Hello friends, I’m glad you found me!

I’ve been passionate about peace since I was young. I didn’t grow up in a peaceful home, so I have spent my life trying to figure out how to build peace around me.

First, I learned about political peace by earning a graduate degree in International Relations and Peace Studies. I went on to a twenty-year career promoting democracy, human rights, and peace around the world.

Everywhere I went, people were skeptical. They didn’t believe peace was possible. Even the Director of my graduate school’s Peace Fellowship program used to tell us that peace was an illusion. He believed political actors were always preparing for war.

When hatred and political violence surged in the United States in recent years, I gained personal perspective. In the lead-up to the 2020 Presidential election, I spotted the same signs of potential violence that I had seen abroad. I didn’t want my own country to fall into the vicious cycles I had seen elsewhere. Despite feeling overwhelmed as a single working mom during the pandemic, I felt a strong urge to do something to mitigate the tensions.

When my own family members in rural Pennsylvania were promoting anti-government violence, I countered by organizing a nonviolent communication training in my hometown to help de-escalate tensions and give people a way to speak about their differences. In the wake of the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, I wrote an Op-Ed urging Americans to reach out to each other despite our differences. I was appointed by the Mayor of Washington D.C. (where I live) as a Commissioner on the quasi-judicial body that hears appeals when a person’s concealed pistol carry license is revoked. Most importantly, I spent countless hours healing the traumas of my own life and finding a deep sense of peace within myself.

That’s when I realized that we all have a critical role to play in building peaceful societies. We can’t wait for other people to do the work for us – even our politicians and political parties. We all have the power to take action – and we must. It doesn’t have to be difficult or overwhelming. We can start by healing ourselves, loving each other better despite our differences, and speaking out against hatred and violence in small ways. We can also serve our communities as neighbors and volunteers in local organizations.

If we all get involved in the personal and local ways, those things will eventually add up to broader social change. It will take a critical mass of Americans doing these things to shift our social norms toward universal love, but I believe we can do it. I hope you believe it too.

Speaking of beliefs, here is my favorite quote from the writings of the Baha’i Faith:

“World peace is not only possible but inevitable. Whether peace is to be reached only after unimaginable horrors precipitated by humanity’s stubborn clinging to old patterns of behavior, or is to be embraced now by an act of consultative will, is the choice before all who inhabit the earth.”

Peace is possible, friends, but we must take action to bring it to life. Please choose peace, and let’s build a more peaceful society together. Let’s do it for our kids and beyond.

Peacebuilders unite!

With loving kindness for all,

Danielle