Michael McGill's Page

Name

Michael

How did You find out about this Network/Resource?

referal

Please share a short bio for yourself. This should be no more than 3-4 short paragraphs.

Experienced, results-oriented, scholar practitioner passionate about linking, improving, & increasing support to child & youth peacebuilders globally. For fifteen years I have designed & implemented research in conflict affected contexts, trained youth researchers, & facilitated productive interagency, international partnerships. With demonstrated commitment to reflective practice & evidence-backed action, I have traveled and worked in more than 50 countries. I currently reside in Uganda with my family to be near the center of the youngest and most conflicted region of the world.

EDUCATION
2012 Doctorate of Philosophy in Intercultural Studies: Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena (FTS), CA.
PhD Dissertation: Children Waging Peace, Changing Nations: An Exploration of Child Participation in Peacebuilding in Majority World Nations Impacted by Armed Intrastate Conflict. My research used grounded theory, ethnography, & theoretical sampling, developing a descriptive moral framework for mobilizing effective & ethical child participation in peace processes.
2004 Began Theology PhD: Oxford Centre for Missions Studies, Oxford, England (withdrew to pursue Fuller PhD)
2000 Masters of Arts in Counseling & ½ Masters of Divinity: Seattle School of Theology & Psychology, GPA 3.9
1998 Bachelors of Arts in Communications, minors in Philosophy & Sociology: Western Washington University
2001 Child Play Therapy Training: International Association for Play Therapy; Network Development: Interdev

WORK EXPERIENCE
2006-present Founder & Director of Young Peacebuilders, waging peace through cross sector partnerships that support children & youth as peacebuilders & measure impact (YoungPeacebuilders.net)
2011 Visiting Scholar at MJ Murdock Charitable Trust, advising & educating in my areas of expertise
2009-2010 Associate Director of visionSynergy, developing their international younger leader initiative
2008-2009 Founder & Director World Evangelical Alliance Peacebuilding & Reconciliation Initiative WEAPRI
2001-2002 Child Psychologist Lydia Home, residential child treatment facility offering group, family & individual therapy
2000-2005 Founder & Director of The Asha Forum, a global network responding to child sexual exploitation & trafficking

Please list the countries and/or regions in which you have direct and significant expertise

S. & SE Asia, Colombia, UK, USA, Mexico, Lebanon, Egypt, Ethiopia

What is your current job (and organization) and/or where and what field are you studying?

• Middle East: Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey • Africa: Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda • Asia: Burma, Cambodia, China, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand • Europe: Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, UK, Switzerland, Wales, Scotland • Americas: Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico

What are your main skills/expertise?

Collaboration Specialist ~ supporting team interests, managing teams and staff internationally
• Supervised staff globally, while based in Chicago, Seattle, Oxford, Sri Lanka, & Kampala, & working with regional offices
• Coordinated working groups, executive teams, & larger international cross sector partnerships.
• Managed research assistants & translators for original research with children in Colombia, Lebanon, India, & Egypt.
• Directed my project managers, contractors, & builders for a real estate business (owner/proprietor), concurrent to other roles.
• Coordinated a team of SMEs & partner organizations to write a technical proposal for CAMRIS International, responding to USAID YouthPower Evidence & Evaluation IDIQ. Focus on research design & information sharing to strengthen the evidence base for cross sector positive youth development.
• Coordinated cross sector partnerships to develop & distribute videos & lesson packs to mobilize faith communities to address child sexual exploitation & trafficking in Asia, Africa, Europe & North America.
• Developed a Peacebuilding & Reconciliation Initiative for World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), which represents 129 national alliances & 100+ international organizations.

Strategic Problem Solver ~ clarifies objectives, obstacles, & assets, & plans to leverage assets to best achieve objectives
• Identified problems, developed strategic solutions, & raised resources:
o Young Peacebuilders founder: nurturing partnerships that support child & youth peacebuilders & measure impact;
o WEA Peacebuilding & Reconciliation Initiative founder: Raising resources, recruiting & orienting new leadership;
o Asha Forum founder: post-research, developed effort networking & enhancing efforts to curb child sex trafficking;
o Save Lanka Kids: contextual analysis & development of an art & play therapy project supporting children in Sri Lankan slums by reducing racial tension, preventing sexual exploitation & trafficking, & helping abused children heal;
o VisionSynergy: research & development of intl. program equipping young people with partnership passion & skill.
• Provided consultancy:
o MJ Murdock Charitable Trust: child & youth related funding proposals;
o Global Partnership for Child and Youth Participation in Peacebuilding: research design & operational guidelines;
o Viva: developing a partnership mobilizing 29,000 Ethiopian churches to serve children in very difficult circumstances.

Clear & Compelling Communicator ~ dynamic public speaker, educator, fundraiser, writer
• Effectively communicated organizational vision to garner participation & funding since 2000, including winning a $300,000 grant from the Murdock Trust for Young Peacebuilders.
• Developed training manual on starting cross sector partnerships to support young peacebuilders & measure impact.
• Lectured at several universities and academic institutions: including Seattle Pacific University & Northwest University, WA, on child/youth peacebuilding in conflict-affected developing nations; FTS, CA, on dynamics of intrastate armed conflicts, humanitarian interventions, & child participation in such contexts; Puget Sound Christian College, WA, on partnerships for societal restoration and global dynamics of the child sex industry; The Graduate School at Wheaton, IL, on theology & history of Christian social action & child sexual exploitation project development & evaluation principles; Western Seminary, OR, on theology of social work, global dynamics of sex industry, & holistic project evaluation.
• Presented research at varied international conferences: International Conference on Children & Youth Affected by Armed Conflict, SE Asia Conference on Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purpose, Viva’s International conferences, & other international & local conferences, events, & trainings for over 15 years.

Research Designer & Manager ~ action oriented research design, training, coordination, & consultation
• Co-developed FTS graduate methods course on international research with children in especially difficult circumstances.
• Designed research on how to best equip children & youth to develop partnerships improving their communities; Trained & supervised a team of youth conducting research with children in India, Egypt, & Lebanon, & produced related reports.
• Designed methodology & coordinated research throughout Colombia on how to effectively engage children & youth in peace processes in nations impacted by armed intrastate conflict. Trained & supervised research assistants, transcribers, & translators. Collaborated with government, religious leaders, FBOs, & NGOs to conduct interviews & focus groups.
• Developed & piloted in Sri Lanka a child sexual exploitation research methodology used by small teams of youth to gather & document findings, develop a local network, & equip local leaders with a model for responding.
• Conducted interviews & focus groups throughout South Asia identifying the greatest inhibitors to mobilizing the most effective holistic response to child sexual exploitation, & consequently, founded The Asha Forum of Viva Network.

What are Your expertise areas/sectors when it comes to youth

DDR, Peacebuilding, Education, Gender, Development, Democracy, Protection, Refugees, IDPs, Leadership

What are Your primary Skills, to compliment Your areas/sectors

Advocacy, Budgeting, Capacity Building, Curriculum Development, Evaluation, Fundraising, Grant Writing, Program Management, Program Administration, Program Design, Research, Training