Dr. Jacqueline Wilson has lived worked, studied, and traveled in almost 50 countries around the world including some of the world's most challenging conflict zones. A retired military officer, she followed her military career with over a decade of work for the United States Institute of Peace for which she conducted conflict resolution training programs, led a challenging cross-border grazing corridor peacebuilding project, and worked to support international peace processes. She contributed to the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement and has served as an international observer for elections in Sudan and Kenya. She has trained and taught participants ranging from parliamentarians in South Sudan to tribal leaders in Darfur, from Islamic law faculty in Afghanistan to UN peacekeepers in Nigeria.
She studied Arabic at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She earned her doctorate with distinction from Georgetown University in 2014. Her topic, Blood Money in Sudan and Beyond: Restorative Justice or Face Saving Measure? deals with a custom used around the world to break cycles of revenge violence.
A frequent public speaker and panelist, Dr. Wilson is a "pracademic" who conveys her on-the-ground experiences interacting with people from all walks of life—in their own countries-- through powerful, personal stories and photographs. Her media presentations include Al Jazeera, Al Hurra, and NPR.
Jacqueline Wilson has lived in 10 US states and two other countries, Saudi Arabia and Kenya, but settled with her husband and three children in Arlington, Virginia where they have hosted an Iraqi refugee and a South Sudanese fellow in their 1922 home. Her hobbies include gardening and architectural salvage. She is active in local politics and has run for elected office. She is a board member for the international NGO Women’s Education Partnership and has been selected for Emerge Virginia's class of 2017.
