Bio:

Arthur Romano is an Assistant Professor at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University and The Elise Boulding Scholar Practitioner for the National Peace Academy. He has over 20 years of experience serving as an educational advisor and developing transformative and experiential education with communities affected by conflict and violence.

Dr. Romano  came to the school with over 15 years of experience designing and implementing experiential educational programs on peace and conflict resolution related themes in a wide array of locales including in Asia, Africa, and Central America. He also co-developed the Diversity Matters Now workshop series, which explores issues related to identity and peacebuilding in colleges and universities across the US.

His international work has focused on Hip Hop Diplomacy as he regularly works with US Hip Hop Artists engaging in cultural exchange work abroad through the Next Level Program as well as peace education in East Asia including implementation and evaluation of peace education and problem-solving programs in Japan and South Korea.

He has published on issues related to Black-led truth-telling processes, grassroots peace and conflict resolution education and urban peacebuilding and is currently completing a book focused on community-led nonviolence education and the living legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. in US cities impacted by systemic racism and economic inequality.

Programs:

Martin Luther King’s Radical Vision for Saving the Planet

When Dr. King is put on a pedestal as a saint, with little explanation of how he developed his militant approach to social change we erase the analysis that drove him to champion radical social change to challenge white supremacy, militarism, and economic exploitation, and how he developed courage over time and handled the violent resistance that he and others faced at every turn.

In this interactive program, Dr. Romano introduces the key principles and deeper ideas that are often missed in celebrations of King. Drawing on his extensive study of nonviolence under the guidance of Civil Right Legend Bernard Lafayette and his time studying nonviolence in India, he breaks down those ideas in ways that can help us think about taking action today.

To get a better sense of Dr. Romano’s thinking on this topic check out: https://wagingnonviolence.org/2021/01/martin-luther-king-world-house/

 Book Launch: Building the Beloved Community, One Block at a Time. 

 Check out this exclusive offer by Conscious Campus to have a personal book reading and social justice workshops at your school. This will include signed copies of the new book by Dr. Romano as we well as personalized program for your students aimed at supporting them in stepping into their leadership as future peacebuilders. This program will be available starting January 2022.

Call To Conscience: Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration
International peace-worker Arthur Romano honors the legacy and struggle of Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by bringing his teachings to life and demonstrating how King’s message is inspiring a new generation of peace-builders around the world today.

Civility and Difference: Sustaining Conversations that Matter on Campus
Is it possible to have passionate and contentious conversations on campus without resorting to negativity, nastiness and name calling? How can we be honest and not sugar coat things while also respecting others? This lecture explores the critical role that meaningful dialogue can play in addressing issues of difference on campus.

Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times

When we think of courage, famous people such as spokespersons, celebrities, athletes, military generals, or highly recognizable leaders tend to come to mind. Popular discourse about leaders often leaves little room to explore the relevance of courageous action in our lives. When discussing courage in our society, we omit the social conditions that support the development of courageous qualities in people. Instead, courageous leaders are often thought of as somehow having the “it factor” of courage. They may be born that way, have a natural proclivity toward taking risks, a higher threshold for pain, or are innately adept at making wise choices when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. This is far from the truth however, as people are not born courageous but instead become courageous, as they become bolder with the support of key people around them.

In this program, Dr. Arthur Romano, explores how we all can deepen our study and practice of courageous leadership. He draws on extensive research of people that have successfully navigated the challenges of conflict and violence and risen up to take compassionate and strategic action when others thought it was impossible. He grounds his work in nonviolence principles and key ideas that animated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and provide a clear path to action. In this talk, participants explore their attitudes and approaches toward conflict and inequality and engage with practical models that support navigating change, dealing with conflict and developing organizational models that can withstand and even thrive in the face of increasing uncertainty.

Conflict Resolution after the Pandemic:
The Pandemic taught us some very difficult but potentially transformative lessons. Those lessons include that we are profoundly interconnected in a global world and that our safety is deeply dependent on the health of others. This should radically reorient how we think of ourselves in the world. When it comes to safety, our billion dollar military was left largely on the sidelines as hundreds of thousands of people became ill and health care workers, teachers, social workers, farmers and many people in service oriented jobs fought to keep people alive. In this workshop Professor Romano, shares insights about what we need to learn from the pandemic and how a generation of people committed to social and ecological justice will need to step up to create a more equitable and sustainable world.

Diversity Matters Now!
More than a lecture, Diversity Matters Now! Is a transformative workshop that uses interactive activities to address diversity issues, enhance leadership qualities and increase capacity to build connections and community across lines of difference.