Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D. (1934-2015) was the founder of the Center for Nonviolent Communication, an international peacemaking organization. He is the author of Speak Peace in a World of Conflict and the bestselling Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life that has been translated into more than thirty languages.

Growing up in a turbulent neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan (U.S.), Dr. Rosenberg developed a keen interest in new forms of communication that would provide peaceful alternatives to the violence he encountered. His interest led to a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Wisconsin in 1961, where he studied under Carl Rogers.

His subsequent life experience and study of comparative religion motivated him to develop the Nonviolent Communication process. Marshall began developing what would eventually become known as Nonviolent Communication in federally funded school integration projects to provide mediation and communication skills training during the 1960s. He founded the Center for Nonviolent Communication in 1984 to contribute to the sharing of his work throughout the world.

One of things that made Marshall unique was his exceptional capacity to role-play interactions with the audience. Whether it was an argument between warring spouses, or warring villages, a dialogue between a victim and perpetrator, or modeling an interaction between a counselor and her patient, these role-plays offered a unique, moving and powerful experience to all who hear them.

Dr. Rosenberg was the 2006 recipient of the Global Village Foundation’s Bridge of Peace Award, and the Association of Unity Churches International 2006 Light of God Expressing Award. With guitar and puppets in hand, a history of traveling to some of the most violent corners of the world, and a spiritual energy that fills a room, Rosenberg was a revolutionary leader whose legacy will carry on far beyond his death.