KIPCOR

KIPCOR Shorts 2021 Registration available!!
2021-12-03 08:30 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | Virtual (Online) Event, No street address, North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Registration is now open for
KIPCOR Shorts Fall 2021
(Live on Zoom)
Approved for 6 Hours of CDREs, including 1.5 hour of DV;
6 hours of CLE, and 6 hours of CEUs.

Click here to Register Now!!

MLK Day 2022 January 17
2022-01-17 19:00 - 2022-01-18 19:00 | Memorial Hall, Bethel College, North Newton, KS 67117, 300 E 27th St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States

Practical Skills for Managing Interpersonal Conflict (Core Mediation Primary Training) Via Zoom Spring 2022
2022-02-02 08:30 - 2022-02-18 13:00 | Virtual (Online) Event, No street address, North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
This unique and highly interactive training will…

Equip participants with practical skills for managing interpersonal difference and disagreement.
Address the impact of personal style, culture, and power on conflict.
Provide technical proficiency in dialogue and mediation techniques (course content follows primary training requirements for Kansas Supreme Court core mediator approval).
Benefit everyone interested in developing better skills for handling the difficult conversations we all face.

Who should attend? Teachers, social workers, managers, business people, counselors, attorneys, court personnel, church leaders, community leaders – and anyone interested in learning more about solving interpersonal problems.
Virtual training—available in the comfort of your home/office.

Same high quality, interactive, and highly rated course KIPCOR has been offering for more than 20 years.
Presentation based on the most current virtual education pedagogy, creating excellent outcomes in a safe distance format.
Each day features learning via Zoom, integrated with generous amounts of non-screen time to eliminate cognitive fatigue.
Daily breakout sessions for pairs and small groups of students to practice techniques and skills, as well as engage in role-plays.
Technical Requirements: reliable internet connection and a device (laptop, desktop, or tablet) with camera & microphone.

Approved for Core Mediation Primary Training CDRE Credits by the Kansas State Supreme Court’s OJA. Social Work CEUs available upon request.

We will be offering a discount for those who register for both Core Mediation (i.e. this training) and Domestic Mediation (dates TBD) in 2022 –
if you register for the early-bird Core rate of $575 you can register for the Early-bird Domestic class for $325 instead of the regular $400.

Register Now

KIPCOR Film Series: "Citizen Ashe"
2022-02-20 14:00 - 16:00 | Luyken Fine Arts Center, 300 East 27th Street, North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
SAVE THE DATE!!
KIPCOR Film Series 2021-2022:
Sunday, February 20, at 2:00 PM
“Citizen Ashe”

Honoring Black History Month, we will screen the film live and in-person in Krehbiel Auditorium in the Luyken Fine Arts Center on the campus of Bethel College in North Newton.
Be sure to stay after the film for an audience discussion led by Bethel College Head Football Coach A.B. Stokes. Coach Stokes was born and raised in Chicago, and is a 2007 graduate of Sterling College. He and his wife of 19 years have four children. Coach Stokes returned to Bethel College after serving as the Content Pastor/Assistant Football Coach/Head Wrestling Coach at Lincoln Christian School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Coach Stokes served as the offensive coordinator and associate head Thresher Football coach from 2018-2020. Coach Stokes has been influential in creating the foundation of the culture for Bethel College football today.
As always, our films are free and open to the public. Students will receive Bethel College Convocation credit for attending this film.
Citizen Ashe explores the enduring legacy of tennis great and humanitarian Arthur Ashe, charting his personal evolution from Grand Slam champion to global activist during a time of tumultuous historical events. Directed by Rex Miller and Sam Pollard.
PLEASE NOTE that we will continue to follow Bethel College’s COVID-19 guidelines, which currently require everyone to wear masks indoors for groups of 10 or more, regardless of vaccination status.
See you at the movies in February!!

