Baker Institute Fellows

Daniel Bryan serves as the Executive Director of the Pachaysana Institute. His work's foundation is based on the use of Applied Arts to explore conflicts and create dialogue opportunities. He has spent the last 24 years in Ecuador working with local communities to aid in transforming conflict in ways that respect all stories. He is also an active scholar-practitioner of Participatory Action research and an educator in the Rehearsing Change program. Both programs allow for the application of the arts to develop a common understanding throughout communities. He also travels to universities across the United States and hosts workshops and lectures that educate participants on unlearning, decolonizing methodology, epistemological research, and theater for social change. Find Daniel on LinkedIn.

EVENTS:

• Workshop: Actions for Peace workshop and UN International Day of Peace (2023)
• Lecture: The Intersectionality of Poetry and Activism (2022)
• The Baker Institute Scholar in Residence (2021)
• Lecture: An Encounter with Our Ancestors: Exploring Andean Ways of Knowing (2019)

Commander Caecilia van Peski is a licensed psychologist and Dutch diplomat. She holds an MSc Degree in Educational & Cultural Psychology from Tilburg University, an MA egret in Civil-Military Interaction from German Military Staff College, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Border Security and Management from the OSCE Border Management College. As a Commander in the Royal Netherlands Navy, she has actively participated in various current and post-conflict regions. She is also an expert practitioner in peace and security, democratization, elections, and human rights. Her work has been recognized both nationally and internationally. Her success can also be seen in her work as an educator and lecturer, as she has worked closely with numerous universities and other institutions to provide information and context to ongoing conflicts. Caecilia van Peski is a member-select of the UN Senior Women Talent Pipeline (SWTP), SER TopVrouw (Netherlands Social Economical Council Woman of Distinction) and recipient of the Ambassador for Peace Award granted by the Universal Peace Federation. In October 2010, she addressed the 65th United Nations General Assembly in New York with her statement ‘Women, Peace, Security’, in the capacity of United Nations Special Representative for her country. Caecilia van Peski is sensitive towards the plight of the underprivileged and the call for sustainment of a planet in need. In her three decades as a professional in Peace and Security, she has been able to alleviate human suffering and protect civilians and military in diverse environments that had armed conflict as a common denominator. View Caecilia van Peski's website here.

EVENTS:

• Baker Institute for Peace & Conflict Studies International Symposium (2022)
• Baker Institute Scholar in Residence (2019)
• Lecture: UN Pathway to Peace Architecture (2019)
• Two-Day Intensive Master Class: International Peacebuilding: Early Warning, Prevention, and Intervention (2019)
• Genocide Awareness and Action Week “Acknowledging the Past and Taking Action to Create a Nonviolent Future” (2019)
• “Inside-out Teaching”, Smithfield Correctional Institute – Pennsylvania Department of Corrections “International Rule of Law in The Hague” (2019)

Jerry McCann is a structural engineer currently based in San Francisco, California. In 1991, after a decade of practicing structural engineering, he joined the Peace Corps to teach civil engineering in Uganda at one of its technical colleges. After four years, he returned to California to obtain his master's in construction engineering and management at Cal, Berkeley, followed by a three-year construction management stint in San Francisco to hone his skills. In 2000, McCann returned to East Africa to lead Habitat for Humanity’s national program in Kenya. In 2004, he was given the opportunity to join Interpeace. In this international peacebuilding organization, he supported peacebuilding work in Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, and Kenya and introduced opportunities to bring engineering into peacebuilding solutions. In 2010, he was promoted to Deputy Director General, overseeing Interpeace’s operations worldwide. For the last eight years, McCann has been with Build Up (https://howtobuildup.org/), an innovative peace tech organization, as its senior advisor and resident peace engineer. One of his current areas of focus is to support the development of the peace engineering practice, which he does by supporting universities developing peace engineering programs and supporting peace engineering fellows in the USA and abroad. Find Jerry McCann on LinkedIn.

EVENTS:

• Lecture: We Can’t Engineer Peace, but we Can Engineer More Peacefully (2020)
• Weekend Intensive: The Emergence of Peace Tech: Innovated Peacebuilding in the digital age (2020)
• Lecture: Engineering through a Peacebuilding lens (2018)

Ambassador Leoni Cuelenaere served in the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an Ambassador and Deputy Head of Mission. Ambassador Leoni holds master's degrees in law, Dutch Linguistics, and Literature. She has dedicated her career to addressing the complex challenges many citizens in post-conflict countries face. She has steadfastly advocated for the principles of the rule of law and human rights, laying the foundation for her impactful work. Most notably, she served as the Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Rwanda, Yemen, and Zimbabwe. She commonly addresses issues regarding access to essential resources and individual freedoms. Most recently, Ambassador Cuelenaere has acted as an independent consultant; she has continued her work to highlight the importance of protecting citizens in post-conflict states and ensuring guaranteed access to justice. Find Leoni Cuelenaere on LinkedIn.

EVENTS:

• Baker Institute for Peace & Conflict Studies International Symposium (2023)

Dr. Chris Dolan is a Political Science professor and the Director of M.S. in Intelligence and Security Studies at Lebanon Valley College. Dr. Dolan has received two Fulbright U.S. Scholar awards, which provided him the opportunity to teach in North Macedonia and Kosovo. During his Fulbright in North Macedonia, Dr. Dolan taught courses on civil societies and the rule of law. While there, he also conducted research on Euro-Atlantic integration and its relationship to defense, foreign policy, and geopolitical security. His previous Fulbright in Kosovo allowed him to teach courses related to Euro-Atlantic integration and word politics. His research focused on NATO accession as well as the normalization of Serbia-Kosovo relations. He serves as a U.S. Fulbright Specialist with the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies in critical infrastructure, working to secure and expand sustainable energy, telecommunications, and e-government. Dolan is a Board Member of the World Affairs Council and the Foreign Policy Association of Central Pennsylvania. Find Chris Dolan on LinkedIn.

EVENTS:

• Baker Institute for Peace & Conflict Studies International Symposium (2023)

Dr. Ibrahim Fraihat is an associate professor in international conflict resolution at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. Prior to his time at the Doha Institute, Dr. Fraihat was a senior foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution as well as an instructor at both Georgetown University and George Washington University. He is an expert on the Middle East and analyzing conflicts present in the region, having published an extensive amount of literature on the subject. Dr. Fraihat uses his knowledge to consult with international organizations focused on creating opportunities for dialogue and effective communication to ensure peaceful transitions in post-conflict contexts. He is also a significant contributor to the Al Jazeera English company, providing context and information on current conflicts. Read Ibrahim Fraihat's Biography Here.

EVENTS:

• Baker Institute for Peace & Conflict Studies International Symposium (2023)

Commissioner Adeto (Ph.D.) is an Associate Professor of Peace Studies and former Director of the Institute for Peace and Security Studies at Addis Ababa University. In February 2022, he was elected to serve as a Commissioner of the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission. The primary focus of his work has been on peacebuilding, conflict resolution, prevention of violent extremism, diplomacy, and more. Commissioner Adeto has published extensively on conflicts in the Horn of Africa. He has partnered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to train diplomats since 2001 and has contributed to managing peace and security in Africa by partnering with the African Union. Find Yonas Adaye Adeto on LinkedIn.

EVENTS:

• Baker Institute for Peace & Conflict Studies International Symposium (2023)