About Quizzes

Jody Williams

Jody Williams is an American teacher and aid worker who founded the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). In 1997, she and ICBL were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Williams received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Vermont in 1972, to work as a teacher of English as a Second Language (ESL). She followed that in 1972 with a master’s degree in teaching Spanish and ESL from the School for International Training, also in Vermont. She received a second master’s degree in International Relations from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, in 1974. Williams taught ESL in Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Washington, D.C., before she was appointed as coordinator of the Nicaragua-Honduras Education Project in 1984. Williams held that post until 1986, when she became the deputy director of a Los Angeles-based charity, Medical Aid for El Salvador. She held that position until 1992, when she took a position with the newly formed ICBL. Williams has overseen ICBL's growth to more than 1,000 non-governmental member organizations in more than 60 countries. She has served as chief strategist and spokesperson for the campaign. Williams has spoken in various conferences, including the United Nations, European Parliament, and Organization of African Unity. She co-authored a seminal study, based on two years of field research in four mine-affected countries, which detailed the consequences of landmine contamination. In 1997, ICBL achieved a major goal when the international Ottawa Treaty banning antipersonnel landmines was signed in Ottawa, Ontario. Not all countries have signed the treaty, including the United States. Owing to the movement's great impact on the world, ICBL and Jody Williams received the Nobel Peace Prize, in 1997. Williams continutes to serve ICBL as a campaign ambassador and editor of the organization’s landmine report. Thanks to her work with ICBL, countless lives and limbs have been saved.