11 03, 2022

Meet Director of Development, Joe Gunn

2022-03-11T17:29:08-05:00March 11th, 2022|Tags: , , |

Let’s start with the easy stuff – give us a sample of your professional background and experience. I have over 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. I’ve worked in youth development, fundraising, disability services, and advocacy. I’ve also served on many advisory committees and a few boards of directors. My first nonprofit job was at CYO Camp Rancho Framasa in Brown County. I did a little bit of every program for the organization over the years, but my favorite job was supporting youth with disabilities. The programs there are designed to ensure all children are fully included in all aspects of the program. I also recently finished a Master of Public Affairs in Nonprofit Management from IUPUI. It was great to take my past nonprofit experience and connect it to theory and best practice. I also made sure to keep a critical eye on norms in the sector that do not support diversity, equity, justice, and inclusion. What brought you to PLC? I first heard about the Peace Learning Center through my good friend Kelly Hannon. She attended Peace Learning Center programs while in high school and reconnected with PLC as a high school educator pursuing a master’s degree at IUPUI. I connected with their organization and did a presentation for PLC staff on disability diversity, equity, and inclusion with my previous nonprofit employer, accessABILITY. After finishing my master’s degree, I was looking to

11 03, 2022

Meet Grants and Communications Manager, Brandi Metzger

2022-03-11T17:24:17-05:00March 11th, 2022|Tags: , , |

Let’s start with the easy stuff – give us a sample of your professional background and experience. I have been a writer for as long as I can remember. I earned a Bachelor’s in creative writing from Oberlin College in northern Ohio. My professional journey has been very diverse: copywriting, research, animal caretaking, environmental stewardship, teaching, film and live-show production assistantship, and a few other hats. My service as an AmeriCorps Public Ally instilled a sense of confidence that I could be a leader in my community. I am passionate about finding creative ways for us all to understand the beautifully complex world around us. What brought you to PLC? Having experienced its programming in my youth, I was already a fan of PLC’s work. I believe PLC is an environment in which I can continue the work I love (bringing people together for the common good) while also gaining a wealth of peaceful practices that will serve me wherever I go. What are you most excited about in your new role? I am looking forward to maintaining and strengthening the relationships between PLC and its internal and external communities through effective communication. What’s your idea of a perfect day? A picnic and walk with my cat in a wide-open field in the morning, writing a funny script in the afternoon, and talking with friends under the stars long into the night. If we pushed play

4 03, 2022

Join Our Team, Community Care (Position Filled June 6, 2022)

2023-02-03T10:32:29-05:00March 4th, 2022|Tags: , , |

This position is no longer available. Please email your resume to info@peacelearningcenter.org if you would like to be considered for future positions. Job Title: Director of Community CARE Status: Full Time - Exempt Reports to: Associate Director Salary: $45,000 - $55,000 annually Primary Function/Purpose: Intentional advocacy activities through community, advocacy, reconciliation, and empowerment will help to achieve systemic change while expanding PLC’s impact. Advocacy creates a cycle of support for PLC’s direct service offerings through its program pillars. In this cycle, advocacy not only uplifts the voices of clients but increases PLC’s visibility in many different spheres of influence, allowing for innovative ideas, new funding streams, and media visibility. Position Responsibilities: • Be able to work with Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and other government and community organizations. • Be able to effectively work with Marion County Superior Court Juvenile Justice System, including Parole and Probation Departments. • Effectively interact with all levels of socio-economic communities. • Support Associate Director in additional duties as requested • Cross train PLC Program Facilitators in family programming • Ensure completion of monthly reports and evaluations from participants in programs and community meeting outcomes. • Develops a yearly Peace Education Conference in collaboration with the Associate Director. • Facilitates SEL, Equity, and Restorative Practices workshops. • Build strong relationships with contacts and other potential clients • Employ appropriate and respectful behavior management

10 02, 2022

Peace Love and Learning

2022-02-10T15:17:03-05:00February 10th, 2022|Tags: , , |

"Education is an act of love, and thus an act of courage." -Paulo Freire- Peace Learning Center embraces Valentine’s Day this year by encouraging our followers to join us in continual learning and self-development. If you’re interested in challenging yourself and the status quo, we recommend checking out the following learning opportunities: Implicit Bias Microaggressions Analyzing Power for Equity History of Race If you’re interested in self-love and well-being, we recommend checking out our, Eight Dimensions of Wellness workshop. If you are interested in reconciliation, peaceful resolution of conflicts and accountability, we recommend checking out the following sessions: Conflict Styles and Resolution Restorative Practices Level 1 Restorative Practices Level 2 Spread the love!  Community education is just as in important as individual efforts.   Book these workshops, and more, as a private opportunity for your business, church, organization, or social circle. Contact Jay Horan, jhoran@peacelearningcenter.org, for more details.

6 01, 2022

Meet Director of Equity Learning, Nirupama Hayden

2022-01-27T12:16:35-05:00January 6th, 2022|Tags: , , |

Let’s start with the easy stuff – give us a sample of your professional background and experience. In addition to working in the industry for eleven years, I’ve consulted for diversity and inclusion (D&I) for nearly two decades. My skills and experiences in demand included auditing to determine the current D&I gaps within the business, troubleshooting to pinpoint root causes of D&I issues, creating results-oriented D&I programming, and resolving intercultural conflicts. As a cultural anthropologist, I am interested in best practices in diversity and inclusion in corporate settings as well as cross-cultural issues in a variety of spaces. I have advised both domestically and internationally, and offer my services in my free time to local non-profits to remove barriers for marginalized youth and adults and promote intercultural peace and understanding What brought you to PLC? PLC’s mission and values align to my own, and demonstrates them daily through its committed support in serving the community. What are you most excited about in your new role? Collaborating with like-minded individuals in service to the community. What’s your idea of a perfect day? Spending time with my family (and that includes my pup!) doing anything at all. Oh, and a pot of masala chai! If we pushed play on what you were last listening to (music, podcast or otherwise) what would we hear? Anecdotes of the Buddha’s life, as related to his disciples, collected in Old Path, White

17 07, 2021

SEL Strategy: Five Emojis

2021-09-23T13:57:28-04:00July 17th, 2021|Tags: , , , |

Did you know that July 17th is National Emoji Day? To celebrate, we're sharing a social-emotional check-in strategy that works for groups of any size and folks of all ages! Check out the video above to hear the directions and learn about ways this activity can be extended. These free slides make this a zero prep strategy for the classroom.

