The Projects for Peace headquarters is now hosted at Middlebury’s Center for Community Engagement.

Aerial view of Middlebury College buildings and green grounds

Our aspiration is to strengthen the Projects for Peace network of peacebuilders and change-makers by increasing opportunities for exchange, and by leveraging Middlebury’s unique interdisciplinary expertise in global programming.

After having grown Projects for Peace since its 2007 inception, the founding Executive Director, Phil Geier, approached Middlebury President Laurie Patton about incorporating the program into Middlebury’s array of global initiatives. A subsequent evaluation of Projects for Peace— involving surveys of campus liaisons, Projects for Peace alumni, and external grant programs — was completed in 2020 and helped chart a path for growth.

Middlebury’s Center for Community Engagement was selected as the new home for Projects for Peace due to its support of experiential, place-based, and project-based learning. The transition commenced with the hiring of Program Director Betsy Vegso and Program Coordinator Antonio Baker-Medard, and was completed on January 1, 2022.

In coming months, the new Projects for Peace team will launch tools for liaisons and grantees to use to improve project design and implementation, expand social media, and introduce an alumni network.