The Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement aims to be a dynamic space where peace-oriented innovators and established organizations can come together to make change. In January, 2020, the Centre named five new Research Fellows who are making important contributions to peace research and peacebuilding efforts locally and globally.
The work of these new Research Fellows aligns with the Centre for Peace Advancement’s strategic commitment to supporting research that is action oriented or impact focused. Some of these new fellows hold academic appointments at Conrad Grebel University College, and others are currently employed by an organization co-located in the Centre, but they all have demonstrated an ability to bridge the worlds of academic research and peacebuilding practice.
The newly appointed Research Fellows are as follows:
Marlene Epp is a professor of History and Peace and Conflict Studies at Grebel. Epp has a PhD in Canadian History from the University of Toronto and has research interests in the areas of immigrants and refugees, women and gender, and the history of peace and nonviolence. Being the former Dean of Conrad Grebel University College, she is well versed in the Centre’s values of peacemaking.
Lowell Ewert is a former lawyer turned Associate Professor in the Peace and Conflict Studies Department at Grebel. His research interests are International Humanitarian Law and how peacemaking can be integrated into all vocations. Ewert is the former Director of Grebel’s Peace and Conflict Studies program.
Branka Marijan is a Senior Researcher at Project Ploughshares, a Canadian peace research institute and Centre for Peace Advancement Core Collaborator. She leads their research on the military and security implications of emerging technologies in warfare, specifically autonomous weapon systems, artificial intelligence, and robots. Marijan holds a PhD from the Balsillie School of International Affairs with a specialization in conflict and security.
Jessica West is also a Senior Researcher at Project Ploughshares, serving as the managing editor for the Space Security Index project. She researches in the fields of politics, security, and governance. She holds a PhD in Global Governance and International Security Studies from the Balsillie School of International Affairs.
Brice Balmer is a Professor Emeritus in Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy at Martin Luther University College and former Mennonite Minister. He brings faith-based research to the Centre, as he holds a DMin in Spirituality and Addiction. His future research will focus on interfaith dialogue and collaboration in the Waterloo region, specifically Shi'a Muslim - Mennonite dialogue.
Epp, Ewert, Marijan, and West have been involved with the Centre for Peace Advancement for several years, working in its spaces and participating in meetings of the Centre’s Research Hub. The Hub is convened each semester to provide an opportunity for researchers connected to the Centre to share updates and explore opportunities for collaboration—check out the Research highlights page on our website for a sample of recent publications from our community.
A total of six Research Fellows are now associated with the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement, as Ernie Regher was named the Centre’s inaugural Research Fellow in 2015.