Domestic Mediation Primary Training Live Online via Zoom March 2022
2022-03-09 08:30 - 2022-03-25 13:00 | Virtual (Online) Event, No street address, North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
This training focuses on application of the mediation process to situations involving divorced or separating parents who cannot agree on issues related to child custody and parenting.
Topics include…

Divorce as family reorganization
Impact of divorce on children
Developmentally appropriate parenting plans
Working with high conflict families
Assessing for domestic violence and abuse
Kansas divorce and domestic mediation statues
Kansas Supreme Court Rules relating to Domestic Mediation, including ethics obligations

Prerequisite: Core Mediation Primary Training; (completion of a core co-mediation practicum is not required. )
Technical requirements: Reliable internet connection, and a device (computer or tablet) with a camera, microphone, and video display.
Register Now

HOPE Spring Session 2022 - Offered Live Online, via Zoom
2022-03-14 18:00 - 2022-05-09 19:00 | Virtual (Online) Event, No street address, North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
HOPE consists of five interactive, skill-building, educational classes designed to reduce the negative impact of divorce or separation conflict on children by helping parents learn healthy habits for more positive co-parenting.
* Understand your child’s right and need to love both parents
* Focus on your child’s needs instead of your own desires
* Recognize relationship transitions
* Develop effective communication skills
* Minimize conflict & manage emotions
* Create healthier boundaries while building trust & respect
This session consists of five classes: March 14 and 28, April 11 and 25, and May 9, 2022. One must attend ALL FIVE CLASSES to complete the program.
The classes are held electronically via Zoom. We will meet at 6:00 PM on the class days for no more than one and one half hours, and then you will complete off-line class assignments at home, on your own. The total cost of the session, including all five classes, is $250. See the registration form (click below) for more details.
CLICK HERE to register for the Spring 2022 HOPE class.
This class is fully subscribed. You may register anyway and be placed on a waitlist if you wish.

C Henry Smith Oratorical Contest 2022
2022-04-08 12:00 | Virtual (Online) Event, No street address, North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Bethel students are invited to register for this writing and speaking contest, which features a local $400 first prize and an additional $300 national first prize.
The C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest is administered by the Peace and Justice Ministries of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and locally sponsored by the Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (KIPCOR) and the Bethel College departments of Bible and Religion and Communication Arts. Bethel students are invited to share original orations with the wider community, applying a Christian peace position to contemporary concerns.
How does your Christian peace position help you make sense of the issues facing us all in the contemporary world?
Student participants will write an original essay (maximum 1,500 words) and share an 8 to 10 minute presentation. Presentations will be submitted as videos and the three best presentations will be presented live at Convocation on April 18. The winner will then submit a video of their presentation to the MCC for the Bi-National (US and Canada) contest.
If you are interested in participating, please register here – there is no obligation, and this lets us start the conversation. We can answer your questions!
Register HERE

Advanced Restorative Schools Training: Repairing Harm in Schools April 19-22, 2022 Offered Live Online, via Zoom
2022-04-19 08:30 - 2022-04-22 12:30 | Virtual (Online) Event, No street address, North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
This class is closed as of noon on 4/8/22

**NOTE: This training assumes participants have a foundational understanding of restorative justice, as well as training in and practiced use of Tier 1 applications.**
A $50 per person discount is available if a $50 nonrefundable early-bird deposit is received by 4:00 PM on Monday, April 1; an additional $25 per person savings is available to any institution sending 3 or more participants to the training.
This training is offered Live Online via Zoom for your safety, and to facilitate attendance by educators across Kansas. To assure a quality experience, only 20 participants can be accepted.
Many schools have begun implementing restorative practices as a foundation for positive school climate and community building.
Successfully implementing the values of restorative justice beyond Tier 1 in situations of harm and severe conflict (often seen at MTSS/PBIS Tier 2 and 3) entails a further set of skills.
This interactive training will provide participants the opportunity to learn, build, and practice skills needed to facilitate problem-solving and harm-repair circles, and address situations of severe conflict. You will learn:

Applications of Restorative Justice values and practices in situations of harm and severe conflict which damage relationships in a school community
Skills to facilitate restorative conferences and harm-repair circles
Implementation resources to begin using restorative justice strategies in response to harm and situations of severe conflict in the school setting

Both CDREs and Social Work CEUs are pending.
Register Here

KIPCOR Film Series: The Revolution Generation
2022-04-24 14:00 - 16:00 | Luyken Fine Arts Center, 300 East 27th Street, North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Come see this brand new film BEFORE the theatrical release!!
Sunday, April 24, 2022 | 2:00 p.m.

