Maureen Kiley ('03) Applies Systems Thinking to Social Justice Issues in Appalachia

Most people would agree that Maureen "Mo" Kiley ('03) thinks about things a little differently than the average person. Perhaps that is why she made such an impression on Dr. Jacob Van Bowen when she was his student in a systems-thinking class he taught at Jepson.

Bowen, a statistician with the University's math department, recognized Kiley's aptitude for systems thinking and made her his de facto teaching assistant. When Jepson students in Bowen's systems-thinking class would discuss a societal problem, Bowen would ask Kiley to help students map out all the possible factors affecting that problem. Kiley would then run a program that charted changes in variables during an extended period of time.

Systems thinking involves a circular approach to problem solving as opposed to a more traditional linear approach, Kiley explained. Rather than breaking down a problem into its constituent parts, systems thinking  expands the analysis of a problem to include all possible reactions and interactions. As a result, systems thinking often produces strikingly different conclusions than more traditional analytical approaches.

Before his death in November 2004, Bowen created a scholarship fund to cover the cost of attending the annual forum of In2:InThinking Network, an organization dedicated to the study and application of systems thinking. Appropriately enough, Kiley became the first Van Bowen scholar, enabling her to attend the In2:InThinking forum "Daring to Lead: Influencing Better Thinking for a Better Future" held April 7-10, 2005, in Los Angeles.

Most of the other attendees were engineers who were interested in applying systems-thinking strategies to their business settings. Kiley, who has spent the last two years working for the Catholic nonprofit Nazareth Farm in the Appalachian foothills of West Virginia, brought a social justice perspective to the conference.

In fact, Kiley often takes a systems-thinking approach to her work at Nazareth Farm. A commune-style center that hosts weeklong retreats for both high school and college groups, Nazareth Farm combines prayer and reflection with community outreach.

Kiley serves as a team leader for the center, taking volunteer groups out to the surrounding Appalachian community to perform home repairs for people who could not otherwise afford them. "We touched on Adam Smith's trickle-down theory at Jepson," Kiley said. "I like to think of what we do at Nazareth Farm as the 'trickle-up effect.' If we help people at the bottom of the economic pile, the positive effects trickle up."

Kiley challenges the many volunteers who come to Nazareth Farm to think more deeply about social justice issues, she said. Issues such as the repercussions of big corporations entering small, rural communities and putting local, family-owned enterprises out of business.

"I try to teach volunteers about responsible spending," Kiley said. "I tell them they are casting a vote every time they put their money down, and they should think about whether they agree with a company's policies first. Many high school students have never thought about this before. It's important for them to realize that the choices we make affect the local community as well as our own lives."

 Kiley prepares to put siding on a home in rural West Virginia.

Kiley finds plenty of time for self-reflection as well: "I often find myself wrestling with issues discussed in my leadership studies classes. Sometimes when I'm pulling up someone's toilet, brushing the shingle dust out of my hair or nailing on siding, I find myself wondering, is this what my professors meant when they talked about the servant leader?"

After a full two-year stint at Nazareth Farm, Kiley will be returning to her parents' home in Northern Virginia this month, she said. She doesn't know what she'll try next, but given her boundless enthusiasm and her penchant for experimenting with the unconventional, it's sure to be interesting.