Michael Shank is associate director of legislative affairs at the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) in Washington DC and adjunct faculty and board member at George Mason University's School for conflict analysis and Resolution. He is a board member at Communities Without Boundaries International, senior fellow at the French American Global Forum, the Just Jobs Network, and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict. Prior to joining FCNL, Dr. Shank served for nearly four years as a congressional staffer, working as US Congressman Michael Honda's Senior Policy Advisor and communications director. His career over the past 20 years has involved UN, government and non-governmental organizations in the US, Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America, as an adviser on diplomatic, economic, energy, and environmental security and policy initiatives. Dr. Shank writes regularly for national and international media, such as the Washington Post, CNN, The Guardian, Al Jazeera and Russia Today. Dr. Shank holds a B.F.A. in theater from Kent State University, an M.A. in conflict transformation & peacebuilding from the Eastern Mennonite University, and a Ph.D. in conflict analysis and resolution from George Mason University.