Luyken Fine Arts Center
Bethel College, North Newton
Free and open to the public
Audience discussion to follow

www.kipcor.org | kipcor@bethelks.edu | 316-284-5217

Victim Offender Dialogue / Mediation Primary Training Live Online via Zoom May 2022
2022-05-11 08:30 - 2022-05-20 12:30 | Virtual (Online) Event, No street address, North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Learn to work with persons impacted by crime—harmed parties, those who cause harm, & community members—-through a restorative dialogue process (Victim Offender Dialogue/Mediation or VOD).
Topics include…

Origins, philosophy & principles of restorative justice & victim offender dialogue/mediation

Victim awareness and sensitivity

Offender awareness and sensitivity

Case preparation for victim offender dialogue/mediation

The mediation process and how it applies to crime and disciplinary breaches

Communication and conflict resolution skill-building (especially for emotionally-charged situations)

Working with local criminal justice agencies to set up a community-based VOD program

Kansas Supreme Court Rules relating to Core Mediation, including ethical obligations

Technical requirements: Reliable internet connection, and a device (computer or tablet) with a camera, microphone, and video display.
Click here to Register Now

HOPE Summer Session 2022 - Offered Live Online, via Zoom
2022-06-27 18:00 - 2022-08-29 19:30 | Virtual (Online) Event, No street address, North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
HOPE consists of five interactive, skill-building, educational classes designed to reduce the negative impact of divorce or separation conflict on children by helping parents learn healthy habits for more positive co-parenting.
* Understand your child’s right and need to love both parents
* Focus on your child’s needs instead of your own desires
* Recognize relationship transitions
* Develop effective communication skills
* Minimize conflict & manage emotions
* Create healthier boundaries while building trust & respect
This session consists of five virtual (Zoom) classes: June 27, July 18, and August 1, 15, and 29, 2022. You must attend ALL FIVE CLASSES to complete the program.
We will meet at 6:00 PM on the class days for no more than 90 minutes (time may vary per class), and then you will complete offline class assignments at home, on your own. The total cost of the session, including all five classes, is $250. See the registration form below for more details.
CLICK HERE to register for the Summer 2022 HOPE Session.

Practical Skills for Managing Group and Organizational Conflict - Fall 2022
2022-08-17 19:00 - 2022-10-26 22:00 | Kaufman House, 2515 College Ave., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Conflict within organizations, from workgroups to whole organizations and communities, can be a critical drain on resources or a major source of growth and creativity. This course focuses on the dynamics of groups and organizations of all sizes, models of both inter- and intra-group conflict and practical intervention techniques. Topics include designing and managing effective meetings and decision-making processes; techniques for large- and small-group problem-solving; and facilitation for consensus.
This in-person course will:

Acquaint students with the theory and major issues important to understanding the nature and resolution of organizational and group conflict,
Explore the meaning of systems as it informs us about conflict,
Deal with the nature and stages of joint problem-solving processes and the strategies and skills important to its success, as well as the roles of third parties, and
Teach skills required to design resolution processes for group and organizational conflict

When:
August 17 – October 26, 2022 – 7:00-10:00 pm each Wednesday evening
[no session on September 21]

Where: KIPCOR’s Kaufman House Training Facility at Bethel College
2515 College Ave, North Newton, KS

Cost: $525 ($475 early bird if received by 4:00 PM on Wednesday, July 27th)

CDRE 40 hours
CEU Credit pending
Academic credit available (SSC 461)
A KIPCOR/Bethel Conflict Resolution Certificate Core Course

Register Here

EVENT CANCELLED - October 13th Peace Lecture with Dr. Fania Davis
2022-10-13 19:00 - 22:00
We regret that Dr. Davis is unable to join us for the Peace Lecture Series as planned. Please stay tuned for information on our celebration of the 50th Annual Peace Lecture Series in Spring of 2023.

