John Marks
December 18, 2017

The Peacebuilder

Author and NGO founder John Marks ’61, P’95, on how to resolve global conflicts

On a recent visit to campus, John Marks ’61, P’95, sat down for a discussion with Carmen Muñoz-Fernández, director of Learning in the World and instructor in Spanish, and Eric Roland, Precourt Director of Partnerships at the Tang Institute. The international leader and alumnus reflected upon his own time as a student at Phillips Academy, recalled moments from his life’s work, and shared his views on the meaning of global citizenship and the state of the world today.

Marks was, until 2014, president of Search for Common Ground, a peacebuilding NGO he founded in 1982 that now has 600 staff with offices in 36 countries. He also founded Common Ground Productions and is still a senior advisor to both organizations. He is a best-selling author, a former US Foreign Service member, a Skoll Awardee in Social Entrepreneurship, and an Ashoka Senior Fellow. The UN’s University of Peace awarded him an honorary PhD.

Categories: Alumni

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Wayne Thiebaud, Big Suckers, from Seven Still Lifes and a Rabbit, 1971. Aquatint and soft ground etching. Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Crown Point Press Archive, Gift of Crown Point Press, 1991.28.1172. © 2026 Wayne Thiebaud Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo: Private Collection/Christie's Images/Bridgeman Images
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