Executive Director

PATRICIA SHAFER is Executive Director of the international nonprofit organization NewGen Peacebuilders and the associated Youth & Peace in Action initiative. She also serves as Senior Fellow for Peace Education at Washington, DC-based Alliance for Peacebuilding and Global Ambassador with the Institute for Economics & Peace. In these roles, Patricia’s focus is on leadership for the design and delivery of peace education, training and mentoring programs that integrate leadership development, project management, and conflict resolution and sustainable peacebuilding. As of 2023, participants in 12 states in the US and 18 countries have participated and received certifications with a goal of “making learning to be a peacebuilder a rite of passage for everyone, everywhere.”

Patricia is also one of 1,500+ Rotary Peace Fellows, with her selection based on extensive nonprofit and consulting accomplishments across East Africa. For her work in South Sudan, Patricia was nominated for a UNESCO prize for girls’ and women’s literacy. In 2022, Patricia was a recipient of the Melanie Greenberg Award for Excellence in US Conflict Resolution & Peacebuilding. Previously, Patricia held senior positions in change management and communications in two global Fortune 100 companies. She holds a MSc in Consulting and Coaching for Change – a joint-venture of Oxford University, UK, and HEC France; MBA, Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management; and MA in Journalism from The Ohio State University.