Navigating Conflict with Dignity

Jason Craige Harris is a voice for healing and transformation. He works in a variety of contexts, with a range of constituents, and across industries to promote dignity and belonging in business, technology, government, law, media, education, nonprofits, and faith communities. He brings together insights from diverse fields as a mediator, circle keeper, coach, storyteller, and strategist. As a researcher and educator, Jason holds expertise in the psychology of leadership; the social sciences of identity, group dynamics, and inter-group dialogue; inclusion strategies; conflict transformation; and restorative justice. Jason regularly advises leaders on how to solve big challenges and pursue lasting change. In all of his work, Jason draws on a deep well of research, practice, and mindfulness to transform leaders, managers, and workplace cultures. Jason is a Managing Partner at Perception Strategies, a consulting firm working with institutions around the world to promote data-driven solutions to gaps in dignity, belonging, and accountability. He also serves as a Senior Advisor at Perception Institute, a research consortium prioritizing equity in social systems. In addition, Jason is a member of the speakers bureau at Pollyanna, a national organization working to promote racial literacy and cultural competency. Jason is the author of the following pieces: “The Paradox of Isolation” (Friends Journal), “Between Love and Truth––Navigating Racial Conflict Using Restorative Justice” (CSEE), and “Black or Bruised” (AMBO). He is also the Social Impact Producer for a new documentary with Impactful entitled Race to Be Human, a film on how to talk about race and mental health. For over a decade, Jason has held senior roles in various organizations. He was a senior administrator at a K-12 Quaker school in NYC where he oversaw diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, co-led the school’s peace, equity, and justice department, and taught courses and trained teachers across all divisions. Earlier in his career, Jason served as founding co-director and senior editor at Postcolonial Networks, a think tank and research hub focused on the intersection of spirituality and global justice. Jason holds a BA (honors) in religion and African American Studies from Wesleyan University, where he was a fellow at both the Center for the Humanities and the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Program, and a MA (summa cum laude) in religion, ethics, and cultural studies from Yale Divinity School, where he was a Marquand Merit Scholar and Extended Year Program Fellow. Jason is certified in conflict mediation as well as trauma-informed restorative justice and circle keeping by Planning Change. He is also a certified Narrative 4 facilitator as well as a leadership coach who has trained with Bright Morning Consulting. Jason sits on the boards of Seeds of Peace (Vice Chair of the Programming Committee), Inwood Academy (Academic Committee and HR Committee), Hidden Water (Executive Committee and Marketing Committee), and Getting to We. He is also a member of the advisory board of the Institute for Teaching Diversity and Social Justice. Jason has a 5-month old Cavapoo named Justice and a 17-year-old daughter named Sabrina, both of whom keep him very busy.

Having obtained her Undergraduate and Master’s degrees from UCLA and her juris doctor degree from Harvard Law School, Asmara specializes in antidiscrimination law and equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging (EDIB) education and training. She currently is a Senior Lead for Program and Facilitation. In this capacity, Asmara develops tailored training, facilitation, coaching, and advising, based on the specific needs of each client. Asmara’s EDIB work draws on the mind sciences, including implicit bias, stereotype threat, and identity anxiety, as well as her expertise concerning microaggressions, intersectionality, dialogue, and knowledge of mediation practices to help institutions both diagnose EDIB-related matters and fashion sensible and effective interventions. Prior to her work at Perception, Asmara worked in UCLA’s Civil Rights Office where she investigated allegations of discrimination and conducted training on UCLA’s anti discrimination policies. Asmara was also a federal public defender in the Capital Habeas Unit at the Federal Public Defenders Office for the Southern District of California.