About Danielle Reiff
About Danielle Reiff
Peacebuilder
Writer
Baha’i
Divine Feminine
Peacebuilder
Writer
Divine Feminine
Baha’i
I’ve been a peacebuilder in my soul for as long as I can remember and a mom for the past twelve years. I often tell my son that I had him so that I could have a partner in making the world a better place.
I’ve been a professional peacebuilder for more than two decades. As the word ‘peace’ increasingly appeared on my resume, I learned different peacebuilding approaches.
Fresh from college, I served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina Faso. In my host village’s middle school, I was the first female teacher my students had ever seen. One kid called me “mister” the entire school year. I once taught my francophone students the lyrics to Bob Marley’s “Get Up Stand Up [For Your Rights]”. It was fun to watch the light bulbs go on in their heads as they understood the song and human rights for the first time.
Upon my return to the U.S., I got a job at the United Nations (UN) Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) in New York City. I was working there during the Millennium General Assembly in 2000
and when the UN won the Nobel Peace Prize! I was also there during the events of September 11, 2001…
From there, I won a Rotary Peace Fellowship to complete a Masters degree in International Relations and Peace Studies at Sciences Po in Paris, France. My favorite days were when I walked past Notre Dame Cathedral on my way to and from class.
After graduate school, I joined the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and spent twenty years promoting democracy, human rights, and peace around the world as a diplomat. In 2022, our work was recognized with a Charles T. Manatt Democracy Award.
In recent years, I have worked on violence prevention and peacebuilding in my own country of the United States.
From 2020-2023, I served as a violence prevention expert on the Concealed Pistol Licensing Review Board for the city of Washington D.C. It is a quasi-judicial body that reviews appeals when the police revoke a person’s concealed carry license. I enjoyed the opportunity to work at the intersection of gun rights and public safety.
I currently serve on the Board of Directors for Grannies Respond, a non-profit that supports asylum seekers in the U.S., and Everyday Peace Indicators, an organization that leads communities in dialogue to understand what peace means for them.
I’m also leading Peacebuilders, and I want to work with you.
Peacebuilders unite!
My Core Values
LOVE
UNITY IN
DIVERSITY
NONVIOLENCE
A professional peacebuilder's
journey around the globe...
During her two decades as an American diplomat, Danielle advocated for the rights and inclusion of marginalized groups and civil society in peace and governance processes.
COLOMBIA
When Colombia enacted an ambitious Victims and Land Restitution Law in 2011 to legally acknowledge armed conflict with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias Colombianas (FARC), Danielle worked with the Government of Colombia and others to encourage and support broad citizen consultations about improving services for the country’s conflict victims. The Colombian Government’s enhanced support for millions of conflict victims was a building block for the Havana peace talks which ended the hemisphere’s longest-running violent conflict in 2016.
Danielle is pictured here with Paula Gaviria Betancur, a human rights lawyer and activist who led the Colombian Government's implementation of the 2011 Victims Law. Paula also participated in the Havana peace process between the Colombian Government and the FARC. She currently serves as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Internally Displaced Persons.
In 2012, Danielle accompanied then Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos to the country's Guajira region in the Sierra Nevada mountains. There they participated in a ceremony and discussion with the Wiwa indigenous community about adapting Colombian government services to meet the community’s culture and needs.
REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA
In 2012, Danielle witnessed the Republic of Georgia’s first democratic transition through the ballot box since the country’s independence from the Soviet Union. During her years in Georgia, Danielle worked with governmental and non-governmental organizations to advance democratic reforms that made elections, judicial processes, and public service more transparent and accountable to the public.
Danielle is pictured here with Tamar Zhvania who was the first women chair of the Central Election Commission in the Republic of Georgia. Tamar currently serves at the Country Director for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in Uzbekistan.
Danielle is pictured here with Tamar Chugoshvili at the 2016 Global Summit of the Open Government Partnership in Paris. Tamar worked as the Republic of Georgia’s first ever Human Rights Advisor in the Office of the Prime Minister following the 2012 democratic transition. Tamar went on to be elected a Member of Parliament and served as the first woman Deputy Chair of Georgia’s legislature.
SOUTH SUDAN
Danielle supported civic engagement in the implementation of the August 2015 peace agreement in South Sudan. Although civil society groups participated in the 2015 peace negotiations for the first time in the history of the Sudans, afterwards they met with resistance to participating in the official peace monitoring committee. When local organizations attempted to disseminate the peace agreement, they were sometimes denied permission to work. The peace agreement was interrupted in July 2016 when fighting broke out between the two major parties. Following the fighting, the U.S. Embassy community was evacuated from South Sudan.
Danielle is pictured here with Catholic Bishop Paride Taban, a well-respected religious leader who founded the Kuron "peace village” in South Sudan to foster coexistence among conflicting ethnic groups. The Bishop was a signatory to the 2015 peace agreement in South Sudan. He passed away on All Saints Day 2023. Also pictured is U.S. Government specialist in violent conflict and peacebuilding, Carrie Gruenloh.
Danielle is pictured here with South Sudanese human rights activist Edmund Yakani on World Press Freedom Day 2016 when he won an award from UNESCO for defending the freedom of expression and safety of journalists. Edmund played a critical role in speaking out against exclusionary and divisive South Sudan Government policies and attacks on the media.
SRI LANKA
When Danielle arrived in Sri Lanka in 2016, the Parliament had recently passed legislation to increase representation of women in elected local councils. She supported and advised a coalition of governmental and non-governmental groups to ensure implementation of the new law. As a result of this collective effort, the percentage of women in Sri Lanka’s local government increased from 1% to 23% through the 2018 local government elections.
Danielle is pictured here with Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne, who was known as the Gandhi of Sri Lanka for his leadership of peace marches and meditations with millions, using his Buddhist ideals and personal example to quiet angry masses. He was also the founder of the Sarvodaya Movement, a nationwide network of communities focused on rural development and humanitarian service. He passed away in April 2024.
Danielle is pictured here with the first woman elected Mayor of Sri Lanka’s capital city of Colombo. Rosy Senanayaka was elected in 2018 in a local government election that increased the number of women in elected local leadership positions from 1% to 23%.
Join our community for peacebuilding insight & inspiration!
When you join our community you'll receive...
- Tips for building peace in your community
- News about political violence and peacebuilding in the U.S.
- Book release info
- Access to the Vote for Love Facebook group