1 03, 2021

Meet Director of Social Emotional Learning, Brooke Shoopman

2021-09-23T14:06:05-04:00March 1st, 2021|Tags: , , |

Let’s start with the easy stuff – give us a sample of your professional background and experience. After graduating from the University of Missouri with a degree in Secondary Education and a minor in Psychology, I taught junior high English and Social Studies for 5 years. I also served as an Equity and Inclusion Coach and Social Emotional Learning Coordinator for my school. I was very fortunate to be able to attend a wide variety of wonderful equity, inclusion, and social emotional learning trainings during my time as an educator. What brought you to PLC? Oh man, my journey to PLC goes back a few years. At the time, Marc Williams was the biggest proponent of restorative practices in our district. He invited PLC to present on RP at one of our district-wide professional development days, and I happened to attend that session. It marked a major shift in my professional and personal beliefs. I really started to focus on educating myself and finding other mentors like Marc. Over time, it just got harder and harder to ignore certain systemic issues. In August 2020, I reached a breaking point. Myself and other educators in my community were fighting hard for some essential changes, and we just kept hitting wall after wall. I realized that I needed to rethink how I was trying to effect change, and I decided to visit PLC’s website. I was only intending

15 01, 2019

Coming Soon, Everyday Circle Cards

2021-05-20T17:41:30-04:00January 15th, 2019|Tags: , , , |

What an exciting day! We just received some of our freshly designed Everyday Circle cards and we can’t wait to share them with the world! They are a brand new tool to help teachers who want to do this work but don't know where to start.  We have partnered with two other incredible organizations: Tribes and HEART to create Everyday Circles for teachers to implement SEL, restorative practices, humane education, and more.  There are 180 cards in the deck and each card has everything you need to lead your group through these processes, including images, prompts, and directions for interactive fun. We have had this vision for quite a long time and the stars finally aligned for us to make this happen! We have long thought that the actual work we do isn’t all that complicated but the support that you need to begin and maintain it, often is. Usually, this is a function of the need to change our mindset and learn new ideas incrementally to have time to actually implement and adjust.  All of this requires a lot of teacher training…a luxury many schools and teachers do not have.  So, without a lot of access to teachers, we thought, how can they learn how to do the work at the same time as they are doing it? That is exactly what these cards are designed to do.  If teachers can make a bit of time and commit

26 10, 2017

Inside Our Programs: Lew Wallace #107

2021-05-20T17:41:40-04:00October 26th, 2017|Tags: , , |

Any visitor is a special treat to a group of kindergarten students. But these kids don't have any old visitor today. "Ms. Maria! Ms. Maria!," they chirp in glee as Maria Ruiz, Youth Development Facilitator enters their classroom at Lew Wallace #107. She sits on the floor, in the circle that all their activities take place in, and waits patiently as they take their seats around the circular rug. Without saying a word Maria pulls out a singing bowl and taps the side of it causing a ring to emanate across the classroom. Immediately the wiggles and giggles cease and each student begins taking deep, calming peace breaths. After three of these breaths, where you can literally feel the room's energy mellow, she begins an empowerment chant that the kids clearly know by heart as they join in. "I love myself." "I loooooooovvvvvvveeeee myself." "Because I am smart." "I am strong." "I am kind." "I can help." "Yes, I can." "Yes, we can." "Si se puede." "Because I'm a good kid." "I'm a good kid." It's been a few weeks since Maria has seen this class; this is their first week back from fall break. She pulls out a stuffed animal, a black poodle with red bows in its hair. This is their speaking piece. When anyone in the circle wants to speak they have to have the speaking piece in their hands and everyone wants a chance to

15 07, 2014

The Mindful Path – Synergies in Mindfulness

2021-05-20T17:42:49-04:00July 15th, 2014|Tags: , , , |

Hello from guest blogger, Lisa Robinson!  This week presents a great opportunity to find more synergies between mindfulness practiced intentionally by adults and mindfulness as experienced by children in school as part of social and emotional learning (SEL) exercises. Mindfulness Program I’m continuing to work through the program in “Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World” by Mark Williams and Danny Penman.  In ‘Mindfulness Week Two: Keeping the Body in Mind,’ the meditation is a body scan.  By experiencing this, you can learn to pay attention to your body, identify messages your body is sending you about anxiety and stress, and enhance your awareness by carefully scanning all areas of the body. I have been really enjoying this mindfulness program.  I really think that it’s helped me to be more centered and calm, which has resulted in being more present instead of focusing on the past or the future. Meditation Resources If you’re interested in exploring some free meditation resources, try this link from UCLA Mindful Awareness Resource Center. https://marc.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=22 Yoga Enhances Mindfulness I have found that starting a yoga practice along with mindfulness makes my whole experience even more rich.  Although I took some yoga classes in the past, it was so long ago that for all practical purposes, I’m a beginner again.  I’ve been working with some recorded content for beginners; this has helped me to stretch my muscles, tone them, and to relax

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