Ethan Finley, S-CAR Ph.D. Candidate
Ethan’s journey to ICAR had its roots between 2002-2004 while he spent time taking care of his grandmother. During this period she helped him discover his passion and interest in studying social conflict. At her suggestion he began searching for conflict resolution programs and found ICAR. After completing the Master’s program in 2008, Ethan was accepted in to the Ph.D. program as a Presidential Scholar. 
Ethan has been teaching as a Graduate Lecturer for the Undergraduate Program for the past 3 semesters. He teaches CONF 300: Conflict Resolution Techniques and Practices. Ethan first co-taught this course with Wallace Warfield who acted as a mentor, an opportunity he views as a blessing. Ethan Finley has had a significant impact on many of his students; recently he received an “Excellence in Teaching Award” from the National Honor Society for Undergraduate Juniors.
Ethan has a wide range of practice experience, making important contributions to the conflict resolution field. He has worked as a Dialogue Facilitation Coordinator with youth from conflict zones at a summer camp called Face to Face | Faith to Faith. While in the Master’s program, he was part of an applied practice and theory team that worked on a community conflict resolution initiative focusing on immigration issues in Prince William County.
As part of his graduate research assistant position with Professor Susan Hirsch, Ethan is currently working on the Undergraduate Experiential Learning Project, which develops experiential learning activities for undergraduate students. Ethan’s Ph.D. dissertation is focusing on youth and violence prevention. He is very interested in continuing his work with young people and peacebuilding.