Meet the SDCN Team

The campus network is headed up by young people who are passionate about enabling students to change their campuses and solve community problems.

Amy Lazarus, Executive Director

Amy Lazarus is the inaugural Executive Director of the Sustained Dialogue Campus Network (SDCN). SDCN, an initiative of the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue, develops everyday leaders who engage differences as strengths to improve their campuses, workplaces, and communities. Amy brings a passion for, and over a dozen years of experience working with, individuals and organizations to create inclusive and effective environments. Previously, Amy worked at ICF International, consulting with federal agencies on leadership development, diversity and inclusion, and human capital. After participating in the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs, she earned an M.S. in Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz School, where she received the Dean’s Diversity Fellowship and Dean’s Leadership Fellowship. At Duke University, Amy co-founded the student-run Center for Race Relations and Common Ground. Amy's research has focused on best practices for training change agents in inclusion, and on the relationship between social entrepreneurship and economic development. She has developed and conducted strategy sessions, facilitations, and keynotes internationally for country leaders, senior-level officers, and students for clients in the nonprofit, public, and private sectors.

From Shaker Heights, Ohio, Amy lives in Washington, DC and serves on the board of Operation Understanding DC, a nonprofit that trains Black and Jewish high school students to be civil rights change agents. Recent awards include: World Economic Forum Global Shaper, USA Networks Characters Unite Award, Facing History’s Upstander Award, and the American Express NGen Leadership Fellowship through Independent Sector. Amy practices tai chi and has sung back up for Aretha Franklin.

Rhonda Fitzgerald, Program Director

As Program Director, Rhonda’s role focuses on shaping the student experience of Sustained Dialogue, along with providing high-touch coaching assistance to organizations, partners, and workplaces seeking to improve their culture through leadership and dialogue skills. With nearly ten years of experience facilitating Sustained Dialogue, she actively enjoys training future SD leaders and developing innovative materials, as well as interacting with the thousands of students, alumni, and professionals in the network. Rhonda also manages alumni projects and programs, including the Alumni Ambassador cohort, which gives Sustained Dialogue alumni a dedicated coaching experience to solve problems in their current communities and workplaces. Rhonda's role also includes supporting international student-led dialogue initiatives at Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia) and at the University of Cape Town (South Africa) and burgeoning projects at the University of Khartoum (South Sudan). She also helps leads evaluation, communications, and implementation of the organization's CRM and database tools. Rhonda is from New Jersey and is based in Washington, D.C. She is an alumna of Princeton University, where she participated actively in the chapter's Sustained Dialogue program.

Elizabeth Wuerz, Program Director

Beginning in June, Elizabeth Wuerz will begin the role of Program Director, working closely with students to organize and moderate Sustained Dialogue on their campuses. Previously, she was the Program Coordinator of the Global Issues Resource Center at Cuyahoga Community College, supporting the development of student programs to improve campus culture including supporting SD at the college. She has also worked for Facing History and Ourselves, an education non-profit that produces classroom resources for middle and high school students in an effort to cultivate a sense of civic responsibility. She is a graduate from the Fletcher School at Tufts University in Boston with a Master’s degree in Law and Diplomacy with a focus in International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution and Human Security. She received her Bachelor's degree from Northwestern University in History and International Studies. Her prior work experience includes working for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) both in Cyprus and in New York where she worked on conflict resolution and peacebuilding programming including facilitating training sessions on conflict management, negotiation and mediation for UN Police and UNDP staff, researching material for a new citizen security initiative in Central America, and supporting further development of a democratic dialogue handbook. Her experience also includes working on economic community development projects in Peru. She is based in Chicago.

Sean Hicks, Graduate Fellow

Sean Hicks graduated from The Ohio State University with undergraduate degrees in Economics and Public Affairs in December 2012. An active leader on campus, Sean helped to initiate three different student organizations, including Sustained Dialogue, which is now working toward becoming a full network member. He also won an award for best senior thesis in the school of public affairs. After graduation, Sean moved to Washington D.C. for a graduate fellowship with SDCN. After the fellowship, he hopes to stay in the D.C. area and work in international development and diplomacy, and eventually attend law school to study international law. In his free time he enjoys outdoor sports, photography, learning Spanish, and volunteering.

Emma Pettit, Graduate Fellow

Emma is earning her masters in American Studies from George Washington University and is a Graduate Fellow at SDCN. Her academic focus is on contemporary conceptions of whiteness and queerness and using dialogue to foster strong ally identities. She comes from a dialogue and social justice background, and has facilitated and participated in intergroup dialogues as an undergraduate, with a group of Muslims and Jews in Los Angeles, and during six months in Israel. She is an alumni of Mount Holyoke College (2009), where she created an independent major in Racial Injustice in Society and Schools. In her free time, she eats burritos.