Meet The Advisory Council

Advisory Council Member

Professor Emeritus John Paden

Professor John Paden Clarence J. Robinson is the Professor Emeritus of International Studies at George Mason University. He is a distinguished Africanist and has spent his career studying and teaching comparative government, international development, and conflict resolution. He is an expert on Nigerian issues. He has served as Director of African Studies at Northwestern University, Professor of Public Administration at Ahmadu Bello University (Zaria, Nigeria), and Dean, Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, at Bayero University (Kano, Nigeria). Dr. Paden received his BA in philosophy from Occidental College, his MA in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and his PhD in politics from Harvard University.

Advisory Council Member

Dr. Julie Rouge

Dr. Julie Rouge (Shedd) was the Associate Dean for Administration and Associate Professor at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University. She teaches both introductory courses and courses on terrorism, extremism, global conflicts, and ideologies. She holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. For the last three years, she has Co-Directed the Benjamin Franklin Summer Institute with Central Asia, bringing students from Central Asia and the U.S. together for a training and exchange program. She has shepherded S-CAR’s efforts to increase distance education and overseen a wide range of innovations in experiential and service learning.

Advisory Council Member

Dr. Linda Bishai

Dr. Linda Bishai joined the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) in April 2020, working on a wide range of international security issues including African regional economic communities, security cooperation in Africa, and monitoring instability in central and southern Africa. She has twenty years of experience in teaching, training and writing on international law, peacebuilding and security sector reform, and preventing/countering violent extremism. She was a former Director of North Africa at the United States Institute of Peace and Director of Research, Evaluation, and Learning at the American Bar Association, Rule of Law Initiative. Bishai holds a B.A. in history and literature from Harvard University, a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, an LLM in international law from the University of Stockholm, and a Ph.D. in international relations from the London School of Economics.

Advisory Council Member

Dr. Mara Schoeny

Dr. Mara Schoeny is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Undergraduate and Graduate Certificate Program at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. She teaches courses in research and evaluation methods, practice skills, and applied fieldwork. She developed and taught simulation courses for undergraduate and master’s level sociology and social work students in family, organizational, and community conflict for the University of Yerevan in Armenia and conducted inter-religious workshops for universities in Tajikistan. Her research and practice interests include nonviolence, education and training, and dialogue processes.