Diana Tovar (left), the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding's new networking coordinator, talks with Janelle Myers-Benner, academic program coordinator. Tovar will help connect alumni and students in her new position, which started in September 2016.

Center for Justice and Peacebuilding hires first alumni networking coordinator

by Lauren Jefferson and Randi B. Hagi

With nearly 600 alumni scattered around the world and networking among its graduates one of the benefits of joining the community, Eastern Mennonite University’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) now has a peacebuilding networking coordinator. The position is funded by a donation from CJP founding donors James and Marian Payne.

Colombian native Diana Tovar, a second-year graduate student at CJP, was hired this September to “strengthen a global network of peacebuilders, equipping alumni and current faculty and staff to share knowledge with each other,” according to CJP Executive Director Daryl Byler. “The ultimate goal of her work is to increase alumni and current student impact in peacebuilding work.”

Tovar’s goals are substantial on the networking aspect of coordination, helping to bring alumni into contact with students and also with other alumni. She has created a LinkedIn group, known as #CJPeers for graduates, current students, faculty and staff, as well as a CJP university page.

“I think that LinkedIn can open a lot of possibilities for those who love what they do to find what they are looking for,” says Tovar. “It is going to be a vibrant way of discovering what other alumni are doing.”

Tovar’s other objectives are to support alumni engagement with current students. Alumni are already invited into CJP classrooms, through Skype or in person. Tovar will build this capacity, as well as collaborate with Practice and Practicum Coordinator Amy Knorr to connect students with alumni for first-hand opportunities to use their skills.

Diana Tovar (standing, left) with James and Marian Payne, founding donors of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, and graduate student Isabel Castillo. Tovar and Castillo are recipients of scholarships funded by the couple. The new peacebuilding network coordinator position is also similarly funded . (Courtesy photo)
Diana Tovar (standing, left) with James and Marian Payne, founding donors of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, and graduate student Isabel Castillo. Tovar and Castillo are recipients of scholarships funded by the couple. The new peacebuilding network coordinator position is also similarly funded . (Courtesy photo)

Another goal of the position is to support alumni by connecting them for joint project or funding opportunities. Tovar will also work on donor development and recruitment to CJP’s programs.

In January 2017, she will begin a series of small online focus groups to help alumni learn about each other’s work.

“The networks are there,” Tovar says. “So it’s more about strengthening, discovering with curiosity what’s already there.”

Tovar, who has worked in transitional justice issues in Colombia and with restorative justice in the United States, came to CJP in 2015 as the recipient of the James and Marian Payne Scholarship. She will finish her degree in 2017, using some of work involved in this new position as the required practicum, and then stay on in a full-time capacity.

Update your profile and connect with peers

  • Each CJP alumnus has a professional profile on the CJP webpage. To update your CJP alumni profile, click here, locate your profile and use the “update your profile” link at the bottom of the page.
  • To join the LinkedIn group #CJPeers or to learn more about opportunities to connect with students and alumni, contact Diana at diana.tovarrojas@emu.edu.