Sharon Rosen

Global Director of Religious Engagement, Search for Common Ground

Sharon Rosen is Global Director of Religious Engagement at Search for Common Ground (Search), the world’s leading international, non-governmental organization dedicated to peacebuilding. With a staff of one thousand, Search reaches millions of people through its programming. A global expert on interreligious programming, Sharon provides strategic oversight and technical expertise to Search field offices around the world. She leads the development of the Common Ground Approach to Religious Engagement toolkit for peacebuilders and recently co-developed a seminal online course with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) on Religious Engagement in Peacebuilding – A Common Ground Approach, freely available in English, French and Arabic.

Sharon leads the Universal Code of Conduct on Holy Sites initiative for the protection of sacred spaces and directs a Jewish-Muslim religious leaders’ initiative to expand constituencies for peace in Israeli religious communities. She is a member of the Advisory Council to the Secretary-General of Religions for Peace.

Previously, Sharon was co-director of Search’s Jerusalem office for nine years together with a Palestinian colleague, directing multiple projects in religion, development, health, and media. Prior to this, she co-founded and directed Education for Life, an international non-governmental organization providing tools for the development and wellbeing of children within state educational systems.

Born in the UK, Sharon has lived in Jerusalem for 40 years and is an experienced facilitator in conflict mediation, communication skills, strategic planning, and capacity building for religious reconciliation. She holds undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Literature and a post-graduate degree in Literature from Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and studied towards a PhD in Middle East Interreligious Reconciliation at Coventry University, UK. Married to a prominent rabbi, together they have served Jewish communities in South Africa and Ireland. She is a proud mother of three children and grandmother to seven grandchildren.