The Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island (URI) recognizes Dr. Theodore A. Johnson with the International Nonviolence Trainer’s Award on April 1, 2024.
Dr. Johnson is honored for leading by example while guiding others and practicing Conflict Resolution, Coexistence, Nonviolence, and Peacebuilding in the United States and globally for many decades. Dr. Johnson exemplifies strong leadership, courage, creativity, and determination as he actively pursues the universal goal of many great peacemakers: for diverse people and cultures to coexist peacefully, successfully resolve conflicts, and ultimately, learn and thrive together. Dr. Johnson strives to build peaceful change in the world and to bring about positive social transformation through different levels of formal and non-formal educational programs. Dr. Johnson continues to provide meaningful professional contributions towards justice in social services, legal services, and other transformative peace initiatives and increased intercultural understanding and harmony.
Dr. Johnson has devoted considerable energy to conflict resolution and cross-racial communication issues that span a vast geographical scope. He actively worked to solve domestic race issues in Selma, Birmingham in Alabama, and Atlanta in Georgia. He worked directly with inner-city gang members in numerous locations, including Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, and Washington D.C. Dr. Johnson also formerly worked in post-apartheid South Africa, as well as in Cyprus, counseling Greek and Turkish Cypriots towards bi-communal coexistence. He supported universities and political leaders in Northern and South-Central Iraq to develop joint problem-solving skills and strategies. Additionally, he served communities in Angola, Armenia, India, Israel, and Palestine while practicing and leading others in Dispute Resolution Practices. He contributes to numerous national and international justice-related projects, legal mediation, peace, and nonviolence.
Dr. Johnson is an expert in Dispute Resolution Practices and has worked as a negotiation trainer within various communities, corporations, and global organizations, including IBM, Microsoft, the World Food Program, the World Bank, and USAID. He actively serves as a Certified Court Mediator in the State of Massachusetts and a Dispute Resolution and Educational Consultant with Boston Public Schools. Additionally, Dhas made significant contributions to justice while working as the Deputy District Attorney for Orange County, California. In Massachusetts, he worked with programs at the Conflict Management Group in Cambridge and served as Program Director for Mercy Corps in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Dr. Johnson’s educational background is diverse and inspiring. He earned his Ph.D. in International Relations from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, specializing in Cultural Effectiveness within International Organizations, specifically the World Health Organization. He also received his Master of Arts, Law, and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and earned his LLB/JD from the Western State University College of Law in Irvine, California.
Among the honors he received during his studies are the American Jurisprudence Award and the honor of serving as Salutatorian for his graduating class. Today, Dr. Theodore A. Johnson is a retired professor from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He also works as a Mediator with Mediation Works Incorporated (MWI) in Boston, MA.
Over the years, Dr. Theodore A. Johnson has taught many peace-related courses, including International Humanitarian Law, Mediation Principles and Skills, Advanced Mediation Skills, and Practice, as well as courses in Kingian Nonviolence, at numerous different international higher education institutions, including the University of Rhode Island.
He has been an invited speaker and presenter for BOLI (Brandeis’ Lifelong Learning Institute) and was named a Brandeis University Parliamentarian (2018 – 2021). Dr Johnson was active in the Richman Fellowship Selection Committee and was a Faculty Advisor for the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life.
Besides teaching at universities, Dr. Theodore A. Johnson has continually conducted research, written journal articles, and published many papers and presentations. He was a Co-author, Note, and Comment Editor for the WSU Law Review, published in the Worcester Telegraph. He played a crucial role in multiple Academic Conferences, such as “Difficult Conversations in the Times of Trump,” which was held at Union College in Schenectady, New York, and other universities, including the University of Rhode Island at Kingston, RI; La Universidad para la Paz (University for Peace) in Costa Rica, The University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and others continue to warmly receive Dr. Theodore A. Johnson for lectures or presentations on various topics, including ‘Compassionate Listening.” Multiple institutions have recognized his contribution to peace service with awards, including the Heller School Mentoring Award, for outstanding support and encouragement of Heller students’ research, education, professional and personal development.
Despite his achievements and recognition, Dr. Theodore A. Johnson remains humble and jovial at heart. He has a great passion for culture and music. He is an accomplished musician who can frequently be heard playing the piano beautifully wherever he travels and joining in choruses of peace songs.
Dr. Johnson attended and received his Level I Kingian Nonviolence Trainers certification in 2018, Level II Advanced Nonviolence Trainers certification in 2019, and in 2023, was awarded the Level III Nonviolence Trainer’s certification during the International Nonviolence Summer Institute at the University of Rhode Island’s Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies. He has contributed to the ongoing success of the Summer Institute as a beloved member of the Kingian Nonviolence Training Team Community at URI.The University of Rhode Island Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies sincerely thanks Dr. Theodore A. Johnson for his peaceful mission and congratulates him for winning the International Nonviolence Trainer’s Award.