Nathan C. Funk, Ph.D., is Associate Professor and Chair of Peace and Conflict Studies at Conrad Grebel University College, the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario. His research and writing address religious and cultural dimensions of conflict and peacemaking, and focus especially on the Middle Eastern context, “Islamic-Western” identity conflict, local empowerment in international peacebuilding, and sustained dialogue. His publications include Islam and Peacemaking in the Middle East (2009), Ameen Rihani: Bridging East and West (2004), “Building on What’s Already There: Valuing the Local in International Peacebuilding” (International Journal, 2012), and “Religion and Peaceful Relations: Negotiating the Sacred” (forthcoming in The Routledge Companion to Peace and Conflict Studies, 2019). He has served on the boards of several Canadian peace organizations, including Project Ploughshares and the Peace and Conflict Studies Association of Canada.