State Department advisor to head organization
NEW YORK | Seeds of Peace is pleased to announce that Aaron David Miller, currently the Senior Adviser for Arab-Israeli Negotiations at the Department of State, will become President of the international nonprofit organization Seeds of Peace beginning January 15th, 2003.
Secretary of State Colin Powell released the following statement about Mr. Miller’s departure: “Seeds of Peace reflects the type of effort so desperately needed in the Middle East to bring Arabs and Israelis in contact with one another at a personal level. Aaron Miller is uniquely qualified to lead this effort. Although my colleagues and I at the Department of State will miss him greatly, the work he will be involved in is vital to Arab-Israeli peacemaking. I wish him much luck and success in this new career opportunity.”
Aaron David Miller joined the Department of State in 1978 where he helped formulate U.S. policy on the Middle East and the Arab-Israel peace process. He has served as an adviser to six Secretaries of State, as the Deputy Special Middle East Coordinator for Arab-Israeli negotiations, as a Senior Member of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research and in the Office of the Historian. He has received the Department’s Distinguished, Superior, and Meritorious Honor Awards.
Mr. Miller received his Ph.D. in American Diplomatic and Middle East History from the University of Michigan in 1977. During 1982 and 1983, he was a Council on Foreign Relations fellow and a resident scholar at the Georgetown Center for Strategic and International Studies. In 1984 he served a temporary tour at the American Embassy in Amman, Jordan. Between 1998 and 2000, Mr. Miller served on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. He has written three books on the Middle East and lectured widely at universities and Middle East symposia across the country. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angles Times, Orbis and numerous other publications.
“Aaron provided invaluable support to my husband, John, when he founded Seeds of Peace ten years ago and over the years he has offered encouragement and support while the organization grew and developed,” said Janet Wallach, now serving as Interim President since her husband’s death last summer. “I am looking forward to working with Aaron now in an official capacity as he leads Seeds of Peace into its second decade.” Janet Wallach will remain at Seeds of Peace and head-up Seeds New York office as Senior Vice President. Mr. Miller will work out of the Washington DC Seeds of Peace office.
Since 1993, Seeds of Peace has graduated over 2,000 teenagers representing 22 nations from its internationally recognized conflict-resolution and coexistence program. Through these programs, at the International Camp in Maine and at its Center for Coexistence in Jerusalem, participants develop empathy, respect, communication/negotiation skills, confidence, and hope – the building blocks for peaceful coexistence. A jointly published newspaper, list-serve, educational conferences and seminars ensure year-round follow-up programming.
Please contact Rebecca Hankin, Director of Media Relations at Seeds of Peace, to schedule an interview with Aaron Miller or for more information about Seeds of Peace. She can be reached by phone at 212-573-8040 ext. 31 or via email at rebecca@seedsofpeace.org.