A life dedicated to peacebuilding: Charles “Chic” Dambach
- Delpha Carpenter
- Dec 9, 2018
- 3 min read
By Delpha Carpenter
WASHINGTON – Charles “Chic” Dambach has a soft-spoken voice for a man who has been a war-ending peacebuilder, Olympic Games official, Peace Corps volunteer, congressional chief of staff and head of many organizations.
Together, all of these events culminated in Dambach’s Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 2017.
“I don’t deserve it by any stretch,” says Dambach, humbly shaking his head.
Many people disagree.
His passion for peacebuilding began when he was coming of age during the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. Dambach witnessed a level of cruel injustice that woke him up to the realities of the world.
“Those things just shocked me, and I can’t go through life ignoring things like that,” says Dambach. “I’ve got to do something about them. So, I joined the Peace Corps.”
He sits at a table near a large window that overlooks Dupont Circle traffic. It is a gloomy fall day and Dambach’s dark navy raincoat is splattered with raindrops and his white tousle of hair is damp and wind-swept. Nonetheless, his eyes sparkle with excitement as he recounts his life story.
Dambach’s volunteer service in Colombia lasted two years, from 1967 to 1969, but his embodiment of the Peace Corps’ values and mission have lasted a lifetime.
He worked for over two decades in the nonprofit sector and served as president of the National Peace Corps Association from 1992 to 1998; he now holds the title of president emeritus for the organization.
As president, he carried out peacebuilding efforts and advocacy both at home and abroad. In Rwanda, for example, Dambach mobilized Peace Corps volunteers to create stability, safety and security in the aftermath of the country’s 1994 genocide.
He has mentored a younger generation of peacebuilders as well. Anne Baker, the current vice president of the association, was hired by Dambach 22 years ago and the two have remained friends since.
“Passion can really go a long way,” says Baker on what she has learned from Dambach’s work ethic. “When someone is really committed to a cause, they’ll make it happen and that’s something I’ve seen with Chic.”
Dambach’s passion for peacebuilding has taken him around the world and he urges everyone to leave behind their comfort zones in search of new experiences and knowledge.
“I don’t care how much money you have. If you haven’t been traveling or meeting or embracing people from other parts of the world or other cultures, you’re living in cultural poverty,” says Dambach. “All you have is your own circle. That’s like a bank account with only a few pennies in it.”
In Ethiopia and Eritrea, he worked with Peace Corps volunteers to bring the end of a border war. His team was cited as a pivotal actor in bringing peace and was thanked by the Ethiopian and Eritrean heads of states.
Dambach did similar work in the Congo, where he created a dialogue between government leaders and rebel groups to form a coalition government.
He later became chief executive officer of Operation Respect, an anti-bullying organization founded by his friend Peter Yarrow, of the band Peter, Paul and Mary.
Thereafter, he headed the Alliance for Peacebuilding from 2005 to 2011, as president and chief executive officer. Then in 2010, Dambach authored a book about his life, “Exhaust the Limits: The Life and Times of a Global Peacebuilder.”
Subsequently, he became chief of staff for Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., a fellow Peace Corps volunteer, but stepped down in 2013 after a near-fatal heart attack.
Maikel “Mike” Nabil, his close friend and mentee, says the hard work has taken a toll on Dambach’s health.
“I am much, much younger than him and he works much, much harder than me,” says Nabil. “I admire him for being so dedicated to helping people and so passionate and caring about other people.”
Nabil, a peace activist and fellow Nobel Peace Prize nominee, was jailed in his home country of Egypt after participating in a youth uprising in 2011. As chief of staff, Dambach was able to aid Nabil in gaining political asylum. Nabil now lives in Washington, and the two have remained friends since.
While Dambach has largely retired, he continues his involvement with peacebuilding communities and still finds time to teach occasional courses at American University and Johns Hopkins University.
He has found his own form of peace in being outdoors in nature. Dambach is an avid kayaker and has won several championships, served on boards of multiple prominent kayaking organizations and officiated the kayaking competition in the 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympics.
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