Hizkias Assefa is a conflict mediator known widely in Africa for his non-aligned work as a consultant who has mediated in most major conflict situations in sub-Saharan Africa in the past 20 years, as well as in a dozen countries elsewhere. He is also a professor of conflict studies. Assefa was formerly a Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, and he has served as a resident scholar in a number of universities including Brandeis University in Waltham, MA. He is currently a professor at Eastern Mennonite University's Summer Peacebuilding Institute at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. He is also the Consulting Director at Peacemakers Trust.