Palma Strand, JD, LLM

Palma Joy Strand is Professor of Law and Director of Creighton University’s 2040 Initiative in the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (NCR) Program, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies.  She teaches Introduction to Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, 2040 Initiative Seminar: Engaging Constructively with Demographic Change, Leadership and Conflict Engagement, and Facilitation as well as Special Topics Seminars and Independent Studies.  In teaching and research, Professor Strand focuses on “issues that arise at the juncture of legal structures, cutting-edge conflict engagement and governance processes, and important current equity issues, especially those that related to race and gender.”

Professor Strand clerked for Judge J. Skelly Wright on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and for Justice Byron R. White on the United States Supreme Court. Prior to joining the Creighton faculty, she taught at the Georgetown University Law Center and the University of Maryland School of Law. Before joining the NCR Program, her appointment was in the Creighton School of Law from 2007-2017.

Professor Strand was a Hewlett Fellow in Alternative Dispute Resolution and Legal Problem-Solving at the Georgetown University Law Center from 2002-2004. She was also Co-Founder and Principal of The Arlington Forum, a civic organizing initiative based in Arlington, Virginia, that worked with community institutions to broaden and deepen civic engagement in the area of schools, land use, youth, and government processes generally.

Professor Strand is also Co-Founder and Research Director of Civity, and Co-Founder and Lead Facilitator with Challenging Racism Through Stories and Conversation.

Professor Strand received her B.S. with honors in civil engineering from Stanford University, her J.D. from Stanford Law School, and her LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center.  In addition to academia and her involvement with nonprofits, she enjoys reading, walking, swimming, making quilts and collages, and visiting her home state of California. 

View a full listing of Professor Strand’s publications and honors.