--- title: The Innovating Peace Blog | Rowan Hepps Keeney description: Rowan Hepps Keeney (they/them) is a graduate in the MS in Conflict Management program. They are a nonbinary educator and activist with a background as a trans advocate and public speaker. Their advocacy work can be found in publications such as MTV News and Seventeen. They moved to San Diego in 2018 after completing their bachelor’s degree in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (major) and Activist Theatre (concentration). They have since worked professionally in immigration law and in the nonprofit sector, focusing on LGBT activism. --- [Skip Navigation](https://krocstories.sandiego.edu/peace/the-innovating-peace-blog/author/rowan-hepps-keeney#main) [![University of San Diego](https://krocstories.sandiego.edu/hubfs/KROC/%5BKROC%5D%20Branding%20Assets/logo-usd.png)](https://www.sandiego.edu/) [Joan B. 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Read more about the... [Read More](https://krocstories.sandiego.edu/peace/the-innovating-peace-blog/2025-class-speaker-mscmr-graduate-rowan-hepps-keeney) Featured Crossing the Divide: Challenging Perceptions of the American South When my graduate school, the Kroc School of Peace Studies at the University of San Diego, announced a practicum traveling across the southern U.S. by train to engage with areas of conflict, I was... 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[urban violence](https://krocstories.sandiego.edu/peace/the-innovating-peace-blog/tag/urban-violence#index) - Show All - Show Less ![2025 Class Speaker: MSCMR Graduate Rowan Hepps Keeney featured image](https://krocstories.sandiego.edu/hubfs/1W7A9927-1.jpg) ##### Thursday, June 5, 2025 2025 Class Speaker: MSCMR Graduate Rowan Hepps Keeney The following speech was delivered by Rowan Hepps Keeney, Class Speaker for the MS in Conflict Management and Resolution program at the 2025 Kroc ... [Read More](https://krocstories.sandiego.edu/peace/the-innovating-peace-blog/2025-class-speaker-mscmr-graduate-rowan-hepps-keeney) ![Crossing the Divide: Challenging Perceptions of the American South featured image](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdH7aqIThI9xEdGujcZvInNjH_Cn4YMfA5ELT1a1uzdibIGyumCP1U_IcsGcq0QBpEthMIz80W042ycgMumnZYtVmAOjgbT9cYzhTcmsVWvlZmvIhaWHDaVrKmJmvbTN3i31OyZMz-eTqUOFlnDPKGbN4s?key=Ulpw-5HLTvuO9cozUEXaVQ) ##### Monday, July 8, 2024 Crossing the Divide: Challenging Perceptions of the American South When my graduate school, the Kroc School of Peace Studies at the University of San Diego, announced a practicum traveling across the southern U.S. by ... 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