About Dr. Davis
Fania E. Davis is a leading international voice on the intersections of racial and restorative justice. She is a long-time social justice activist, civil rights trial attorney, author, and educator with a PhD in Indigenous Knowledge. Davis came of age in Birmingham, Alabama during the social ferment of the civil rights era. These formative years, particularly the murder of two close childhood friends in the 1963 Sunday School bombing, crystallized within Fania an enduring commitment to social transformation. For the next decades, she was active in the Civil Rights, Black liberation, women’s, prisoners’, peace, anti-racial violence, economic justice and anti-apartheid movements. Apprenticing with African indigenous healers catalyzed Fania’s search for a healing justice, ultimately leading her to serve as Founding Director of Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth and Co-Founding Board Member of the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice. Her numerous honors include the Lifetime Achievement award for excellence in Restorative Justice, the Black Feminist Shapeshifters and Waymakers’ award, the Tikkun (Repair the World) award, the Ella Jo Baker Human Rights award, and the Ebony POWER 100 award. The Los Angeles Times named her a New Civil Rights Leader of the 21st Century. She recently received the Open Society Foundation’s Justice Rising Award recognizing 16 Black movement leaders working towards racial justice in the United States. Among Davis’ publications is the Little Book of Race and Restorative Justice: Black Lives, Justice, and U.S. Social Transformation. Davis, who resides in Oakland, CA., writes and speaks internationally on restorative justice, racial justice, truth processes and indigeneity. She is a mother, grandmother, dancer, meditator, and a yoga, qigong and African spirituality practitioner.

Mentor Mediator Virtual Training - October 2022
2022-10-18 08:00 - 2022-10-20 13:00 | Virtual (Online) Event, No street address, North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Together with the Advisory Council on Dispute Resolution, KIPCOR is co-sponsoring this course which fulfills the primary training requirement for experienced mediators interested in becoming mentor mediators (in any of the mediation disciplines), as well as for mediators who may have had mentoring experience in another state or prior to the 2020 Kansas Supreme Court Rule changes. This will be the final offering for 2022.
Gain knowledge regarding:
· Role & duties of a mentor mediator under Kansas Supreme Court Rules
· Structuring the mentoring experience
· Basics of adult learning theory
· Mentoring process, practice, and techniques
· Providing effective feedback, coaching, and evaluation for mentees
· Ethical obligations of the mentor mediator
· Practical tips for setting up your mentoring practicum

Observe and practice mentoring skills:
· Demonstrations of mentoring in the mediation context
· Role plays and other interactive learning modules

Training team: Micki Armstrong, Tina Crawford, Deborah Medlock, Tonya Ricklefs, and Kirsten Zerger
Details:
· Tuesday, October 18 & Thursday, October 20, 2022 (8:30 am – 1:00 pm daily)
· $125 regular course fee [$75 for volunteers who receive no payment for mentoring from either mentees or an agency (including government entities or courts)]
· Course fee includes Manual and all other materials
· OJA Approved for 12.0 hours of CDRE, including 1.5 CDRE hour of ethics
Register Here

KIPCOR Film Series 2022-23: John Lewis
2022-11-13 14:00 - 16:30 | Luyken Fine Arts Center, 300 East 27th Street, North Newton, KS, 67117, United States

KIPCOR Shorts 2022
2022-12-02 08:30 - 15:30
Approved for 6 hours of CDREs, including 2 hours of DV
Approved for 6 hours of CEUs
Approved for 6 hours of CLEs
Register here.

Culture, Gender and Power in Conflict - Spring 2023
2023-01-11 19:00 - 2023-03-22 23:00 | Kaufman House, 2515 College Ave., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
This course will:
• Explore the literature, theory, and major issues important to analyzing culture, gender, power, and conflict,
• Recognize and assess the primary markers of culture and their impact on intercultural conflict,
• Analyze specific examples of intercultural conflict in selected case studies/scenarios
• Improve personal intercultural fluency and conflict management competence through increased understanding of effective intercultural skills and techniques
When: January 11 – March 22, 2023, 7:00-10:00 pm each Wednesday – no session on March 8
Where: KIPCOR at Bethel College 2515 College Ave / PO Box 276 / North Newton KS 67117-0276
Cost: $525 ($475 early bird if received by 4:00 PM on Wednesday, December 21st)
Credit: CDRE and CEU Credit; Academic credit available (SSC 462), A KIPCOR/Bethel Conflict Resolution Certificate Core Course
Register Now!

