Peter J. Quaranto leads FCNL’s foreign policy work. In this role, Peter guides FCNL’s collective efforts to shape and promote a U.S. approach to global affairs that prioritizes peace, diplomacy, and cooperation. Peter also serves as co-chair of the “Future of Peace and Security Coalition,” which he started with the Alliance for Peacebuilding, FCNL, and a wide range of civil society organizations committed to promoting a peace-centered U.S. foreign policy architecture.
Prior to joining FCNL, Peter worked for two decades in foreign policy-focused roles across the U.S. Department of State, White House, Congress, and civil society. He served as the acting principal deputy assistant secretary in the Department of State’s Bureau of Conflict & Stabilization Operations (CSO) and led efforts to implement the Global Fragility Act. Within the U.S. Office of Foreign Assistance, he led major research initiatives to optimize U.S. foreign aid to conflict-affected states: the Strategic Prevention Project (2019) and the Stabilization Assistance Review (2018). Peter was named a 2025-2026 Leadership in Government Fellow, a program that supports experienced public servants who have dedicated their careers to advancing economic, social, and racial justice.
Much of Peter’s previous work has focused on supporting peace efforts in Africa. He worked on the White House National Security Council staff as Director for the Horn of Africa & Great Lakes regions. In this capacity, he directed efforts to respond to the expanding civil war in northern Ethiopia. Within the State Department, Peter served as a member of a U.S. negotiations support team supporting peace negotiations between parties in Sudan, and guided a major initiative to mitigate armed violence and atrocities involving the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group. Peter serves on the board of directors of Invisible Children, a non-profit organization that supports local peacebuilders in central Africa.
As a Marshall Scholar, Peter received masters’ degrees from the University of Oxford and the University of Bradford. He earned a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, including a supplementary major in peace studies. Peter concurrently serves as a visiting professor and fellow with Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, where he teaches courses and edits the Peace Policy publication. Peter, his partner Jess, and their children, live in Silver Spring, Maryland. When he is not working to shape U.S. foreign policy, you can often find him on the pitch, coaching youth soccer.
