Reina C. Neufeldt

Associate Professor, Peace and Conflict Studies    

Reina C. Neufeldt
Faculty
Faculty

Reina C. Neufeldt

Associate Professor, Peace and Conflict Studies

519-885-0220 x24252 (UW)

reina.neufeldt@uwaterloo.ca

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UW Office: CGUC 2114

 

Reina Neufeldt is an Associate Professor in the Peace and Conflict Studies program at Conrad Grebel University College and the University of Waterloo. Her research focuses on questions related to ethics, engagement, conflict transformation and local peacebuilding in settings of deep divisions and inequities.

Dr. Neufeldt’s scholarly work is shaped by her experiences in peacebuilding practice. In the mid-1990s, she worked on policy and advocacy for Mennonite Central Committee in Washington, DC. Between 2000 and 2007, Dr. Neufeldt worked as a Peacebuilding Technical Advisor for Catholic Relief Services, based in Baltimore and Southeast Asia. She co-authored two foundational peacebuilding training resources: “Peacebuilding: A Caritas Training Manual” (2001) and “Reflective Peacebuilding: A Planning, Monitoring and Learning Toolkit” (2007). After transitioning back into academia, Dr. Neufeldt has continued to consult and support team reflection, monitoring and learning to improve peacebuilding. This includes work with Care International (UK), Mercy Corps, and Mennonite Central Committee. She was a Steering Committee member for the US-based Peacebuilding Evaluation Consortium (2013-2018), and is currently a member of the Project Ploughshares Governing Committee (2015-present).

Dr. Neufeldt’s current work focuses on sources of conflict and pursuing transformation closer to home. She is embarking on a project related to understanding Mennonites as “implicated subjects” within Canada’s processes of settler colonization and decolonization. She has also been working with colleagues in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and Waterloo on community-based research as part of peacebuilding.

Dr. Neufeldt holds an MA in Social Psychology from York University, and a PhD in International Relations from American University in Washington, DC. Before coming to Waterloo, she taught at the School of International Service, American University (2008-2012), and was a Visiting Fellow at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame (2007-2008).

Awards

  • 2017-2019 Ann Viv Ansamn project sub-award, Mercy Corps Haiti lead agency (Global Affairs Canada grant)
  • 2015-2016 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Connection Grant for Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference and Festival, Co-Applicant (Lead applicant: Marlene Epp)

Select Publications

  • Neufeldt, Reina C. (In press). “Judging Peacebuilding: Attending to Value in Evaluation.” In d’Estrée, Tamra P. (Ed.). New Directions in Peacebuilding Evaluation. London: Rowman & Littlefield.
  • Neufeldt, Reina C. (2018) “When Good Intentions Are Not Enough: Confronting Ethical Challenges in Peacebuilding and Reconciliation.” The Conrad Grebel Review 36 (2): 114-132.
  • Neufeldt, Reina C. (2017). “Ethics and Peacebuilding.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies.
  • Bergen, Jeremy M., Paul C. Heidebrecht, Reina C. Neufeldt. (2017). “Introduction: Exploring Theological, Practical, and Cultural Dimensions of Global Mennonite Peacebuilding.” The Conrad Grebel Review special issue Global Mennonite Peacebuilding: Exploring Theology, Culture, and Practice, 35(3): 222-236.
  • Neufeldt, Reina C. (2017). “The Practicalities of Good: Lessons from Teaching Ethics in Peace and Conflict Studies.” The Conrad Grebel Review, 35(1): 4-14.
  • Neufeldt, Reina C. (2016). Ethics for Peacebuilders: A Practical Guide. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
  • Neufeldt, Reina C. (2016). “Impact and outcomes: the ethical perils of distancing in peacebuilding grant solicitations.” Journal of Peacebuilding and Development 11(1): 54-69.
  • Neufeldt, Reina C. (2014) “Doing good better: expanding the ethics of peacebuilding.” International Peacekeeping 21(4): 427-442.
  • Funk-Unrau, Neil & Neufeldt, Reina. (2014). “Teaching Peace Studies: an introduction.” The Conrad Grebel Review 32(2): 116-119.
  • Neufeldt, Reina C. (2011). “’Frameworkers’ and ‘Circlers’ – Exploring Assumptions in Impact Assessment.” In Austin, B. Fischer, M. and Giessmann, H. (Eds) Advancing Conflict Transformation: The Berghof Handbook II. Opladen & Farmington Hills, MI: Barbara Budrich Publishers

Education

  • PhD, Programme in International Relations (Specializations: International Peace and Conflict Resolution, and Political Psychology), School of International Service, American University, 2005
  • MA Psychology (Specialization: Social Psychology), York University, 1998
  • BA, Social Sciences (Specialization: Psychology), University of Calgary, 1994
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