Dear Friends and Colleagues,
It was my great honor to be sworn in as President of Kids Managing Conflict earlier this month. I am thrilled to be leading such an amazing organization that strives to support and promote programs in K-12 schools that teach students conflict management skills and enrich their lives into adulthood. To further this mission we raise and distribute funds, as well as serve as a resource for those seeking networks and information on conflict resolution.
As we all are coping and adapting to a pandemic, politics, racial injustice, economic crises, and more, the Kids Managing Conflict team has not only stepped up to these challenges, they have been able to tap into innovation and connection by creating a new Peer Mediator Alumni Team and Online Community https://community.kidsmanagingconflict.org/
So many times throughout this past year, we found ourselves challenged to navigate a constantly changing path forward. Our normal routines and human interactions felt like they were thrown into a basket and into the air, not really knowing or understanding what will be on the other side of this “normal.”
Kids Managing Conflict, like many other organizations, had to immediately pivot. We had to move all of our live events online. We had to rely heavily on our own personal conflict resolution skills, as we handled pandemic challenges especially as it related to supporting schools and students who are now being challenged more than ever. Never before in my lifetime has it felt like there is so much uncertainty. Yet, we continue to thrive and grow and it gives me great hope!
As I step into the role of President of Kids Managing Conflict, I am humbled and cognizant of the needs of our youth. I am experiencing all of these things as a parent as well with my youngest daughter in her sophomore year in high school. It motivates me to be laser-focused on discovering unknown opportunities that continue to keep us together even while being apart. Community is what has gotten me through the last year, albeit virtual, community nonetheless. We discovered we can still connect, even if it was on a different level.
The KMC team was one of those communities for me and it has been a welcome and much-needed source of connection and unity. I have seen our team pivot and adapt and more importantly, connect in ways we have never expected, nor had the opportunity to do so in the past. I have seen resilience and innovation in a short and challenging time.
It is motivating and inspiring, giving me great hope we can turn a life-changing situation into new opportunities, one step, and one day at a time. I am taking this opportunity to close out 2020 reflecting, recharging, and rebooting! Then it will be time for all of us to reimagine. In 2021, our team will do just that and continue to reimagine the possibilities for peer mediation in this new terrain. Coming together will be just the beginning! I look forward to connecting, collaborating, growing, supporting, and serving this amazing organization and peer mediation in 2021.
Happy New Year,
Anne Sawyer
“It’s Not About What It Is, It Is About What It Can Become.” – Dr. Seuss
