JPB BELIEVES IN...
Summer Institute Application Extension Deadline
February 29, 2020
March:
March:
Holy Land and Jordan Pilgrimage
October 17 - 30, 2020
"Let's Talk About Jerusalem"
February 23, 2020
OUR TEAM
Our diverse staff team represents multiple generations, identities, and years of experience in the fields of leadership development, peacebuilding and conflict transformation.
Please read our bios to learn about who we are and what we bring to this important work.
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The Rev. Canon Nicholas Porter
Executive Director
Canon Nicholas Porter, is the Founder and Executive Director of
Jerusalem Peacebuilders (www.jerusalempeacebuilders.org), a non-profit, interfaith ministry that partners with Jewish, Christian and Muslim educators to provide emerging Israeli and Palestinian leaders with the skills, relationships, and confidence they need to be effective agents of change. In 2024 alone, Jerusalem Peacebuilders’ programs involved over 12,000 adults and youth.
A two-time graduate from Yale University, Canon Porter holds advanced degrees in Middle East Studies, Theology, War Studies, and Conflict Transformation. His pastoral ministry led him to Jerusalem, Paris, Geneva, Southport (CT), and Wilmington (VT). This former International Chaplin to the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem also teaches at St. Nersess Armenian Apostolic
Seminary, serves on the North American Committee of St. George’s College Jerusalem, and provides leadership to the Order of St. John, the largest provider of ophthalmic healthcare in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. The hallmark of his global ministry is the promotion of education and healthcare
essential to human progress and interfaith understanding.
In 1995, Canon Porter re-founded the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. In 2008, he was knighted in the Order of St. John by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II for his work supporting healthcare access in Jerusalem. In 2016, Dwight Hall at Yale University awarded him the Curran Prize for distinguished public service for his contributions to peace and leadership education among youth. In 2018, Porter launched the Porter Fellowship at the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale to advance teaching excellence and priestly formation in Jerusalem. Nicholas is married to his college sweetheart Dorothy Meek and the proud father of three adult daughters. He and his wife live on Acer Farm in southern Vermont.
Dorothy Porter
Co-Founder and Vice President
Dorothy Porter is the co-founder and Vice President of Jerusalem Peacebuilders. She is responsible for fundraising, volunteer-staff recruitment, and quarter-mastering at the camp. Also a long time resident of Europe and the Middle East, Dorothy holds a BA from Yale University and an MFA (London).
The Rev. Deacon Jack Karn
Summer Institute Coordinator
Jack Karn is the Summer Institute Coordinator of Jerusalem Peacebuilders, leading the planning and implementation of JPB's summer programming. An Episcopal deacon, Jack has spent more than four years overseas in the Holy Lands teaching leadership and peacebuilding courses in Israeli and Palestinian high schools. Between 2016-2018, he served as a volunteer in Jerusalem and Nazareth with the Young Adult Service Corps program of the Episcopal Church. Jack has also worked as a Program Assistant with World Learning's Youth Programs and the CONTACT Program of SIT Graduate Institute. Karn served as Director of Youth Ministries at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church in Houston, TX before relocating to Denver, CO in 2023 to serve at Saint John's Cathedral. He holds a BA in History from the University of Maine and an MA in Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation from SIT Graduate Institute.
Sarah Benazera
Senior Educator & Curriculum Advisor
Sarah Perle Benazera the Senior Educator and Curriculum Advisor of Jerusalem Peacebuilders. She is a humanist, peace-activist, storyteller and educator, with years of hands-on experience in international and inter-cultural dialogue working at the people-to-people level for a better Middle East. After studying at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and meeting for the first time Jordanians and Palestinians, Sarah realized that cross-cultural dialogue and peacebuilding were her calling. She worked as a project manager and blog editor at YaLa Young Leaders for five years, developing and running a citizen journalism program. She has also been involved in various peace and cooperation projects, organizing conferences, participating in panels and programs about peace education and cooperation, and working and volunteering with Kid4Peace Jerusalem. She has studied Environmental Studies and Cross-Border Cooperation at Sde Boker and the Arava Institute, as well as Political Philosophy at the Université Panthéon Sorbonne in Paris.
Zak Adileh
Jerusalem Regional Director
Will Parker
Porter Fellow & Houston Educator
Zak Adileh is the Jerusalem Regional Director of Jerusalem Peacebuilders. He is a passionate young leader working in the fields of leadership development, peacebuilding and conflict resolution. Zak was born and raised in Jerusalem as a native Arabic speaker, but also speaks Hebrew and English fluently. He previously served as a Logistics Manager with Tech2Peace and has participated in many dialogues around the conflict as a means to gain more knowledge of the reality that both sides are living in. Zak hopes that hard work among Israelis, Palestinians, and internationals will create a new generation of young skilled leaders who work for peace in the Middle East. He holds a BA in English Literature from the Arab American University and a Diploma in Environmental Studies from the Arava Institute.
Will Parker is the Porter Fellow and Houston Educator for Jerusalem Peacebuilders. Will has a strong passion for the arts, interfaith engagement, and education, and he comes to JPB with over ten years of experience as an educator and teaching artist specializing in music, theatre, and improvisation. He holds a BA in Theatre and an MA in Teaching from Trinity University (San Antonio), a Master in Divinity from Yale Divinity School, and a Master in Sacred Theology from Yale Divinity School and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. He also holds a Certificate in Educational Leadership and Ministry from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. He is currently a postulant for Holy Orders in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.
Carol Perry
Financial Bookkeeper
Carol is the Financial Bookkeeper at Jerusalem Peacebuilders. With an inquisitive and proactive approach, she has a comprehensive background in accounting and business administration in both the private and nonprofit sectors. She holds a BS in Financial Accounting from the University of New Haven. Carol is also a board member and has been a volunteer for the nonprofit IWagePeace for nearly two decades. A lifelong resident of Connecticut, she is the proud mother of her greatest accomplishment, her twin children Amy and Daniel.