Our People
The MHCR family is made up not just of the employees listed below, the George Mason faculty, and their students but everyone dedicated to “breaking the barriers that separate people…to overcome differences and heal wounds of the past.”
Executive Director
Anti Pentikäinen
Alongside leading MHCR, Antti is working as a visiting professor at the US Institute for Peace. Before his work at MHCR, Anti established the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers with the U.N. (2015-2019) while also serving as the special envoy for Finland’s prime minister on the Refugee Crisis (2015-2019) as well as advisor for the U.N. assistant secretary-general on prevention of genocide (2017).
For over a decade, Antti led the efforts of the Finn Church Aid (2004-2015) as its executive director, and assumed several leadership positions including special advisor for President Ahtisaari, director at Crisis Management Initiative (2000-2004) and Religions for Peace (2010-2011). He brings peace processes and reconciliation experience in places like Somalia, South Sudan and Libya, and he will focus on understanding the roles of Insider Reconcilers, connecting better community-level efforts with state level political processes and developing support mechanisms for these efforts.
Antti holds a Master of Theology at Helsinki University and is an author within Inclusive Peacebuilding: Recognised but not Realised.
Board of Directors
Dr. Susan H. Allen directs the Center for Peacemaking Practice at George Mason University. She has engaged long-term in conflict resolution in the South Caucasus and contributed to conflict resolution initiatives in Eastern Europe, Eurasia, the Caribbean, South America, and Africa.
Allen has a Ph.D. (2000) and M.S. (1995) degrees from S-CAR. Allen joined the S-CAR core faculty in 2005 after two years teaching International Peace and Conflict Resolution as Assistant Professor at the School of International Service at American University.
Allen serves on the Editorial Committee of the journal Peacebuilding and on the Editorial Boards of the African Peace and Conflict Journal, and Caucasus Edition. She is on the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Conflict Transformation
Dr. Kevin Avruch is the Henry Hart Rice Professor of Conflict Resolution, and Professor of Anthropology in the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, at George Mason University. He was S-CAR’s dean from 2013-2019.
Avruch has published more than seventy articles and essays and is author or editor of six books, including Critical Essays on Israeli Society, Religion, and Government (1997), Culture and Conflict Resolution (1998) Information Campaigns for Peace Operations (2000), Context and Pretext in Conflict Resolution: Culture, Identity, Power and Practice (2012), and Conflict Resolution and Human Needs: Linking Theory and Practice (2013).
Avruch was a senior fellow in the Jennings Randolph Program for International Peace at the USIP; a Joan B. Kroc Peace Scholar at the Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego; and a Fulbright Specialist at the Malaviya Peace Research Centre, Banaras Hindu University.
Dr. Viji George is President Emeritus, Concordia College and President, George and Associates Consulting. Dr. George has an intimate understanding of complex organizations and has a proven track record as fundraiser for causes he is passionate about. Over the years, he has been interested in issues related to conflicts originating from religious animosity and misunderstanding and seeking ways to bringing peace between conflicted communities. He has traveled and worked extensively around the world and feels that the missional intent of MHCR is much needed at a time like this. Dr. George also serves on other non-profit boards where he lends his time and expertise. He is married to Janet and has two daughters, Sarah and Emilie.
Dr. Marc Gopin is the Director of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution (CRDC), the James H. Laue Professor at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University, Arlington, Virginia, USA. Gopin has pioneered projects at CRDC in Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Palestine and Israel. Gopin has trained thousands of people worldwide in peacebuilding strategies for complex conflicts. He conducts research on values dilemmas as they apply to international problems of clash of cultures, globalization and development, and social justice. The direction of his new research and teaching investigates the relationship between global trends in nonviolence and new approaches to global conflict resolution. Dr. Gopin received a Ph.D. in ethics from Brandeis University in 1993.