KIPCOR Film Series 2022-23: Betty Reid Soskin
2023-02-19 14:00 - 16:00 | Luyken Fine Arts Center, 300 East 27th Street, North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
“No Time to Waste: The Urgent Mission of Betty Reid Soskin” was released in 2019 and celebrates the life and work of Betty Reid Soskin, National Park Service park ranger, author, business woman, and activist. Soskin helped to develop the plan for the Rosie the Riveter, WWII Home Front National Historic Park in Richmond, CA and eventually went on to work there. Drawing on her experience as a file clerk in a segregated Union hall during WWII, Soskin’s work at the park showcases the untold stories of African American contributions on the home front during the war. Her devotion to telling these stories has changed the way the National Park Service shares its history.
Soskin grew up in Oakland, CA, where her Cajun-Creole family resettled after the 1927 “Great Flood” of New Orleans. She became a business owner in 1945 when, along with her husband, she founded one of the first black-owned music stores in Berkeley – Reid’s Records. She also authored the book, “Sign My Name to Freedom,” a memoir of her own lived experience from childhood into adulthood. In 2015, Betty was invited by the National Park Service to introduce President Barack Obama in President’s Park during a nationwide PBS tree-lighting ceremony. At age 101, Betty is currently hosting 1-hour virtual chats on Thursdays for the park.
KIPCOR invites you to join us on the Bethel College campus on Sunday, February 19 at 2:00 pm in Lukyen Fine Arts Center to view this inspiring film. Following the film, Betty will join us virtually for our talkback session. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with her!

KIPCOR Film Series 2022-23 - Thirst For Justice
2023-04-16 14:00 - 16:00
“You might think America is a democracy, where freedom of speech and basic rights are guaranteed. But at its heart, there is a great injustice. Against all the odds several extraordinary citizens are banding together and fighting back for their basic right to clean water. Armed only with facts and their illnesses, they risk arrest to take on the might of industry and government. From Flint to the Navajo Nation, via Standing Rock, this is their story.”—Leana Hosea
Learn more about this film here.

Victim Offender Dialogue / Core Mediation Primary Training (virtual)
2023-05-15 08:30 - 2023-05-24 12:30
REGISTER HERE

When: May 15, 17, 19, 22, and 24 on Zoom
Time: 8:30 am – 12:30 pm

Cost:
$500 regular
$450 early bird (if $75 non-refundable deposit received by 4 pm on April 24)

Credit:
Approved for 26 CDRE and CEU hours (including 1.5 hours of ethics)

Instructors and Coaches:
Sheryl Wilson, MLS – KIPCOR Executive Director
Eva Lapp, MPA – KIPCOR Director of Education & Training
Laurel Woodward-Breckbill, MPhil – KIPCOR RSI Coordinator

Learn to work with persons impacted by crime — harmed parties, those who cause harm, & community members — through a restorative dialogue process (Victim Offender Dialogue/Mediation or VOD).
Topics include…

Origins, philosophy & principles of restorative justice & victim offender dialogue/mediation
Victim awareness and sensitivity
Offender awareness and sensitivity
Case preparation for victim offender dialogue/mediation
The mediation process and how it applies to crime and disciplinary breaches
Communication and conflict resolution skill-building (especially for emotionally-charged situations)
Working with local criminal justice agencies to set up a community-based VOD program
Kansas Supreme Court Rules relating to Core Mediation, including ethical obligations

Technical requirements:

reliable internet connection
device (computer or tablet) with camera and microphone

REGISTER HERE

Mentor Mediator Virtual Meet-Up
2023-05-16 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual (Online) Event, No street address, North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
This mentor mediator virtual meet-up is approved by the Kansas Office of Judicial Administration for 1 CDRE hour.
Register Here

