Mark Gerzon

Mark Gerzon describes himself as a writer, mentor, father, leader and mediator. He grew up on the east side of Indianapolis in the 1950s, the child of parents who escaped the Holocaust. He was the first graduate of his high school to attend Harvard College, and he later received a fellowship to the University of Chicago. He says the Talmudic call to "repair the world" and the blessing "Blessed be the peacemakers" have guided his professional life.

Over more than four decades he has worked in conflict zones between conservatives and liberals, men and women, North and South, and rich and poor. He calls himself a believer in bridges rather than walls. His first book, The Whole World Is Watching, became a bestseller and began a literary career of six decades. He founded Mediators Foundation, which has supported bridge-building and civic innovation projects, and The Common Enterprise, which helps American communities build common ground. His book Leading Through Conflict draws on this work.

Mark's approach joins inner and outer work. He holds that personal healing and social progress are inseparable, and that conflict can be transformed and trauma can heal. His work looks at how fear, stress and collective trauma feed division, a theme of his book American PTSD.

Today he mentors changemakers and social entrepreneurs, and he helps writers with nonfiction books, essays and screenplays. He writes that he now wants to meet the tree of life with reverence and to share what he has learned.