Elika Dadsetan-Foley, MA, MSW, JD, EdD (AbD), Kroc School Alumna ’11
Elika Dadsetan-Foley is a connector, educator, peacebuilder, and lover of life, based outside Boston, MA. Her notable career has been guided by a search for global justice, equitable access, and community. Applying knowledge from her Juris Doctor degree, she began teaching high school Government, Sociology, and Law & Society courses and developed remote learning programs with schools in England, Uganda, Slovakia, and Mexico. Being new to San Diego, she learned about Kroc IPJ lectures and tried to incorporate them into her lesson plans. The more Kroc IPJ events Elika attended, the more fervor she had for learning about peacebuilding. She applied to the Kroc School and graduated with her MA in Peace and Justice Studies in 2011. After receiving her Master's, she began working for global organizations focused on social justice and education. She worked with communities in Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Lebanon, Iraq, and beyond. Elika returned to the United States to focus on equity programs in higher education administration and completed her MSW at USC and is finishing her EdD (abd) at Northeastern University. Currently, Elika is utilizing her combined skillset as the Executive Director of VISIONS, Inc., a nonprofit organization educating individuals on valuing difference, strengthening relationships, and conflict transformation.
This Q&A highlights the Kroc School's impact on Elika Dadsetan-Foley’s pathway to VISIONS, Inc., as the nonprofit celebrates its 40th Anniversary of impact on global communities.
What are some highlights from your Kroc School experience?
Honestly, it was the people. And when I say people, I mean ALL of my classmates. I loved that we had a global cohort to learn from. I adored our professors. I adored our Dean. Staff. Everyone. Elisa Lurkis, MA is now on our VISIONS Board of Directors and was our Development Director at the time. We were all so connected, even though we were very different. The space felt hopeful and everyone was inspiring.
Kroc was really important to me because it put me on a path that I really never knew existed. I never thought I could do the work that I ended up doing and it definitely was a launching pad for where I am now. For example, we had to do a 10-week internship during the summer. Once it was over, we were expected to come back and write our capstone. I wrote to our Dean and asked permission to extend my stay in Sierra Leone to continue my writing, since my research was a lived experience, and then come back to present my findings from my diversion and restorative justice work with Defense for Children International. They allowed it. That really allowed me to go from this internship where I really didn’t know what my degree was going to be used for, to being aware this is an occupation that people can do. Initially, I thought I was going back into the classroom to do peace education and work with youth, and it just totally took a different direction once I got into the field and got to do experiential work. It felt very hopeful that you can do a lot of things with this degree and we have some incredible professors that I looked up to.
How did your experience at Kroc School prepare you for your professional career?
They did a really great job. Two of my professors were also my advisors for my two concentrations of focus. Dustin Sharp, PhD/JD, was my advisor for Human Rights Advocacy and Ami Carpenter, PhD, was my advisor for Conflict Resolution. They both did an incredible job of showing the work come to life.
Dustin was also formerly a lawyer and then he went into the Peace Corps and did work with Human Rights Watch. And at the time, I was like, “I want to do that.” I want to go write up these articles and do these fact-finding missions and come back and help tell stories and inform the world. So often you are not really clear on why things are messed up, so I really liked the investigative piece, being able to understand a bit more. He would have us write articles as if we were writing for a Human Rights Watch type of organization.
Ami brought global professionals into the classroom to speak in person and through Skype. It gave you examples of how this type of work can be done in regards to organizational conflict, community conflict, or post-conflict. Various contexts. It showed how conflict resolution looks differently in different constructs. She really brought all those options to life in that way.
Between showing how an internship could be, when you are physically there, or having the courses brought to life, they did a really great job of demonstrating how you could use the degree out in the world.
What does peacebuilding and peacemaking mean to you?
That’s changed a lot over time for me. Once I was doing the work, I started to question a lot of “the why,” so the question of “is this dysfunctional rescue?” came up for me a lot. It made me feel a bit sad, mad, and scared of the harm I may have added by not being aware of any negative impact. Earlier in my work, I thought that someone who makes a positive impact can “save the world.” Now I’ve turned more into a listener, someone who goes into communities and connects. I hear what they want and need and what their ideas are. It’s really important to be in community with others. And I feel a constant reminder that we are all connected and there are ripple effects in all that we do here and all that is done elsewhere.
You have worked at VISIONS, Inc for the past four years. Can you describe the key aspects of VISIONS’ work?
