Jessica Roland is the Executive Director of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, where she leads the organization’s global efforts to advance interfaith cooperation and mobilize religious and spiritual communities in pursuit of a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world. She is also currently the Co-Chair of the Gender Working Group for the Multi-Faith Advisory Council to the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Religion and Sustainable Development.

Roland has extensive experience at the intersection of inclusive peace and security, interfaith engagement, gender equality, human rights, and multilateral affairs. Prior to joining the Parliament, she served as Senior Advisor for Inclusive Peace Processes and Multilateral Engagement at the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers. In this role, she led work to strengthen inclusive peace processes and advance the meaningful participation of religious and traditional actors, women, youth, persons with disabilities, and other historically underrepresented communities in peacebuilding and global policy processes. Her work included developing international partnerships, leading research and capacity-strengthening initiatives, and designing programs on religion and mediation, interfaith dialogue, advocacy, and inclusion.

Roland has worked extensively with the United Nations and civil society to advance more inclusive approaches to peace and security. She served as an expert moderator for the Civil Society Community of Practice of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, facilitating dialogue and knowledge exchange on gender-responsive and intersectional approaches to preventing and countering violent extremism and terrorism. Previously, Roland served as Senior Associate for Policy and Advocacy at Women Deliver, where she led advocacy portfolios on women, peace and security; women’s political participation and leadership; engaging men and boys in gender equality; and ending gender-based violence. At the National Democratic Institute, she managed programming focused on women’s political participation and violence against women in politics, including the development and launch of a safety-planning tool for women in public life.