2026 Commencement Speaker 

Angela J. Lederach (she/her/hers) is Assistant Professor of Peace and Justice Studies at Chapman University. As a scholar-practitioner, she has engaged in over a decade of participatory research with grassroots peacebuilders in Colombia as they work to transform violent conflict, deepen possibilities for environmental justice, and cultivate a more just and livable world. Her research focuses on community-based responses to transforming the interlocking dynamics of political and environmental violence. She is the author of the award-winning book, Feel the Grass Grow: Ecologies of Slow Peace in Colombia (Stanford University Press 2023). Alongside her father John Paul, she also co-authored the book When Blood and Bones Cry Out: Journeys Through the Soundscape of Healing and Reconciliation (Oxford University Press). With a dual PhD in cultural anthropology and peace studies from the University of Notre Dame, Lederach has accompanied peacebuilding, environmental, and restorative justice initiatives in Sierra Leone, Philippines, Colombia, Bolivia, and the United States.