To me, it's about building and strengthening relationships and repairing harm in relationships once they occur. Harm or misses will occur at some point when in authentic relationships, since we're human—it’s not a matter of IF but WHEN. Whether it’s relationships in the workplace, family, community, or really anybody. In order to build relationships, we need the tools to go deep and understand how we are all different. How do we accept one another for our differences?
These tools are taught during VISIONS workshops, coaching, and consulting programs addressing what people think, do, and how they feel about cultural differences and changes. VISIONS looks at conflict transformation by addressing the personal, interpersonal, cultural, and institutional levels.
I came to VISIONS after a job I had in higher education that I truly loved—one that allowed me to work closely with students and also loved the team I got to work with. However, the work environment also felt painful at times, so the idea of working somewhere that takes time to truly care for one another, as well as others in the world appealed to me. It’s a very special place and I feel lucky to do the work I get to do and with the people I get to do it with…even when sometimes it feels sticky. We have ways to work through everything together.
As the Executive Director, what does a typical work day look like?
It changes on a daily basis. I support VISIONS daily operations, staff and consultants, and am responsible for trying to navigate the ship in various ways—determining if we are culturally aligned with our mission, making impacts we hope to make, fiscally responsible, and legally compliant. I try to make sure the team is effectively connecting and communicating. I work closely with our Board of Directors, connect with partners, and ensure we are meeting our strategic plan and goals. I assist with sharing more about VISIONS to an external audience and fundraising, as well.
Is VISIONS doing any work in regards to this election cycle?
We have our Guidelines for Cross-Cultural Dialogue workshop happening on Wednesday, November 20 to create space for how to have difficult conversations. No matter what happens with the election, there’s going to be a lot of pain. There is pain and anxiety right now without knowing who is going to be the President and there will be pain for whomever feels like they “lose.” The fact that we have “winners” and “losers” is proof of automatic othering. There is just a lot of pain around the world, so we can always support holding space for these challenging conversations.
The VISIONS model is based in clinical psychology and it utilizes trauma-informed healing practices. It is a restorative space and cooperative process when there has been harm. These restorative conversations may be helpful for families, neighbors, and coworkers who aren’t talking to each other due to politics. We invite any individual to join us.
VISIONS celebrates at 40th Anniversary Gala, Photography: Three Circles Studio
VISIONS recently celebrated its 40th Anniversary. What were some of the highlights of the 40th Anniversary gala?
Seeing everyone’s smiles and how happy they were to see each other. I started in March 2020, so I never experienced in-person community with many from our organization and community partners until the gala. I got to hear many testimonials about how VISIONS work personally affected them. This was a coming home party in many ways, especially after working remotely. It was a great opportunity to reintroduce ourselves to Boston. Being a connector, I loved being behind the scenes and bringing everyone together.
It was extremely special to see the history come to life. To think about how VISIONS—as a Black women-led nonprofit organization—has stood the test of time for 40 years and acknowledge how much work has been done within that time, with the resources VISIONS had, is absolutely incredible. VISIONS has impacted over 250,000 individuals and 1,000 organizations across the world, since 1984.
I loved seeing Dr. Valerie Batts honored by the City of Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu, knowing that every September 27th moving forward is Dr. Valerie Batts Day in Boston—a day where we can come together and both honor the legacy and impacts of our incredible Founding Director Emerita and Founding Consultant, as well as find ways to serve and honor her legacy.
VISIONS staff at 40th Anniversary Gala, Photography: Three Circles Studio
What are your goals for leading VISIONS to the future?
The momentum and joy from the 40th Anniversary event has made me think about how to continue to build community and to do so in person on an annual basis, although on a smaller scale than our most recent gala. I look to preserve and respect our history and expand the reach of the VISIONS model. At our 40th Anniversary event, we launched The Learning Institute, a new initiative for those interested in learning VISIONS tools and applying them to their own lives, communities, and organizations. VISIONS is also looking to do more advocacy and policy work at the local and state levels, continue expanding our global reach, and grow our youth programs.
What advice would you give to current students at Kroc School that are looking to start their career in peacebuilding and social innovation?
Try not to be scared and try new things. Be open and don’t box yourself into where you think this degree fits within your current scope of experience. Find individuals doing intriguing work and find out more about how they got where they are. You will find your purpose.
For more information about VISIONS’ services and upcoming programs, visit visions-inc.org. Follow us on Instagram at @visionsinc_org and connect with us on LinkedIn.
