The U.S. Institute of Peace is proud to announce Joseph Sany as the first vice president of the Institute’s new Africa Center. With over 20 years of experience working at the forefront of peacebuilding in Africa, Sany brings with him a deep understanding of the challenges facing the continent and a strategic vision for top-down and bottom-up approaches to build peace and improve governance.

“Joseph Sany is exactly the kind of leader the Africa Center needs,” said Joe Lataille, USIP’s acting president and CFO. “His deep theoretical expertise and rich on-the-ground experience will help USIP build on three decades of peacebuilding efforts on the continent and shepherd this important portfolio forward.”

As the vice president of the Africa Center, Sany will lead a team of experts and analysts to stem violent conflict in Africa by advancing dialogue and informing policy. While USIP has engaged in peacebuilding programs in Nigeria, the greater Horn of Africa, the Red Sea arena, and the Sahel, the new Africa Center will unify these efforts and expand the Institute’s work on the continent. Under Sany’s leadership, USIP will continue to forge partnerships with African leaders—government, civic, religious, youth, women, and other peacebuilders—to inform discussions on prevention and resilience, as well as identify new areas of engagement that can help lead African countries and communities toward a more peaceful future.

“Peace and stability in Africa are important not just for the continent, but for the entire world. To achieve that, we need to reimagine and broaden how we engage with Africans at all levels of society, from the grassroots to national leaders and beyond. I believe USIP’s new Africa Center is the ideal place to begin this process and tackle some of Africa’s biggest challenges,” said Joseph Sany. “I’m excited to apply the insights I’ve gained over the years to this new endeavor, and to lead a team of experts and peacebuilding practitioners that have made such an immense impact already.”

Prior to USIP, Sany worked at FHI 360, where he led numerous peacebuilding and civil society development initiatives in countries throughout Africa and Asia. Additionally, he served as technical advisor for USAID’s “Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index” that assesses the civil society sector and operating environment every year in 75 countries, including 32 in Africa.

Sany has also advised international organizations such as the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti, and the Economic Community of Central African States on peacebuilding and development strategies. He holds a Ph.D. in public policy and an M.S. in conflict analysis and resolution from George Mason University.