John Prendergast is a human rights and anti-corruption activist as well as a New York Times best-selling author who has focused on peace in Africa for over thirty-five years. He is the Founding Director of the Enough Project, an initiative to end genocide and crimes against humanity, as well as the Co-Founder with George Clooney of The Sentry, an investigative initiative following the money of war criminals and their commercial collaborators.
John has previously worked for the Clinton White House, the State Department, two members of Congress, the National Intelligence Council, UNICEF, Human Rights Watch, the International Crisis Group, and the U.S. Institute of Peace. When in government, he was part of the small mediation team that helped negotiate the 2000 peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and contributed to other peace processes in Sudan, Congo, Somalia, and Burundi.
Under the Enough Project umbrella, John has helped create a number of initiatives and campaigns. With George Clooney, he co-founded the Satellite Sentinel Project, which aimed to prevent conflict and human rights abuses through satellite imagery. With Tracy McGrady and other NBA stars, John founded the Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program to fund schools in Darfurian refugee camps and create partnerships with schools in the United States. With Robin Wright and others, he launched the Raise Hope for Congo Campaign, highlighting the issue of conflict minerals, and its companion Conflict-Free Campus Initiative. He also co-founded the Sudan Now campaign, which supported the holding of a peaceful referendum for South Sudan in 2010.
John has received numerous awards, including the United Nations Correspondents Association Global Citizen of the World Award; the U.S. Department of State Distinguished Service Award and Global Action Humanitarian Award.
In 2018, John Prendergast joined the Aurora Prize Selection Committee.