Key Staff
Robert J. Berg
Founding President
Robert J. Berg is the Founding President of the International Fund for Peace. He brings decades of leadership in international development, evaluation, and institutional reform, with deep experience advising multilateral agencies and strengthening global programs.
He has served as a senior advisor to UNICEF, UNDP, UNESCO, and the UN Economic Commission for Africa, and was the founding Chair of Evaluation for the OECD Development Assistance Committee. Over the course of his career, he has advised and served on the boards of more than 30 nonprofit organizations, including as Chair of the Alliance for Peacebuilding’s Plan initiative—now the world’s largest network of peacebuilding organizations. His work has helped drive major policy and legislative reforms, expand funding for critical initiatives, and launch international programs with lasting impact.
Anand Patel
Director, Research & Program
Anand Patel is a policy research specialist and former award-winning journalist with deep expertise in translating data, policy, and geopolitical developments into actionable intelligence for strategy, decision-making, and risk mitigation. He was most recently a John F. Kennedy Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. Previously, he led the South Asia policy research hub at Edelman Global Advisory, the public affairs arm of Edelman, a Washington, D.C.–headquartered global communications firm.
Before moving into policy research, Anand spent more than a decade in journalism, leading newsrooms and field stations in some of India’s most challenging regions. He is a recipient of the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism—widely regarded as India’s top journalism honor—and a Chevening Fellow. He has also received the Young Broadcast Journalist Award from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
legal counsel
Edmond D. Cooke
Edmund Cooke, Esq. is a strategic legal counsel and seasoned attorney at Cooke and Cleveland, with extensive experience in labor and employment law. He also brings deep expertise in international legal matters, organizational governance, and legislative remedies.
He served for more than eight years as counsel to committees of the U.S. House of Representatives, working closely with bipartisan and bicameral congressional committees and legislative staff. In that role, he helped lead oversight of federal agencies affecting employment discrimination and civil rights policy and regulation. He also served as Chief Legislative Assistant to Congressman Harold Washington.
