“It is through engaging with the other that I have come to better understand that Great Other, God.”

Rev. Susan Hayward

Rev. Hayward works with peacebuilders around-the-world to advance the cause of just peace as a minister in the United Church of Christ and a Senior Advisor at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Growing up in Minnesota, and later, while living in Kathmandu, Susan was surrounded by refugees displaced by violence in their home countries. Her early career focused on advocating for human rights through Amnesty International, assisting political asylum seekers in the U.S., and promoting policies favorable to refugees with the United Nations. These experiences led her into the field of peacebuilding, desiring to help stem the flow of violence and abuses worldwide that create refugees.

As a person of faith and a student of world religions, particularly Buddhism, Susan was drawn to engagement with religious communities, actors, and ideas as a vehicle to transform drivers of violence and support peace. Through the religious peacebuilding program at the U.S. Institute of Peace, where she has worked since 2007, Susan has supported interfaith peace efforts in Colombia, Iraq, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. Her particular interest in the work of women religious peacebuilders is captured in her co-edited book Illuminating the Unseen: Women, Religion, and Peacebuilding, which recounts stories of women religious leaders from many faith-traditions worldwide who work doggedly for peace despite many challenges. These women have been a source of deep inspiration for Susan.

Susan considers herself a scholar-practitioner, seeking to ensure her practical engagement as a peacebuilder and her scholarly work at Georgetown University inform one another. Her PhD project explores Christian and Buddhist theologies response to authoritarianism and violence in Myanmar, where she also works actively to support peacebuilding. She has been published widely in academic journals, policy venues, and in media outlets such as Foreign Policy and The Washington Post. She has graduate degrees from Harvard Divinity School and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where she studied the intersection of religion, violence, and peace in Sri Lanka and Northern Uganda.

In addition to her peacebuilding and scholarly work, Susan advocates for racial justice and LGBT rights in the United States, and against anti-Muslim sentiment and policies. She is an active foster parent to street cats, a gardener, and an avid outdoors woman who has hiked mountain ranges in Nepal, Patagonia, and Tanzania. She can be found on Twitter @SusanOHayward