Judith Thompson, Ph.D., has been engaged in projects promoting social healing for over twenty years, working primarily with survivors of war and political violence, utilizing group settings for as story-telling, dialogue, and the development of learning communities. In the 80s she co-founded Children of War, Inc., an award-winning international youth leadership organization that supported the vision and leadership of young activists from 22 war-torn countries. Thompson has also helped to develop social healing initiatives in Israel/Palestine and Cambodia and is currently assisting the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission in North Carolina. As part of her doctoral research for The Union Institute, she convened a three-day learning community hosted by the Boston Research Center for the 21st Century that brought together 25 peacebuilders from all over the world to explore the question, "How does compassion arise in the process of social healing?" Thompson is a Research Associate of Karuna Center for Peacebuilding and, co-chairs the Frontiers of Social Healing dialogue initiative with IONS President James O’Dea. She has been recipient of the Peace Fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies and the International Peace Prize of the Dolores Kohl Education Foundation.
