For fifteen years, Emily Byers-Ferrian worked in education in the U.S.A., facilitating professional learning with educators about responses to difference and navigating conflict and change across cultures. She relocated to Belfast, Northern Ireland in January 2024 to pursue a PhD in English, Creative Writing at Queen’s University, where she researches group and individual culture, conflict and change through creative nonfiction writing. She is bilingual in English and Spanish and is currently a Trainer with Dialogue for Peaceful Change Global.

Shannon Keeny specializes in supporting schools, offices, and communities to effectively engage in conversations that help explore access, fairness, and belongingness in the educational environment. Immersed in this work for over fifteen years, the core of her efforts is ensuring that people are valued, accepted, and honored. She has served the educational community as a facilitator for the Howard County Public School System, and she presents at national and international conferences.