Dr. Tatsushi (Tats) Arai is an Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Kent State University in Ohio, USA. He is a scholar-practitioner of conflict resolution, multi-track diplomacy, and cross-cultural communication with 20 years of diverse international experience. Dr. Arai served as a United Nations Senior Mediation Advisor on a when-actually-employed basis in 2018-19. As a trainer, mediator, and dialogue facilitator, he has designed and led a number of conflict resolution dialogues and workshops for political leaders, diplomats, military and peacekeeping professionals, civil society and religious leaders, and representatives of international organizations. He also provides consultancy to United Nations agencies, and advises and partners with diverse NGOs. Dr. Arai’s recent peacebuilding practice includes supporting a Nigerian-led initiative in building a sustainable reconciliation platform for the reintegration of rehabilitated former Boko Haram members; training Syrian and Lebanese humanitarian professionals in mediation skills; facilitating capacity-building workshops for diplomats from Muslim-majority countries; promoting interfaith and inter-communal coexistence in Myanmar and Singapore, and conducting Interactive Conflict Resolution workshops on China-Japan relations. He is the author of Creativity and Conflict Resolution: Alternative Pathways to Peace (Routledge) and a co-editor of Clash of National Identities: China, Japan, and the East China Sea Territorial Dispute (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars). (Other publications of Tatsushi Arai will be found on his website.)
Erika Qing Guan is a native of Beijing, China, a Chinese delegate at the 2010 Strait Talk Berkeley symposium, and the founder of Strait Talk Hong Kong. Inspired by her experience at Strait Talk, she has been engaging in peace practice and bridge-building efforts across divided communities in different parts of the world, and has served as a conflict resolution dialogue facilitator since 2013. She was a teaching fellow in the Harvard International Negotiation Program, served as co-chair for the Sustainable Peace Working Group at the Religions and Practice of Peace initiative at Harvard Divinity School, and worked in the public relations industry. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Political Science at Northwestern University. Erika holds MA degrees from Harvard University and National Taiwan University, and a BSocSc from the University of Hong Kong. Erika is also a spiritual practitioner and trained as a meditation teacher at Heart Chan.
