Donna Chase-Munson '18 - Conflict Resolution

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Conflict resolution degree

'Powerful and Universal'

A desire to help families resolve conflict motivated Donna Chase-Munson to seek her Master of Social Science in Conflict Resolution.

The 2018 graduate works in Family Services for the Second Judicial District Court in Washoe County, Nev. The office includes the Family Peace Center, which provides supervised visitation services; Court Appointed Special Advocates, a program that trains community volunteers to speak for the best interests of children involved in juvenile court; and a mediation program to resolve custody and visitation issues during and after separation and divorce.

“We all work in this area together,” says Chase-Munson, who provides case management support services. “I see families who are stuck in anger and revenge, and it really started to wear on me. I see what that does to children.

“Our mediators help families move on, and I thought, ‘This is something I’d like to do!’ I want to be part of the solution instead of just bandaging the problem.”

Chase-Munson recalls the case of a young girl with brain cancer and the family conflict that kept her mother away from the hospital bedside.

“Mediation may have helped,” she says.

The conflict resolution program is offered 100 percent online, the ideal optio for Chase-Munson, who not only lives out-of-state but also works full time.

“The classes were difficult but very well put-together,” she says. “Everything I learned was so pertinent to what I want to do and where I want to go — which is to mediate for the courts and then set up my own business, as well.”