episode, I sit down with Dr. Alice König (St. Andrews University) and Dr. Solon Simmons (Director of The Narrative Transformation Lab) to discuss the narrative dynamics of conflict transformation. This episode is a good primer on the work of The Narrative Transformation Lab.
Mason Korea student promotes inclusivity through Korean ArtPop Storytelling Workshop
October 07, 2024
George Mason University News
In this article, I offer comments (in my capacity as narrative transformation advisor) on the impact of the Korean ArtPop Storytelling Workshop organized by George Mason University undergraduate student Seung Gyo Kim as part of the Carter School’s Fall 2024 Peace Week.
Loudoun community questions need for lynching memorials, others become advocates
MARCH 16, 2019
Nathaniel Cline for The Loudoun Times-Mirror
The above article covers a community dialogue in Leesburg, Virginia, that I co-organized with my fellow GMU students, Tanja Thompson, Bethany Holland, and Jordan Mrvos.
Forum seeks input from community on lynching memorials
March 15, 2019
Renss Greene for LoudounNow
The above article covers a community dialogue in Leesburg, Virginia, that I co-organized with my fellow GMU students, Tanja Thompson, Bethany Holland, and Jordan Mrvos.
UI alum awarded Fulbright grant to study Turkish development cooperation
April 21, 2015
University of Iowa International Programs
Growing up with bin Laden: Perspectives from the 9/11 generation
2011
TIME.com
I was featured in this series on reactions to the death of Osama bin Laden from those who were children, pre-teens, or teenagers on 9/11.