HOPE Summer Session 2023 - Virtual (Zoom)
2023-06-05 18:00 - 2023-08-21 19:30 | Virtual (Online) Event, No street address, North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
HOPE consists of five interactive, skill-building, educational classes designed to reduce the negative impact of divorce or separation conflict on children by helping parents learn healthy habits for more positive co-parenting.
* Understand your child’s right and need to love both parents
* Focus on your child’s needs instead of your own desires
* Recognize relationship transitions
* Develop effective communication skills
* Minimize conflict & manage emotions
* Create healthier boundaries while building trust & respect
This session consists of five virtual (Zoom) classes: June 5 & 19, July 10 & 31, and August 21, 2023. You must attend ALL FIVE CLASSES to complete the program.
We will meet at 6:00 PM on each class day for no more than 90 minutes (time may vary per class), and then you will complete offline class assignments at home, on your own. The total cost of the session, including all five classes, is $250. See the registration form below for more details.
CLICK HERE to register for the Summer 2023 HOPE Session.

Restorative Kansas Conference 2023
2023-06-08 16:00 - 2023-06-09 17:30
For more information and to register, click here.

KIPCOR Film Series 2023-24 - Eat, Protest, Lift
2023-09-10 19:00 - 21:00
Please join us September 10 at 7 pm in Luyken Fine Arts Center on the Bethel College Campus to view this film sponsored in collaboration with the Bethel College Social Work Department!

KIPCOR Shorts 2023
2023-12-01 08:30 - 15:30 | Virtual (Online) Event, No street address, North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Approved for 6 hours of CDREs, CEUs, and CLEs (including 1 hr. of ethics)
Register Here for KIPCOR Shorts 2023!

Core Mediation Primary Training - Practical Skills for Managing Interpersonal Conflict (via Zoom)
2024-01-24 08:30 - 2024-02-09 13:00
Date: January 24, 26, & 31, February 2, 7, & 9 (only Wednesday and Friday mornings)
Time: 8:30 am – 1:00 pm
Fee: $575, Registration closes January 12. Fee covers printed text & materials.

Approval Pending for 30 CDRE hours from the Kansas Office of Judicial Administration.
Bethel College Graduate or Undergraduate credit available; discuss with instructors.
Social Work CEUs available upon request.

Register Here

KIPCOR Film Series - 2023-24 Eroding History
2024-02-11 14:00 - 16:00
Eroding History will be screened Sunday, February 11 at 2:00 pm in Krehbiel Auditorium on the Bethel College campus in North Newton, Kansas. This second film of the KIPCOR 2023-24 film series was produced by the Environmental Justice Journalism Initiative (EJJI), a Baltimore, Maryland based non-profit. EJJI is committed to helping young people tell their own stories about environmental inequities in their neighborhood. Eroding History tells the story of Deal Island residents on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and the realities they face as they encounter rising sea levels and historic racism. Admission is free and open to the public, and following the film, an educational talk-back session will be facilitated by Dr. Jonathan Frye, Professor of Natural Science at McPherson College, and Sheryl Wilson, Executive Director of KIPCOR. Please join us!

