Volunteer Instructor Shinji Ryu: Creating an Atmosphere for Effective Communication

Shinji Ryu first began volunteering with Negotiation Works in 2021. With Melissa Reinberg, Shinji teaches a negotiation skills curriculum tailored for formerly incarcerated individuals at the Georgetown Pivot Program. While studying at Columbia Law School, he served as a mediator in the New York City local courts, helping community members resolve their legal disputes without litigation. That prior experience demonstrated to him the importance of communication and advocacy skills, which drew him to Negotiation Works. In addition to his volunteer work with Negotiation Works, Shinji is an associate at the D.C. office of the law firm Covington & Burling LLP. Shinji has a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. He is a proud immigrant, having moved to the United States from Korea when he was 9. 

 As a teacher, Shinji believes it is essential to organize information to help his students digest, reflect, and employ strategies in the future. Reflecting on the connection between mediation and negotiation, he discusses that “part of what a mediator does is to signal or implicitly create the atmosphere for each person to understand how the other person sees a disagreement…in negotiation that is so much of what we try to teach and is the foundation of communication.” Outside of volunteering, Shinji also enjoys cooking and reading; his favorite genre is Science Fiction novels.