Pushpa Iyer, Founder & Director
I grew up in India, moving between languages, cultures, and communities that did not always agree with or even see each other. As a brown immigrant woman in the United States, I have continued to inhabit in-between spaces, navigating institutions that were not always built with someone like me in mind. Those experiences have shaped not only my work but the way I move through the world. They taught me to pay attention to identity, power, privilege, and oppression, and they continue to challenge me to question binary thinking and to remain engaged in the lifelong work of decolonizing my own mind.
Over the past twenty-five years, I have had the privilege of being many things: a peace and conflict scholar, educator, faculty member, department chair, center director, chief diversity officer, facilitator, nonprofit leader, and activist. While the roles have changed, the questions that stayed with me have remained remarkably constant. I am endlessly curious about what makes dialogue possible, what helps people stay in relationship across deep differences, and what it takes to create meaningful and lasting change. Through the Center for Conflict Studies, I pursue those questions alongside individuals and institutions ready to do that work.
Outside of work, I am a reader, a writer, and someone who finds joy in long conversations that challenge my thinking. I love bringing people together over a good meal, getting lost in ideas, and imagining new possibilities for ourselves and the communities we inhabit. I believe some of life's greatest lessons come not from certainty, but from curiosity, humility, and a willingness to keep exploring.
I am still learning.