He then pursued a Ph.D. in sociology with a concentration in the Social Conflict Program from the University of Colorado, receiving his degree in 1988.
[4] His academic work draws on his experience in the field as a mediator, negotiator, peacebuilding practitioner, trainer and consultant.
At the international level, this has involved input into peace processes in Somalia, Northern Ireland, Nicaragua, Colombia and Nepal.
You do this by establishing organisations for elders, women's associations and so on which build strength into a community by creating space for civil society.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy describes Lederach's influence on his thinking about social policy and his framing of loneliness as a public health concern: "For John Paul Lederach, an international peace builder and expert in conflict transformation, the first step is to promote a mutual sense of belonging.
"[9] Murthy quotes Lederach in Time, as well as in his book, Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, as observing that "a lot of our isolation…is the degree to which people feel invisible.