Matt Guynn

Director of On Earth Peace’s Nonviolent Social Change Program

Matt Guynn (Portland, OR) is an activist and nonviolent social change trainer grounded in the philosophy and methodology of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the broader US Civil Rights movement.

Matt works with the church-based nonprofit On Earth Peace, working with church and community groups around the United States to offer leadership development for efforts to challenge violence and build reconciliation. Since 1993, he has been involved with Training for Change, an international training center working with social change activists.

Since 1993, he has been involved with Training for Change, an international training center working with social change activists. Matt previously worked as co-coordinator of training for Christian Peacemaker Teams, preparing people to carry out nonviolent direct action and unarmed accompaniment in conflict zones, and served as an unarmed bodyguard in Chiapas, Mexico.

Matt’s leadership is rooted in direct mentorship from women and men involved in the US Civil Rights movement, the pacifist and anti-war movements of the WWII and Vietnam eras, the feminist and LGBTQ movements, and the Quaker-inspired Movement for a New Society, which through its Life Centers across the United States inspired and equipped generations of environmental, anti-nuclear, and other activists. In 2010-2011, Matt consulted with both Greenpeace USA and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), providing skill-building and resources on topics including facilitation and nonviolent direct action.