James Patton
James Patton is the former President and CEO of The International Center for Religion & Diplomacy. He has conducted international development, conflict transformation, and social reconciliation in complex environments for 25 years, building collaborative networks and programs with the entire spectrum of social and political stakeholders.
James’ non-governmental experience includes coordinating citizen security and reconciliation efforts with Indigenous and Afro-descendent women in the Andean region, facilitating Cambodian Buddhists’ role in post-conflict stability, supporting pedagogical reforms and educator training to emphasize tolerance and critical
thinking with the Saudi Ministry of Education, and developing frameworks for training religious actors in preventing extremism in North Africa. His governmental experience includes leading stability operations for the U.S. State Department in South Sudan and enhancing the Latin America and Religion and Conflict portfolios for USAID’s Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation. James is a Lifetime Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Senior Visiting Fellow at Brigham Young University’s Wheatley Institution, Senior Fellow at the Rumi Forum, and co-author, with Rev. David Steele, of the U.S. Institute of Peace publication, Religion and Conflict Guide Series: Religion and Reconciliation. He holds a Master of Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University and a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School.