On July 7, 2021, Eva Lapp stepped into the role of Director of Education & Training at KIPCOR. Prior to joining the KIPCOR team, Eva, a 2015 graduate of Goshen College, also completed a Master of Public Affairs at Indiana University (IU).
She has worked and volunteered in the restorative justice field in a variety of roles over the past few years, including at the Center for Restorative Programs in Alamosa, CO, the Center for Community Justice in Elkhart, IN, Peace Learning Center in Indianapolis, IN, and as an adjunct instructor for the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program at Goshen College in Goshen, IN.
More recently, Eva served as a Teaching Assistant for a graduate-level Negotiation and Alternative Dispute Resolution course at IU Bloomington. Outside of these roles, Eva has also worked as an archival assistant for Mennonite Church USA and as a floral designer. Through these experiences, she enjoys exploring creativity and storytelling in all aspects of her work.
To help us all get to know Eva better, we asked her a few questions:
What are you currently reading?
Most recently I finished reading Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood and Simon Jimenez’s The Vanished Birds. I am also making my way slowly through Resmaa Menakem’s My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending our Hearts and Bodies. Menakem’s book includes a lot of reflective practices so it’s an immersive experience.
Where have you lived?
I was born in the West Bank, Palestine, but primarily grew up in Goshen, IN, with brief stints living in Akron, PA, and Kathmandu, Nepal. During college, I studied abroad in Tanzania and spent summers in British Columbia and at Koinonia Farm in Americus, GA. Following college, I lived in Alamosa, CO; Goshen; and in Bloomington, IN.
What is your favorite place in the world?
My maternal extended family has rented a house on Lake Michigan for the past 18 years. It’s probably not the lake house you’re picturing, more in the realm of an old semi-spidery cabin in the woods with access to the lake. But it is perfect. I’m not sure I have ever been as calm, happy, and relaxed as when I am there with my family.
What is your favorite food?
My family collectively thinks that Middle Eastern cuisine is the best food in the world, but my partner and I have grown to love cooking and eating Chinese (particularly Sichuan) dishes. I also love a freshly picked garden tomato as an afternoon snack.
What is your favorite game?
If we’re talking yard games, it’s croquet in my parents’ backyard (mole hills make for more competition). If we’re talking card games, it’s Rook (10.5). If we’re talking easy board games, it’s Qwirkle. If we’re talking complicated board games, it’s Agricola – a farming game with lots of little tiny wooden pieces.
What excites you most about moving to Kansas?
After moving several times in the past few years, I am really looking forward to being somewhere more long term. With family in the area and KIPCOR’s connection with the Bethel College community, I am so excited to dive into the work and build relationships within the broader community.
Welcome, Eva! We look forward to getting to know you and to working with you, and we hope that you find the same love for the work of KIPCOR that we all share.
