PROFILE

Eileen Ruth Borris, Ed.D., is a clinical and political psychologist who works internationally in conflict zones and provides training in conflict resolution and political forgiveness. She is currently working on a project in the United States that tests a political forgiveness model to address individual and communal healing for societal change.

Dr. Borris is a popular speaker on the nuances of conflict, forgiveness, and reconciliation. She has been honored to speak at the 128th plenary meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on “Forgiveness and the Healing of Nations.” By invitation of the United Nations, she also speaks to members of the U.N., U.N. agencies, and nongovernmental organizations worldwide. She has shared the podium with prominent figures, including Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, at the Aspen Institute, and has facilitated an interfaith dialogue with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other prominent religious figures.

As a consultant, Dr. Borris has worked in Indonesia for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), creating and instructing reconciliation workshops. She has consulted with the United Nations Development Fund for Women to develop specialized peace-building training programs for women in Tbilisi, Georgia. Dr. Borris has developed training programs on trauma healing, forgiveness, and multi-track diplomacy in Liberia through the United Nations Development Program. Most recently, as part of a USAID and Thunderbird for Good program, in which she served as academic director and program developer for the Musharikat Project on the Power of Persuasion, Dr. Borris developed a curriculum grounded in the principles of persuasion to empower Afghan women to have a political voice and help change societal norms.