Susan Collin Marks

Biography

Susan Collin Marks is an internationally renowned peacemaker and peacebuilder. She has worked in some of the most conflictual places on the planet, mediating in the heart of her native South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy; facilitating ongoing dialogue in the Middle East between Palestinians and Israelis, Iranians and Americans, Syrians and Americans, within Libya, and multilaterally throughout the region; supporting peace initiatives in the former Soviet Union and Asia; and establishing peacebuilding programs throughout Africa. In recent years, she focused on mentoring and counseling high level political, institutional and civil society leaders worldwide, including cabinet ministers, military generals, and members of the US Congress. In September 2014, she stepped aside after 20 years as vice president of Search for Common Ground, the largest peacebuilding NGO in the world, and moved from Washington DC to Europe. Search for Common Ground was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018.
She holds an MA in International Relations from the U. of Kent at Canterbury. Honors include an Honorary Doctorate from the UN University for Peace; Jennings Randolph Peace Fellowship at the United States Institute for Peace; Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship; President Jimmy Carter’s Waging Peace Award; Marvin Johnson Diversity Award from the Association for Conflict Resolution; Exemplary Leadership Award from the University of Pittsburgh; the Institute for Noetic Science’s Creative Altruism Award.
Her book, Watching the Wind: conflict resolution during South Africa’s transition to democracy, USIP 2000, captures the compelling story of how peace can be built in the most intractable conflict.
Susan writes, speaks, counsels, teaches, and supports peace initiatives internationally. She holds a vision of a world of peace and dignity for all. She believes that our common humanity binds us together more than our differences divide us. She works to make it so.