Friday Ombuds: Monica Hummerick
Monica Hummerick at her Peace Corps swearing in ceremony
Introducing Monica Hummerick, our first Butler County Friday Ombuds. Read on to meet Monica and learn how the pandemic interruption to her Peace Corps service led her to start a new community conflict resolution resource in the area. Read to the end for more information and be sure to check out her links.
Name: Monica Hummerick
Residential neighborhood: Hamilton, Butler County
Tell us about a small or brief problem/issue you solved. What was the key for breaking through the problem?
In March of 2020, I had been serving in the United States Peace Corps in Colombia when the COVID-19 Global Pandemic hit. I was evacuated out of the country and to my home of record in Hamilton, Ohio, where my family lives, even though I had not lived in Butler County since 2006. As a recent graduate with a Master’s degree in Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management, I had joined Peace Corps as an exploration in peacebuilding. My unexpected arrival back to the United States forced me to question what that work would look like here.
It didn’t take long for the identity conflicts that had been surfacing in waves of social movements in the years leading up to 2020 to explode in massive demonstrations for social justice, most notably around police violence against Black Americans. Clearly, there was plenty of peacebuilding work to be done in the United States. Political polarization, economic pressures, and social isolation further contributed to community conflicts. Already suffering from an increase in deaths of despair from before the pandemic, many Ohioans struggle with existing in a society that prioritizes individualism over community.
I could not find a community mediation program in Cincinnati. It wasn’t until I met Elaine Dickhoner through a National Association for Community Mediation (NAFCM) meeting and Lisa Singh, through the TRUST Network, that we began the creation of the Greater Cincinnati Conflict Resolution Program (www.GCCRP.org). Community mediation can be one resource for individuals, families, and neighbors to help navigate problems that may be seemingly outside of their individual capacity. A service accessible to everyone, it is a model in which members of the community are trained and act as mediators to facilitate difficult conversations between conflicting parties within their community.
The Friday Ombuds Questionnaire:
Where are your favorite Butler County places? Jungle Jim's and The Fringe Coffee House
Who is your favorite Cincinnatian? Why? Rukiye Abdul-Mutakallim. I met her through her work with The Musketeer Association (www.musketeerassociation.org), a nonprofit she birthed from the grief of losing her son to save the rest of us all from the “man-made disease of trauma.” She is courageous in her faith and love and a natural, community mediator. Her story is one of restorative justice and she inspires everyone she meets. Here she is: Rukiye Abdul-Mutakallim video
Defunct place or institution you would bring back? WOXY 97X The Future of Rock and Roll
If they would just make me mayor for a day, I would . . . fund the Greater Cincinnati Conflict Resolution Program to overcome economic barriers that would prevent equitable representation from community members, so volunteering is not only available to people with the privilege of excess, unpaid free time.
You should have asked me . . . about Ohio Poor People's Campaign. The nonviolent intersectional movement continuing the work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to end systemic poverty, racism, and militarism and the additional injustices of ecological devastation and false moral narrative of religious nationalism.
Shameless Plug: use this space to plug one local Cincinnati-area event/organization/website/business/place/product that is special to you. Why should we know about it? What makes it singular?
Here to Hear is one of the first GCCRP programs. It is a community listening project. Volunteers trained in active listening set up a pop-up location within their community to provide one on one listening sessions for community members who are looking for someone to listen. The volunteers build their mediator skillset and the community members who share will be introduced to the possibility that there is someone in their community who could be a resource for a current or future conflict, so they don’t have to face it alone. The next event is October 8 from 4pm-6pm. Email interest or questions to heretohear@gccrp.org.
Monica Hummerick navigates complexity in cultural contexts with joy. Her professional career in the private sector traverses 15 years in international trade, regulatory compliance, and operational audit for transnational and global manufacturers. She is a Licensed Customs Broker, Certified Internal Auditor, and trained Mediator. Monica holds a Masters of Arts degree in Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management from Southern Methodist University and her Bachelor’s degree in Spanish is from Miami University. She is a founding member of the Greater Cincinnati Conflict Resolution Program and current member of the City Council Bootcamp 2023 cohort. Her experience as a Returned Peace Corps Colombia ‘19-’20 Volunteer and community organizer with Ohio Poor People’s Campaign fuels a passion for peacebuilding. As often as possible, she enjoys going on adventures into the woods in her micro campervan.
Read prior Friday Ombuds posts:
Fred Neurohr — Traffic calming in Northside and a beef with Izzi’s
Rachel Hastings — Case study in crime reduction in Covington and that Cincinnati question
Regina Carswell Russo — Real talk on diversity and the dish that is addicting, delicious, soothing, and medicinal
Dr. Amber Kelly Pro networking tips using Cincinnati’s strengths and the question I really should have asked her
Steve Ramos Animal control and his favorite “urban, egalitarian Jewish community” leader
Jeffrey Miller Food waste reduction through the tax code and York Peppermint patties
Geralyn Sparough What neighborhood felt like home for this Californian and how she weaves this City together
Be the next Friday Ombudsman by clicking the “Be the Friday Ombudsman” button on the home page and send your answers. Everyone has something to contribute!