WASHINGTON--The U.S. Institute of Peace is pleased to announce that John Brinkley is its new Director of Public Outreach. His office manages the Institute's press relations and public events and works to increase public understanding of the nature of international conflicts and peacekeeping.

Brinkley was a Washington-based journalist for nearly 20 years and has also worked as a senior public affairs adviser and speechwriter at the Department of State and as a media consultant to the Aspen Institute's Global Interdependence Initiative.

The Office of Public Outreach takes over the duties of the former Office of Communications, whose Director, Dr. Sheryl J. Brown, moves to the position of Chief Information Officer. Brown will direct a new program responsible for integrating information and communications technologies into the Institute's programming and will continue the Institute's ongoing research into the role and effects of these technologies on international affairs and conflict management through the Virtual Diplomacy Initiative (VDI). She co-directs VDI with Margarita Studemeister, director of the Library Program. As CIO, and in preparation for the Institute's new building, Brown will also head a new effort to explore adoption of technologies to broaden the Institute's research, education and training programs.

Burt Edwards, formerly of the Office of Communications, has joined the Institute's Office of Publications, where he works on redesign and maintenance of the Institute's website, and on other electronic outreach and communications initiatives.

Created by Congress in 1984, The U.S. Institute of Peace is an independent, non-partisan institution dedicated to research, education, professional training and policy development on matters of international conflict prevention, management and resolution.

The Institute is home to a great wealth of expertise on these and other foreign policy matters. Journalists are encouraged to use it as a principal resource.

The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan institution established and funded by Congress. Its goals are to help prevent and resolve violent international conflicts, promote post-conflict stability and development, and increase conflict management capacity, tools, and intellectual capital worldwide. The Institute does this by empowering others with knowledge, skills, and resources, as well as by directly engaging in peacebuilding efforts around the globe.