AfP Announces Winners of 2020 Melanie Greenberg U.S. Peacebuilding Award of Excellence
Washington, D.C., USA. – The Alliance for Peacebuilding is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s 2020 Melanie Greenberg U.S. Peacebuilding Award of Excellence. We would like to congratulate Shelly Marc and Joe Bubman on winning this award and making a positive contribution to peacebuilding by addressing worsening conflict dynamics in the United States.
In the United States today, polarization is increasing faster than in any other democracy. This year alone, we’ve seen mass protests for racial justice across all major cities in America and experienced a contentious U.S. presidential election cycle that magnified geographic and political divides. As COVID-19 cases reach a staggering figure of 61.2 million across the world, and the global pandemic continues to fuel “stabilization in reverse,” it is more important than ever to identify leaders who can steer us in a direction towards a more just, inclusive, and peaceful future for all Americans. As AfP CEO and President Uzra Zeya noted, “Shelly and Joe are leading the way in securing a more equitable and peaceful America, by putting forth innovative solutions to redress centuries of injustice and heal deep-seated divides. During a year in which inequalities and divisions at home have been laid bare, AfP is proud to honor these peacebuilding leaders offering a way forward.”
To raise awareness of growing conflict dynamics and highlight the critical work of peacebuilders in the United States, the Alliance for Peacebuilding established the Melanie Greenberg U.S. Peacebuilding Award of Excellence in 2018. This prestigious award honors AfP’s former President and CEO, Melanie Greenberg, and recognizes innovative U.S. peacebuilding efforts tackling drivers of conflict, from gun violence to intolerance to unhealed trauma, at the community and national level.
Meet the winners of the 2020 Melanie Greenberg U.S. Peacebuilding Award of Excellence:
Shelly Marc
Civil Engagement and Racial Justice Public Policy Manager at Instagram
Shelly Marc’s passion for public service has always been centered on serving and representing those in the U.S. who have been forgotten. As the former Deputy Chief of Staff to Congresswoman Barbara Lee, she was instrumental in bringing to Congress the H.Con.Res.100 proposal to establish a Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Commission (TRHT) in the U.S. To generate support for the resolution nationally, she established the National Coalition and secured approximately 170 co-sponsorships for the resolution in Congress. At the community level, Shelly spearheaded and encouraged the development of local TRHT commissions.
At a time when the U.S. is struggling to reckon with its history of systemic injustice and racism, Shelly is working on critical issues to promote racial equity. Prior to her work with Congresswoman Barbara Lee, she served as the Founder and CEO of On the Marc, LLC where she advised national campaigns to address criminal justice reform, voting rights, racial equity, and more. Shelly previously served as the Deputy Director of African American Outreach at When We All Vote where she was critical in developing and executing campaign activations to help register citizens across the country to vote, resulting in 2,600 events that spanned across 49 states. Shelly also served President Obama as a Policy Advisor in the White House Office of Public Engagement and led projects to empower African-American communities, supporting efforts in criminal justice reform, racial equity, and economic opportunity.
"It is far past time that we address the truth of our nation and start the racial healing and transformation process here in the United States. We owe it to ourselves and young people across the world to model a nation where we eliminate any space for hate and inequity. It is my honor to be recognized by the Alliance for Peacebuilding and I will continue to work for justice for all,” Marc said.
Shelly’s work in the domain of racial equity and truth & reconciliation in the U.S. is essential at a time when the nation is deeply polarized and divided across racial and political lines.
Joe Bubman
Executive Director at Urban Rural Action
Joe Bubman is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Urban Rural Action, a 501c3 that brings Americans together across geographic, political, racial, and other divides to build relationships, strengthen collaboration skills, listen to different perspectives, and take action on issues that impact all communities, such as gun violence, mass incarceration, education disparities, economic hardship, food injustice, and systemic racism. He was named one of “27 People Bridging Divides across America,” in 2020 by Time Magazine.
Joe previously served as Mercy Corps’ Acting Director of the Peace and Conflict team. Prior to that, as a Senior Peacebuilding Advisor, he helped to develop and implement conflict management programs in Guatemala, Iraq, Mali, Myanmar, South Sudan, and Syria. Although his expertise spans across several countries, it was growing conflict dynamics at home that led him to co-found Urban Rural Action.
Joe’s impressive leadership and commitment to local communities in the U.S. has transformed Urban Rural Action into a leading national organization that promotes urban/rural collaboration. In the midst of a contested U.S. presidential election and increasing polarization in the last few years, Urban Rural Action remains steadfast in its mission to prevent intercommunal violence and reduce community versus state violence. With five impactful programs across the U.S., tackling issues relating to education, climate, media, health, food, race, and the economy, Urban Rural Action is doing critical work in bringing Americans together despite their geographic, political, racial, and other differences.
"Now more than ever, we peacebuilders need to apply lessons from our work in conflict zones around the world to address conflict dynamics in the United States. I'm truly humbled to be honored by the Alliance for Peacebuilding for Urban Rural Action's work of bringing people together across geographic, political, racial, and other divides to build relationships and take action on issues that impact all communities,” Bubman said.
Joe’s leadership at the helm of Urban Rural Action will be crucial in moving the nation towards greater justice, peace, and security.