This is my 10th opening letter to Peacebuilder magazine since becoming executive director of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding in August 2007. The time has come for me to pass the torch to other leaders while I undertake a new assignment as North American representative for Mennonite World Conference.
As of July 1, 2013, the CJP leadership team will be headed by Daryl Byler, who will replace me as executive director. Most recently Daryl worked for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) as Middle East regional representative. He and his wife, Cindy, have lived in Amman, Jordan, for the past six years. In his role with MCC, Daryl worked with a number of CJP alumni. He has been inspired by the impact that CJP has had on the lives of alumni when he has seen how CJP “transformed the way they think about conflict and the way they are integrating the principles and experiences learned at EMU in the challenging Middle Eastern context.”
Daryl holds a law degree from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree from Eastern Mennonite Seminary. As an undergraduate at EMU, he majored in business administration. Prior to his Middle East assignment, Daryl served as director of MCC’s Washington Office from 1994 to 2007, meeting regularly with policymakers on Capitol Hill, in the State Department, and in the White House. Earlier, Daryl spent six years as a staff attorney in Meridian, Mississippi. He concurrently served as senior pastor for Jubilee Mennonite Church, an interracial congregation.
Daryl will give administrative leadership to CJP, with a primary focus on building external relationships, networking with key university and external stakeholders, and developing resources for CJP’s growth and success.
Long-time CJP professor Jayne Docherty has been named CJP’s program director, overseeing the development, integration, funding, service delivery and evaluation of all programs. This includes coordinating the academic and practice programs of CJP and giving leadership to curriculum development. Jayne brings extensive experience and leadership abilities to this position; she will help implement the strategic plans for further integration of the CJP programs internally and with the broader university.
It is exciting to anticipate Daryl and Jayne in these management roles, providing innovative leadership and vision to ensure that CJP remains on the leading edge of the peacebuilding field. This issue of Peacebuilder, focusing on trauma awareness and resilience, highlights a major contribution CJP has made to the process of peacebuilding.
I have felt honored to witness over the past six years the deep passion and sustained commitment that faculty, staff, students and alumni bring to their work of transformation and peacebuilding. I look forward to continuing to see the impact of CJP domestically and around the globe, as I maintain touch with EMU in my new role with Mennonite World Conference.
Lynn Roth
Executive Director