Tecla Namachanja Wanjala

Tecla Namachanja Wanjala (PhD) is a Think Peace Convener. She is a globally recognized peacebuilder, trauma healing, and transitional justice specialist. Dr. Wanjala (PhD), is a founder of Tecla Namachanja Healing and Peace Foundation (TNHPF) and a Team Lead for Shalom Centre for Counselling and Development (SCCODEV), a local NGO in Kenya supporting social healing among communities affected by violent conflicts. She is also one of the eminent members of Kenya’s National Peace and Mediation Team (NPMT). A few of her earlier roles include serving as an advisor to USAID/KEA’s DGPS office on election conflict, prevention, mitigation, and early warning mechanisms in the run up to Kenya’s 2022 general elections, Peace and Security Specialist during the development of the African Development bank (AfDB's) New Strategy on Addressing Fragility and Building Resilience in Africa, and Vice Chairperson and Acting Chairperson of the Kenyan Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) from 2009 to 2013. Dr. Wanjala has traveled extensively across the world to offer courses, trainings and presentations on matters related to peace/conflict, transitional justice, and social/trauma healing. She is currently a Kroc Institute Visiting Research Fellow at University of Notre Dame, an alumnus of Richard von Weizsäcker Fellowship of Robert Bosch Academy and member of Law and Peace Practice Group of Institute for Integrated Transition. A few of her awards include being a nominee for the 1,000 Women for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize and a recipient of the 2019 Peacebuilder of the Year Award offered by the Centre for Justice and Peace of Eastern Mennonite University, USA.