William Vendley
Secretary General, World Conference on Religion and Peace

Dr. Vendley has served as Secretary General Religions for Peace since 1994. He is a member of the World Council, which is composed of outstanding international religious leaders. He also serves as the organization’s chief executive officer, overseeing the international secretariat in North America, Europe, the Balkans, West and East Africa, and Asia.

In addition, Dr. Vendley coordinates the international activities and projects of Religions for Peace’s Interreligious Councils in 55 states around the world. He actively works in areas engaged in armed conflict to mobilize and equip religious communities to mediate and mitigate violent conflict and build a climate of peace. In Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Liberia, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, Dr. Vendley has led negotiations that have helped to prevent conflicts from developing, to mediate peace among warring parties, and to rebuild societies in the aftermath of violence.

Under his leadership, Religions for Peace and its local affiliates engaged religious communities in collaborative work to assist the more than 12 million orphans of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Notable among the Religions for Peace developments during the tenure of Dr. Vendley’s leadership is the first-ever Global Network of Religious Women’s organizations. The network facilitates multireligious collaboration among religious women’s organizations and mainstreams their leadership into Religions for Peace action programs.

Dr. Vendley is a theologian and has served as a professor and dean in graduate schools of theology. He lectures frequently in academic, United Nations and NGO fora. He has been awarded numerous prizes for religion and human rights, and serves on the boards of a number of organizations ranging from the fine arts to those committed to peacebuilding. He holds a doctorate in systematic theology from Fordham University and a master’s degree in religious studies from the Maryknoll School of Theology.

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