International peace building organization Beyond Conflict welcomes Joshua Martin, former managing director at ideas42, as its new executive director. Martin will succeed Martha Walz who held the role in an interim capacity.

"We are thrilled that Josh will be joining Beyond Conflict at this critical stage of our growth and at this defining moment as a nation. Josh is a leader in bringing insights from brain and behavioral science to communities around the world seeking to promote better access to opportunity and more effective governance. We are excited to leverage that experience to support our work in conflict resolution, racial justice, and support for refugee and migrant communities around the world," said Tim Phillips, Beyond Conflict's founder and CEO.

Before joining Beyond Conflict, Martin was responsible for overseeing behavioral-science based innovation programs in international governance and livelihoods over a seven-year tenure with ideas42. Prior to 2013, Martin was a policy advisor for Côte d'Ivoire's Ministry of Planning and Development, having previously held program management posts at Cordoba Initiative and Princeton University's Empirical Studies of Conflict program and consulted for the World Bank, USAID, the National Democratic Institute and others. Martin holds a master's degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor's degree in economic development and Middle East studies from New York University. With fluency in Arabic, French, and Hebrew, his work has included projects in over 30 countries in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East/North Africa.

"As recent events make clear, Beyond Conflict's mission to bridge societal divides with science-based solutions that cut deep into their psychological and neurological roots has never been more timely," said Martin. "I couldn't be more excited to join such a talented team with an established record of designing unconventional, creative approaches to making the world a better place for peace, social justice, and productive collaboration to take root."

Walz, a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, has served Beyond Conflict as interim executive director since March 2020. Beyond Conflict is deeply grateful for her leadership, dedication, and professionalism during the global pandemic and as the organization developed worldwide programs impacting thousands of people in areas threatened by conflict, instability, and social injustice.