About John Paul Lederach

John Paul considers himself a practitioner-scholar who seeks to bring integrity, curiosity, and wholeness to the understanding of conflict transformation and peacebuilding. He has been married to Wendy Sue since 1980. They have two children, Angie and Josh. Angie and her partner Jeff have a son, Isa, and a daughter, Sofia Wendy.

“We must find our way back to humanity, to the wellspring of love that gave us all birth and has the capacity to shift the affairs of enmity. The yet to be born await the gift of our imagination.”

Dr. John Paul Lederach is internationally recognized for his pioneering work in the field of peacebuilding. He received his bachelor’s degree in history and peace studies from Bethel College and his doctorate of philosophy degree in sociology, with a concentration on social conflict, from the University of Colorado. He currently serves as Senior Fellow for Humanity United and Professor Emeritus of International Peacebuilding at the Joan B. Kroc Institute of International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. He works extensively as a practitioner in conciliation processes active in Latin America, Africa, Southeast and Central Asia. Dr. Lederach is widely known for the development of culturally based approaches to conflict transformation and the design and implementation of integrative and strategic approaches to peacebuilding.

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