Jennifer Ball, PhD, RPP, MCIP, holds a PhD in Rural Studies, with a focus on Sustainable Rural Communities, from the University of Guelph. Her research interests pertain broadly to women’s community based peacebuilding, Circle as pedagogy & community engagement process, community resilience, rural planning & community development, and narrative methodologies.
Her three books reflect this range: Better Decisions Together: A Facilitation Guide for Community Engagement (2015), All Are My Children: Voices of Ugandan Women Peacebuilders (2014), Doing Democracy with Circles: Engaging Communities in Public Planning (2010). Jennifer is a registered professional planner and worked for several years in rural Ontario. Jennifer spent many years as a professor in the Peace and Conflicts Studies academic program at the University of Waterloo, and has been co-leading the Peacemaking Circles training within the Conflict Management Certificate Program since 2011. Jennifer is an Adjunct Faculty with the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development at the University of Guelph. In her research and practice, Jennifer bridges African and Canadian contexts.