You are here: American University School of Public Affairs PERIL Who We Are
Contact Us
Phone: (202) 885-2940
Graduate programs: spagrad@american.edu
Undergraduate programs: aupublicaffairs@american.edu
Who We Are
About Us
We use a public health approach to design, test, and scale-up evidence-based tools and strategies that effectively reduce the threat of radicalization to harmful online and offline content including conspiracy theories, mis/disinformation, propaganda, and supremacist ideologies. As an alternative to security-based approaches that rely on surveillance, censorship, and incarceration, our work takes a multidisciplinary and pre-preventative approach to address hate, bias, and radicalization before they manifest into violent extremism. Our work supports individuals and communities to reject propaganda and extremist content, as well as empower them to intervene and interrupt early radicalization.
PERIL’s Values
PERIL has an evolving set of values that shape our choices about how we work, with whom we partner, and how we set priorities. Our values are the cornerstone of our organizational culture, setting the tone for how we engage with one another, our partners, and the public. They are a part of our lived practice and our aspirations for the field of violence prevention.
Optimistic
- we believe in our ability to build resilient democracies, societies, and communities
- we empower people with actionable solutions that affirm and inspire hope
- we seek to shift a fear-based mindset to a solutions-oriented one
Community-centered
- we create practical, tangible, applied and community-focused tools
- we work to engage all communities, including historically underserved ones
- we commit to pragmatism, accessibility, and transparency across all our work
Courageous
- we pursue bold, transformative, visionary, and paradigm-shifting change
- we make brave choices deploying innovative, creative, and out-of-the-box ideas
- we are pathfinders seeking to forge new approaches and solutions
Evidence-based
- we rely on rigorous, ethically-gathered evidence to create and assess interventions
- we test and report on sustainable change and impact, not just output metrics
- we approach evidence holistically and rooted in community wisdom & contexts
Inclusive
- we consciously cultivate a workplace that is welcoming, open, approachable, and fun
- we celebrate diverse personal, professional, and disciplinary backgrounds
- we focus on team members’ wellbeing and our care for one another
Integrity
- we hold ourselves accountable for ethical behavior toward one another and in the field
- we commit to respectful, open, and transparent communication
- we embody our co-created values in internal and external engagements