Dr. Maria J. Stephan is the Co-Lead and Chief Organizer at the Horizons Project, which organizes across differences to advance a more just, free, and democratic United States. Stephan is the co-author of Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict. Other books include The Role of External Support in Nonviolent Campaigns: Poisoned Chalice or Holy Grail?; Bolstering Democracy: Lessons Learned and the Path Forward; Is Authoritarianism Staging a Comeback? and Civilian Jihad: Nonviolent Struggle, Democratization and Governance in the Middle East. Stephan was lead foreign affairs officer in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. She directed the Program on Nonviolent Action at the U.S. Institute of Peace, supporting civil society movements globally. She co-led the Future of Authoritarianism initiative at the Atlantic Council and advanced global democratic solidarity at the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict.

Stephan has taught at Georgetown University and American University. She is a Harry S. Truman and Fulbright scholar, received her BA in political science from Boston College and her MA and PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Maria is a proud Vermonter living in NYC.