Peace Lecture Series 2024
2024-03-01 19:00 - 2024-03-02 17:00
Register Here for Saturday’s Justice Symposium!
See Schedule Below
Click here to Livestream tonight’s 7:00 pm Peace Lecture
Click here to Livestream Saturday’s Justice Symposium
The Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (KIPCOR) invites you to the 50th Anniversary of the Peace Lecture Series, featuring Christina Swarns, Executive Director of Innocence Project. Christina will speak at Bethel College, North Newton, KS in Memorial Hall at 7:00 pm on Friday, March 1, 2024. On Saturday, March 2, 2024, the first Justice Symposium will be held at Bethel College in Krehbiel Auditorium and the Will Academic Center. Christina will serve as a keynote panelist for this event. The symposium is free and open to the public.
As director of Innocence Project, Christina works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate and equitable systems of justice for everyone. Since its inception, Innocence Project has used DNA and other scientific advancements to prove wrongful conviction. To date, Innocence Project has helped to free or exonerate more than 240 people who, collectively, spent more than 3,600 years behind bars. These efforts have led to the passage of more than 200 transformative state laws and federal reforms.
Christina previously served as the President and Attorney-in-Charge of the Office of the Appellate Defender, Inc. (OAD), one of New York City’s oldest providers of indigent appellate defense representation. Prior to joining OAD, Christina was the Litigation Director and Criminal Justice Project Director for the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), where she oversaw LDF’s economic justice, education, political participation and criminal justice litigation, organizing, public education, communication and other advocacy strategies. Christina argued, and won, Buck v. Davis, a challenge to the introduction of explicitly racially biased evidence in a Texas death penalty case, in the United States Supreme Court. In a February 2017 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for a 6-2 majority, vacated Mr. Duane Buck’s death sentence and denounced the “noxious strain of racial prejudice” that infected the case after an expert witness testified that Mr. Buck was more likely to commit criminal acts of violence in the future because he is Black. Christina was the only Black woman to argue in that Supreme Court term, and is one of the few Black women to have argued before the nation’s highest court.
Prior to joining LDF, Christina served as a Supervising Assistant Federal Defender and Assistant Federal Defender at the Capital Habeas Unit of Philadelphia’s Federal Community Defender Office where she represented numerous death-sentenced prisoners whose convictions and/or death-sentences were vacated, including Nicholas Yarris, the first death sentenced prisoner in Pennsylvania to be exonerated by DNA evidence. Christina began her legal career as a Staff Attorney with the Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Defense Division in New York.
Christina speaks and writes about race and criminal justice. She has authored multiple op-eds, including “The Supreme Court Should Reject Arizona’s Death Penalty Gambit” and “Dylann Roof Shouldn’t Get the Death Penalty,” both of which were published in the New York Times, and “Why the Dangerousness Standard is Racist,” which was published in the New York Daily News.
Christina earned a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a B.A. from Howard University.

Peace Lecture/Justice Symposium Schedule and Presenters

Friday, March 1 – Peace Lecture
7:00 pm – Peace Lecture, featuring speaker, Christina Swarns – Memorial Hall, Bethel College
9:00-9:30 pm – Post Lecture dessert reception
Saturday, March 2 – Justice Symposium at Bethel College
8:00-9:00 am – Justice Symposium registration & continental breakfast – Krehbiel Auditorium
9:00-10:30 am – Panel discussion:

Christina Swarns – Executive Director – Innocence Project
Ricky Kidd – Executive Director – I Am Resilience
Mark McCormick – ACLU of Kansas
Kelson Bohnet – Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty (KCADP)

10:45-11:45 am – Q&A and Panelist Discussion
Noon – Lunch – Will Academic Center
1:00-2:15 pm – Breakout session 1 – Will Academic Center

Restorative Kansas
Death Penalty Abolition in KS/KCADP and ACLU – Led by Mark McCormick and Kelson Bohnet
Julia Huxman Ronnebaum – Trial Attorney with VSCP Law

2:30-3:45 pm- Breakout session 2 – Will Academic Center

Bethel College Student Panel
Death Penalty Abolition in KS/KCADP and ACLU – Led by Mark McCormick and Kelson Bohnet
Julia Huxman Ronnebaum – Trial Attorney with VSCP Law

4:00-5:00 pm – Closing Ceremony – Will Academic Center, Atrium

KIPCOR Film Series 2023-2024 - Estamos Unidos
2024-04-07 14:00 - 16:00 | Luyken Fine Arts Center, 300 East 27th Street, North Newton, KS, 67117, United States

50th Anniversary C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest
2024-04-12 19:30 - 21:30 | Luyken Fine Arts Center, 300 East 27th Street, North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest

Friday, April 12, 7:30 pm
Luyken Fine Arts Center, Krehbiel Auditorium, Bethel College

This annual, binational, intercollegiate speech contest, held at Mennonite and Brethren in Christ colleges, asks participants to speak on the topic of peace and apply it to contemporary concerns. The winner from each college goes on to compete in the binational competition for cash prizes and scholarships to attend a peace-related conference. Come support all 4 Bethel students competing in this final round and see who is chosen to go on and compete in the binational competition!
