People are fascinating. Societies are intriguing. Every now and then, I have one of those moments when I think about what every living person in the world is doing – right now - in this moment: laughing, loving, killing, crying, sleeping, slipping, being born, feeling bored, bleeding, breeding, dying. No wonder there’s so much to marvel at. I can’t think about it for too long because I get very little “done” during these moments. I work at the crossroads of conflict and hope. I love working with people who are working with and through conflict. I’m an optimist who is more likely to believe in Heinlein's razor than Occam ’s razor when it comes to conflict. I feel lucky to be one of the people who are “doing” in this moment, from moment to moment, even though I'm not sure how I got here! "Most of us achieve only at rare moments a clearrealization of the fact that they have never tasted thefulfillment of existence, that their life does not participatein true, fulfilled existence, that, as it were, it passes trueexistence by. We nevertheless feel the deficiency at everymoment, and in some measure strive to find — somewhere— what we are seeking. Somewhere, in some province ofthe world or of the mind, except where we stand, where wehave been set — but it is there and nowhere else that thetreasure can be found." - Martin Buber, The Way of Man________________________Kent Highnam, Cert. ConRes., BA, MA, is an international educator and speaker with a background in international and public relations with the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. His work in public and private organizations, and in indigenous communities, includes education, mediation, facilitation and coaching in both English and French, to assist individuals and groups find meaning, purpose and compassion for themselves and others. As Dean of JIBC's School of Health, Community and Social Justice, Kent has extensive experience in educational leadership, labour relations, and social justice issues. He teaches for the Centre for Conflict Resolution, the Centre for Leadership and also teaches for JIBC’s Law Enforcement Studies Diploma.Specialties: Adult Education in Collaborative Conflict Resolution, Negotiation, Mediation, Facilitation and Interpersonal Communication