Leading Through Education and Trust

Featuring Dr. Georgia Butcher

Faculty in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Colorado-Boulder

Dr. Georgia Butcher is a cultural anthropologist who studies military servicemember and veteran health and serves as a faculty member at the Peace, Conflict, and Security Program (PACS) at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Her dissertation research focused on the experiences of military drone personnel based in the United States and the shifting expectations on the warrior. Prior to her graduate research, Dr. Butcher worked with the federal government on science and technology policy issues, specifically looking at policy implications on issues of AI, veteran and servicemember health, and human-machine teaming.

At its inception in 1968, PACS was one of a handful of peace studies programs in the world. By the arrival of the new millennium, hundreds of such programs existed. The study of conflict management and peace development has become a metadiscipline within the academic world and PACS at the University of Colorado has been instrumental in that evolution. A PACS graduate could take the path of mediator, human rights activist, classroom peace educator, social development specialist, legislator, advocate, mass media communicator, environmental dispute settler, etc. The PACS program prepares students to understand and practice peacemaking in whatever part of the world of work their interest might lead them.

PACS assumes a broad concept of peace; a process which requires preventing violence, disarming the world, meeting human needs, protecting human rights, resolving conflict without violence, ensuring social justice, truthseeking. As PACS faculty, Dr. Butcher shares a deep concern about the destructive conflicts which create unnecessary violence, suffering, and injustice in our world, and believes that these forms of conflict are not inevitable, and that they can be managed through increased understanding and effective practices. 

Dr. Butcher was recently awarded a Teaching Excellence Award based on her leadership, teaching philosophy and dedication to her students. According to Dr. Butcher, “My favorite part of teaching is when I realize that the students not only trust each other, but also me. Trust is such an essential part of teaching, especially in recitations, and I find that once trust is strong, student submissions also become stronger and more interesting.”

“Nothing About Us Without Us - Ever”

Featuring Julie Resikin

Co-Executive Director of Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition

Julie Resikin is the Co-Executive Director of the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition (CCDC), a leading disability rights organization who advocates for social justice for Coloradans with all types of disabilities. CCDC leads the way in citizen engagement by training advocates who permeate the Colorado public policy arena and assist other organizations with assuring real and meaningful participation at all levels, always with the motto: “Nothing About Us Without Us - Ever.”

Julie became disabled in her early 20s, encouraging a lifelong passion about healthcare to include disability rights. After graduate school, Julie advocated for Medicaid rights and the passage of the ADA, before moving to Colorado. In Colorado, Julie worked as a community organizer and community educator, and had a therapy practice. She joined the CCDC as a policy analyst, then later a director in 1997. Julie served in this capacity as a volunteer until the passage of the Medicaid Buy-In for Working Adults with Disabilities in Colorado in 2015 when CCDC transitioned from an all volunteer team to one with paid staff. In 2022, Hillary Jorgensen was recruited as co-director.

With a BS and MSW from the University of Connecticut, Julie is an Adjunct faculty member at the University of Denver at the Graduate School of Social Work active as a field liaison and teaching macro practice social work. In 2010, Julie was appointed by President Obama to serve on the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation as the client representative. In 2018, she was elected to serve on the Board of the ACLU of Colorado and is currently Chair of the Board. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the Denver Foundation and Treasurer of the National Pain Advocacy Center.

As a leader, Julie is passionate about supporting and mentoring younger leaders. “We can get to know younger leaders and be there to share what mistakes we made and share what we have learned over decades of this work. We can help them pace themselves. We can be their cheerleaders. We can continue to pave the way as we have by demanding that our community have a seat at the table and support them when they get jobs in the system whether in government or nonprofits.”