Zoe Newcomb is a Senior Program Manager, Peacebuilding at Humanity United, where she leads the South Sudan country pillar. In this role, Zoe stewards Humanity United’s long-term commitment to supporting a growing network of youth peacebuilders and activists in South Sudan. Her work emphasizes fostering resilient relationships across social divides and co-creating responses to deeply entrenched polarization.
Zoe also plays a key role in HU Peacebuilding’s Healing & Wellbeing thematic work, promoting a greater understanding of individual and collective care within the peacebuilding community. She is a passionate advocate for trust-based philanthropy, focusing on more equitable, responsive grantmaking practices that amplify the leadership of grassroots peacebuilders.
With a background in emergent strategy, systems-informed tools, and facilitation, Zoe brings extensive experience in convening global peacebuilders and creating physical spaces that facilitate transformational learning. After joining Humanity United, she helped design a co-created systems mapping process for South Sudan, centering local voices in strategy development. Previously, Zoe worked on issues of supply chain transparency and community health.
Zoe holds an M.A. in Human Development from George Washington University, where her research focused on group sense-making and navigating complexity in diverse contexts. She also holds a B.A. in Political Science from Westmont College.
Zoe lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and daughter and enjoys spending as much time as possible outdoors enjoying the beauty of California.