Center for Justice and Peacebuilding

New director, a Colombian native and EMU alumnus, now at the helm of popular Harrisonburg International Festival

by Randi B. Hagi

Boris Ozuna, the new director of Harrisonburg’s International Festival, got his first taste of community organizing as a child in Sincelejo, Colombia. His mother was involved in justice work with
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Graphic designer and marketing expert Kristen Opalinski turns her expertise to explorations of faith and social justice

by Lauren Jefferson

Kristen Opalinski is a woman on the go. Even as she hustled to complete a multimedia project during an intensive two-week media course at the Summer Peacebuilding Institute, the graphic
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After the tragic loss of her grandson, long-time victim advocate reflects on changing roles and restorative justice

by Andrew Jenner

When her 20-year-old grandson was murdered, long-time victim advocate Pamela Leonard, MA ’06 (conflict transformation), found herself suddenly in a new role. What she learned has strengthened her zeal for
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Undergraduate students work, share, learn with peacebuilders from around the world at summer institute

by Lauren Jefferson

This summer, four Eastern Mennonite University undergraduate students worked at the Summer Peacebuilding Institute, spending six weeks acting as hosts and ambassadors for approximately 145 international visitors. They were often
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Lassana Kanneh, a former child soldier in Liberia’s civil war, shares his story to help heal himself and others

by Andrew Goodstein

Lassana Kanneh is healing. In 1999, along with more than 20,000 Liberian children, 11-year-old Lassana became a soldier. He was kidnapped and forced to use drugs and alcohol, destroy property,
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