History
I am passionate about communication and conflict because it has the potential to transform our lives, relationships, organizations and communities. I was initially inspired due to my own struggles and inability to manage conflict in the important relationships of my life. My early experiences with conflict taught me it was best to avoid it completely, and this led to years of discomfort and running away from my conflicts. I eventually came to a realization that avoiding was not working for me, and that a change was needed in order to create the relationships and life I wanted for myself. I received my undergraduate degree from Weber State University and soon after had my first opportunity to teach. I recognized the deep fulfillment I experienced through the teaching process which led me to return to school to pursue a Masters Degree in Communication Studies from the University of Montana. While working on a doctoral degree at the University of Utah I also completed a graduate certificate program in conflict resolution and certified to be a mediator. I have now been teaching for over 17 years within the field of communication studies and am currently a senior lecturer at Utah State University. My experiences of helping others to resolve their conflicts has led to insights about what it takes to transform conflict into something beautiful.
Clair Canfield
Collaborators
consulting partner
Carlee Madsen
Carlee Madsen is an instructor in the Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Department at Utah State University. She is also the co-director and founder of a conflict training organization called the Center for Collaborative Conflict housed at Utah State University. Carlee has a deep interest in collaborative conflict, shame resilience research and skills, grief recovery, forgiveness, self-awareness, motivational interviewing, listening, value discovery, and pedagogy. She has given workshops and presentations on many of these subjects and finds great satisfaction connecting with others on these ideas.
Carlee.Madsen@gmail.com
Follow Carlee at @CollaborativeConflict and @ProfessorCarleeMadsen on Instagram.
Education
Weber State University
MS, Professional Communication 2018
Center for Dispute Resolution
Mediation Certification 2018
Areas of Expertise
• Collaborative Conflict
• Shame Resilience
• Grief and Forgiveness
consulting partner
Dr. Matthew Sanders
Matt Sanders is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies and the current Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at USU. He received his Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2008. His research interests include nonprofit organizations, and social change, leadership, and the scholarship of teaching and learning.
matt.sanders@usu.edu
Education
University of Colorado at Boulder
Ph.D, 2008
Areas of Expertise
• Leadership
• Organizational Change
Teacher
Bobbi Petersen
Bobbi finds great beauty in the healing and growth that can happen in the classroom. She loves to guide others to deeper connection with themselves and others through her teaching. She’s taught several classes at Utah State University on topics including conflict resolution, listening, emotional intelligence, interpersonal communication and pedagogy. She currently trains and mentors students to be peer conflict coaches and facilitators in the Heravi Peace Institute at Utah State University. She’s excited to help offer community courses and conflict coaching with us.
bobbi.petersen@usu.edu
Areas of Expertise
Collaborative Conflict
Pedagogy
Transformative Listening
Education
Utah State University MS, Communication Studies, 2021
University of Utah Mediation Training, 2021