Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon is the executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace and an ordained minister in the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). She is the author of Social Justice Handbook and Just Spirituality, and coeditor of Evangelical Theologies of Liberation and Justice.

Cannon formerly served as the senior director of advocacy and outreach for World Vision US on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, and also as consultant to the Middle East for child advocacy issues for Compassion International in Jerusalem. She has served as the executive pastor of Hillside Covenant Church located in Walnut Creek, California, and as director of development and transformation for extension ministries at Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington, Illinois.

Cannon holds an MDiv from North Park Theological Seminary, an MBA from North Park University’s School of Business and Nonprofit Management, and an MA in bioethics from Trinity International University. She received her first doctorate in American history with a minor in Middle Eastern studies at the University of California (Davis) and her second doctorate in ministry in spiritual formation from Northern Theological Seminary. Her work has been highlighted in The New York Times, CNN, Chicago Tribune, Christianity Today, Leadership Magazine, The Christian Post, Jerusalem Post, EU Parliament Magazine, Huffington Post, and other international media outlets.