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Staff

Click on a name to read that individual's brief biography.

Cynthia Cohen
Executive Director, Coexistence Program   
(781) 736-2133
cecohen@brandeis.edu

Jessica Berns
Program Director, Coexistence International
(781) 736-5016
jberns@brandeis.edu

Barbara Epstein
Program Administrator, Coexistence Program
(781) 736-5001
bepstein@brandeis.edu

Gordon Fellman
Chair, PAX Program
(781) 736-2642
fellman@brandeis.edu

Mari Fitzduff
Director, Master’s Program
Chair, Coexistence International Advisory Board
(781) 736-2873
mfitzd@brandeis.edu

Anne Gudaitis
Program Administrator, Master’s Program
(781) 736-8575
gudaitis@brandeis.edu

Ted Johnson
Assistant Professor
(781) 736-5023
tajohnson@brandeis.edu

 

Biographies

Cynthia Cohen
Cynthia E. Cohen, executive director of the Coexistence Program, oversees research and action partnerships with coexistence organizations around the world and promotes involvement by Brandeis students and faculty. She teaches at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Prior to her work at Brandeis, Cohen founded and directed the Oral History Center in Cambridge, Mass., and she has facilitated coexistence efforts in the Middle East, the United States, Central America and Sri Lanka. She has a Ph.D. in education from the University of New Hampshire, and a master’s degree in city planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is working on a series of research inquiries that convene artists and peacebuilders to examine and document their experiences promoting coexistence through the arts. Cohen is the author of "Working with Integrity: A Guidebook for Peacebuilders Asking Ethical Questions Questions," and is co-editing "Acting Together on the World Stage: Performance and Peacebuilding in Global Perspective."

Jessica Berns
Jessica Berns is the program director for Coexistence International (CI), a component of the Slifka Program, where she is responsible for developing and implementing strategy and programs. During her five years at Transparency International in Berlin, she produced communication and advocacy tools, including the "Corruption Fighters' Tool Kit," and worked with the Latin American civil society network. Berns is on the board of the Alliance for Peacebuilding, on the advisory board of the 3D Security Initiative and is board chair of the Children's Center of Brookline. She holds a master's degree from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a bachelor's degree in Spanish from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Berns has contributed to several CI publications, including "What Is Coexistence and Why a Complementary Approach?" "Focus on Coexistence and Democracy-building" and "A Survey of Coexistence Sensitivity in International Democratization and Governance Policies."

Barbara Epstein
Barbara Epstein is program administrator for the Coexistence Program and oversees administrative systems and development strategy of the program and its outreach component. She was formerly senior program associate of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leadership Program, managing the technical assistance program and staffing awards selection. She spent 10 years as a consultant at Abt Associates Inc., where her work included projects in community revitalization, education, homeless housing, and workforce development. Epstein holds an MSW in clinical social work from Smith College School for Social Work and a BA from Brandeis University. From 1998-2007 she led the Arsenal Center for the Arts as board president in a project to finance, build, and operate a performing, visual, and literary arts center in Watertown, Massachusetts.

Gordon Fellman
Gordon Fellman has been a member of the Brandeis sociology department since 1964 and chairs the undergraduate interdisciplinary Peace, Conflict and Coexistence Studies (PAX) program. He was awarded the Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching in 1999, the Student Union Best Teaching Award in 2007, the university Chaplains Award in 1999 and the Jewish Currents M.S. Arnoni Award for Writing in 1988. Gordon is the author of many articles, chapters and books, including "Rambo and the Dalai Lama: The Compulsion to Win and Its Threat to Human Survival." He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree from Antioch College. Feldman will be on sabbatical during the 2008-09 academic year.

Mari Fitzduff
Mari Fitzduff, director of the master’s program, has more than 20 years of experience in coexistence policy development, practice and research. She was director of UNU/INCORE, a United Nations University center for research on conflict at the University of Ulster, where she was chair of conflict studies. From 1990 to 1997 she was the first chief executive of the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council, which tackled decades of violent conflict through government policies and local community programs. Fitzduff has has been a consultant and trainer for conflict programs throughout Europe, the Middle East and South Asia. She currently consults with the Club of Madrid, a partnership of former heads of state, on issues of conflict transformation. Her many publications include "Community Conflict Skills"; "Beyond Violence: Conflict Resolution Processes in Northern Ireland," which won an American Library Association Notable Book award; "NGOs at the Table: Strategies for Influencing Policy in Areas of Conflict," with Cheyanne Church; and "The Psychology of Resolving Global Conflicts: From War to Peace," a three-volume series which she co-edited. Fitzduff holds a Ph.D from New University of Ulster.

Anne Gudaitis
Anne Gudaitis is the program administrator for the master's program in coexistence and conflict. She supports the director and faculty and manages all aspects of the master's program operation. From 2005 to 2007, she worked in the Brandeis president's office, assisting with event planning. Prior to her time at Brandeis, she spent five years working for Kennedy Enterprises, a family trust and eight years at MIT as assistant to the provost and dean for undergraduate education. Gudaitis holds a bachelor's degree in mass communications and French from Western Kentucky University and a senior certificate in design from the School of Fashion Design in Boston.

Ted Johnson
Ted Johnson, assistant professor in the master’s program, is a former senior program manager and current legal adviser for Mercy Corps and has been a consultant and trainer in negotiation and dispute-resolution programs throughout the world. He has worked on curriculum development at all levels of education and has advised U.N. agencies, including the World Health Organization, UN Trade and Development and the U.N. Environmental Program. Johnson holds a master’s degree in international law and diplomacy and has been adjunct faculty at Harvard University Law School.  He is writing a Ph.D. dissertation, "Culture, Communication and Negotiation: A Critical Intersection," at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.