Mary Jane is a dynamic peacebuilder, activist and academic, rooted in a career that blends inquiry and action.

She started her journey in 1985 when she traveled to the Soviet Union on a peace mission, soon after in 1990 was living in South Africa when Mandela was released, worked in Rwanda in a refugee camp after the genocide, when the horrors of war helped her shift towards seeing what we could do to strengthen our ability to share space and live together across cultures, power and difference. Her focus since then has been to strengthen grassroots voices and build understanding across cultures.

She has a Bachelor’s in International Relations from the School of Foreign Service, a Masters in Social Work from the University of Washington and will be completing a Masters in Global Studies/Peace Studies in May 2026.

Her research is focused on how we can strengthen interreligious (Christian Orthodox-Muslim) friendships by learning from a region with strong relations, southern Albania.

She has founded a number of initiatives:

Globalicious (Tapestries of Solidarity)

Kafenia Peace Collective

Ottoman Healing House

She just closed Kafenia Peace Collective in March 2026 after 10 years and is exploring how she can contribute more deeply to global peacebuilding and civil society strengthening, with an emphasis on the Mediterranean cultures.

She is available after July 2026 for consulting, joint research and projects together.

She can assist with

• strengthening peace in civil society.

• building understanding across different groups in a wholistic manner

• helping your diverse team thrive!

• teach on global studies, peace studies, international relations