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The Rev. Canon John L. Peterson
Director
The Rev. Canon John L. Peterson is the Cathedral’s first Canon for Global Justice and Reconciliation and Director of the Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation.
Most recently Canon Peterson served as the Secretary General of the Worldwide Anglican Communion headquartered in London.
Before his appointment as Secretary General, Canon Peterson was the Dean of St. George’s College, Jerusalem, for 12 years. He is also the Anglican Canon at St. George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem and is an Honorary Canon in the Cathedral Church of Christ, Canterbury; St. Michael’s Cathedral, Kaduna, Nigeria; All Saints, Mpwapwa, Tanzania; as well as St. Dunstan’s Cathedral, Benoni, South Africa. He is also an Honorary Canon of the Cathedral of Christ the King in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Among his numerous academic achievements and honors are degrees from Concordia College, Harvard University, the Chicago Institute for Advanced Theological Studies, Virginia Theological Seminary, the University of the South and Seabury-Western Theological Seminary. He has also studied at the American University and the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, Lebanon.
Canon Peterson serves as Chair of the Spafford Children’s Center in Jerusalem and is a member of the Advisory Council of the Anglican Observer at the United Nations. He is a member of the American Friends of the Anglican Center in Rome, and is a member of the American Friends of the Diocese of Jerusalem.
Jean F. Duff, M.A. M.P.H.
Deputy Director,
Global Justice and Global Poverty Programs
Jean Duff is the Deputy Director for Global Justice and Global Poverty Programs of the Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation (CGJR) at Washington National Cathedral. The CGJR addresses global justice and reconciliation challenges through inter religious dialogue and collaborative partnerships between the interfaith and secular sectors. The Center’s global justice and global poverty work is framed by the Millennium Development Goals. It convenes and supports inter-religious collaborations that increase the impact of the religious sector. Current program focus areas are Malaria, and Gender Equity.
Since its founding in early 2005 under the direction of the Rev. Canon John L Peterson, the CGJR has facilitated a Consultation of International Religious Leaders on Global Poverty, staffed the Inter Religious Campaign against Malaria in Mozambique, and has co-convened the Women’s Faith and Development Alliance.
Ms Duff provides leadership and direction to the Center’s Malaria program. The Center supports the Inter-Religious Campaign against Malaria in Mozambique (IRCMM), an initiative of 11 national faith leaders to mobilize faith communities throughout Mozambique to prevent and control malaria. The Center also staffs the U.S. based Working Group to support IRCMM. Ms Duff provides leadership and direction to the Center’s Women’s Program, and to the Women’s Faith and Development Alliance (WFDA).
Previously, Ms. Duff has co-founded and led non-profit social justice organizations including Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place, Community Housing Trust, Campaign for New Community, Building Better Communities Network, and Strive DC. Her previous experience includes 10 years as Executive Vice President of General Health Inc, a for profit health care enterprise.
Ms. Duff holds an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from University College Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Public Health degree from Columbia University School of Public Health, with certificates of continuing education from Wharton and Harvard Business Schools.
She has also served the following: Hospice Care of DC; Amigos de Iracambi; Metropolitan Dialogue; Washington Regional Welfare Reform Collaborative; National Health Foundation of Russia; Children’s National Medical Center.
Evan P. Anderson
Deputy Director,
International Reconciliation and Peacemaking (IRP)
Mr. Anderson comes to the Center with experience in individual and organizational counseling, conflict resolution, and government. In his capacity as Deputy Director of the IRP, Mr. Anderson is actively involved in peacemaking and reconciliation initiatives around the globe. His work emphasizes inter-religious dialogue, interfaith relationship building, Track II diplomacy, and respectful engagement between estranged parties as mechanisms for creating peace and reconciliation. He is currently involved in projects that are helping to build bridges between Islam and Christianity including initiatives supporting the healing of US-Iran relations.
Before his appointment as Deputy Director of the IRP program, Mr. Anderson worked as a counselor and management consultant and assisted organizations in addressing issues pertaining to conflict resolution, personnel management, and organizational mission.
Mr. Anderson also has eleven years experience in state government, having served as a policy advisor to two governors in the state of Florida and as a cabinet aide to Florida’s Education Commissioner.
Mr. Anderson holds an M.S. in Counseling and post-master’s certificate in Organizational Counseling, both from the Johns Hopkins University.
Mary Pat Brennan
Women’s Program Coordinator
Mary Pat Brennan is Women’s Program Coordinator with the Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation (CGJR) at Washington National Cathedral, working with the Women’s Faith and Development Alliance where she works as part of a team building an international interfaith alliance to overcome global poverty through increased investment in women’s development.
Previously, Ms. Brennan co-directed Pennsylvania Women Work, a non-profit that promoted women’s economic empowerment where she provided training and program development and also directed the Pennsylvania Women’s Vote Project. She taught at Chatham College, Carlow College, and Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, and for ten years was program director of the New Choices Career Development Program.
Ms. Brennan holds a M.S.Ed. in Education from Duquesne University, a B.A. in Psychology from University of Maine, and a Certificate in Development Project Management from Monterrey Institute for International Studies.
She has also served on the following: Oikocredit USA and Western Pennsylvania Support Association, Minority Enterprise Corporation, Microenterprise Assistance Program, Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors, and is actively involved in faith based social justice and peacemaking through her congregation.
Joseph V. Montville
Senior Advisor on Interfaith Relations
Joseph Montville is a former career diplomat with extensive experience in Abrahamic dialogue. After serving in the Middle East and North Africa for twenty-three years, Mr. Montville recognized the power of interfaith dialogue in achieving reconciliation among followers of the three Abrahamic faiths. In 2004, he arranged a two-week, interfaith residency at the Cathedral’s College of Preachers at the request of the Rev. Canon James Fenhagen, then Warden of the College. This effort brought together Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scholars and included: Professor Abdulaziz Sachedina, University of Virginia; Rabbi Professor Marc Gopin, George Mason University; and Professor Emeritus Krister Stendahl, former Dean of the Harvard Divinity School.
Based on the success of the Abrahamic residency Professor Sachedina asked Mr. Montville if he would assist in obtaining an invitation for former Iranian President Sayed Mohammad Khatami to speak in the nave of the Cathedral. The Bishop of Washington, John Bryson Chane, and the Dean of the National Cathedral, Samuel Lloyd, quickly extended the invitation which resulted in the historic address by former President Khatami on September 7, 2006.
In May, 2007, Mr. Montville participated with staff from the CGJR in a conference in Oslo, Norway which focused on religion, democracy, and extremism. The conference was co-sponsored by Sayed Khatami’s International Foundation for the Dialogue of Civilizations and Cultures and the Club of Madrid, an organization comprised of former heads of state. Montville is also director of Esalen Institute’s project to promote the Abrahamic Family Reunion with activities in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, New York, and Boston and in the Middle East. He also has appointments in the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University, and the Center for Global Peace at American University.
Katherine Wilkins
Administrative Coordinator
Katherine Wilkins comes to the Center with a history of working with and for a wide range of non-profit organizations as a volunteer, board member and staff person. She has worked with environmental, educational, historic preservation, and equine organizations. In addition, she has helped to run her family’s farm in Virginia.
Katherine graduated from Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, with a B.A. in History.
A native of Washington, D.C., Katherine has spent most of her life in the area. She is married to Fraser Bryan Wilkins and is the mother of three children, William (22), Torrey (20) and Emily (18).
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