Discussion Thread: Conflict Resolution Resources –
Influencers
My firstinfluencer wasBarack Hussein Obama, the 44th
president of the United States and the first African American
to serve as commander and chief (Freidel and Sidey, 2017). I
chose Obama because I admire his ethical and moral
leadership style and courage. Barack Obama is a powerful
servant leader that serves with an unwavering belief that is
grounded in his ability to unify people around a politics of
purpose(Smith, 2019). His leadership style, intelligence,
humility, and charisma have made him a highly respected
worldwide public icon. He attended Harvard Law School and
became the first African American president of theHarvard
Law Review (Biography, 2011).
Barack Obama’s service to the community beganin 1988 in
Chicago Illinois where he collaborated with church groups to
rebuild communities devastated by the closure of steel mill
plants, his advocacy helped establish job training programs,
and affordable housing (Freidel and Sidey, 2017).
Obama’spolitical service started as a senator for Illinois.
As a senator,he was instrumental in ethics reform, cut taxes
for working families, and expanded health care for children
and their parents. Obama alsosuccessfully reached across
the aisle and worked with Republicans to pass
groundbreaking lobbing reform,supported measures to
secure the world’s most dangerous nuclear weapons, and he
helped to bring transparency to government spending by
putting federal spending online (Biography, 2011).
Obama’s presidential accomplishments and accolades
include Nobel Peace Prize recipient,the military operation
that killed Osama bin Laden for the 9/11 terror attacks and
thedeescalating of United States militaryinvolvement
inIraq,the appointment of two women Supreme Court
Justices, Associate JusticeSonia Sotomayor in 2009, and
Associate Justice Elena Kagan in 2010, and the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act.Obama continues his
servant leadership and is actively involved in conflict
resolutions. His intelligence, and humility, make him revered
and admired globally and well worth following. His book “The
Audacity of Hope” has become a worldwide inspiration. His
social media accounts are also filled with motivational texts
central to daily life. Barack Obama can be followed on
