Personnel

Staff

Timothy Seidel
Director
timothy.seidel@emu.edu
Timothy Seidel serves as director for the Center for Interfaith Engagement (CIE). He also teaches courses on politics, development, and peacebuilding in the Department of Applied Social Sciences and the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at EMU. He holds an MTS from Wesley Theological Seminary and a PhD from the School of International Service at American University in Washington, DC. More about Timothy Seidel

Trina Trotter Nussbaum
Associate Director
trina.nussbaum@emu.edu
As a faith-rooted and reflective peacebuilder, Trina works at building the spaces and facilitating the connections that enable authentic engagement across difference. Trina has an MA in Conflict Transformation from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) at EMU and holds a BA in Theater and Psychology, with a minor in Justice, Peace and Conflict Studies from EMU.
More about Trina Trotter Nussbaum

Ed Martin
Former Director and Interfaith Specialist
ed.martin@emu.edu
Ed was CIE director from 2010 to 2016. He continues to advocate for Shia/Mennonite connections and for interfaith concerns in the Lancaster PA area. Prior to being director of the CIE, Ed served with American Friends Service Committee as the Quaker International Affairs Representative for Iran and worked for 18 years with Mennonite Central Committee as director of programs for Central and Southern Asia, as well as the Middle East.

Visiting Scholars

Bob Bersson
Visiting Scholar
Bob is Professor Emeritus of Art and Art History from James Madison University where he taught modern and contemporary art history, art criticism, and art appreciation from 1980 to 2004, and is the author of two art appreciation/art history textbooks. Bob has been involved with interfaith/intercultural work as a founder of the local Interfaith Initiative for Peace and Justice and creator/teacher of “The Israeli/Palestinian Conflict in Film” class which he taught at both EMU and JMU. His 2016 film series at EMU, entitled "Across Cultures: Profiles in Courage and Resilience,” looked at heroic instances of non-violent conflict resolution around the world. From a liberal Jewish, New York City background, he is married to Dolores Shoup, an EMU graduate.