"Donald Gault is a whole-systems thinker. He moves beyond the surface of issues to find the root cause of our most pressing social problems.  He then inspires and leads both individuals and groups to co-create creative and sustainable solutions."  --Teddie M. Potter, PhD, MS, RN
​Building Peaceful Community offers consultation, education and training to:
  • Facilitate workplace and community meetings and planning processes resulting in tangible, positive change;
  • Mentor and support managers and employees in public, nonprofit and private workplaces; and
  • Develop and implement effective strategies to prevent violence and child abuse and create respectful, healthy workplaces and communities.
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Founded by Donald Gault, Building Peaceful Community, brings over 30 years experience working in the Public Health field, including management of highly effective work teams and cutting edge initiatives to prevent violence and promote community health.
 
Contact Donald Gault at dosgault@gmail.com​. 
For his resume, click here.
​For his bio, click here.

Primary Prevention and Appreciative Inquiry

The work of Building Peaceful Community is built around the Public Health principle of Primary Prevention, creating environments that decrease the likelihood of violence and harm, and increase the likelihood of peaceful, healthy relationships.

Building Peaceful Community uses an Appreciative Inquiry approach to work toward what we seek (peace and health) rather than focusing solely on what we abhor (violence and illness).

Building Peaceful Community believes that all people have within them essential health, humanity, and the capacity for living in caring and loving relationships.

MAJOR PROJECTS

Men Breaking Free is a groundbreaking Restorative Justice approach to working with men who have been arrested for attempting to purchase sex from another human being. Men Breaking Free was developed in 2018 through a partnership between Breaking Free, a Saint Paul-based agency that works with women and children who have been trafficked and harmed by the commercial sex industry, and Building Peaceful Community. 

Men Breaking Free is a unique approach that helps men to fully understand the cycles of pain resulting from sex trafficking and sexual exploitation, while simultaneously offering them the possibility of empathy and healing and growth for themselves, their families, and the people they love.

Building Authentic Partnerships to Reduce Sex Trafficking and Heal and Rebuild Lives, Families, and Communities, published in the Spring 2020 issue of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies, tells the story of the multiple partnerships that led to the creation of Men Breaking Free and the powerful impacts of this unique approach on the lives of everyone involved.

Read more on the Breaking Free website breakingfree.net. 
Beauty, Kindness and Hope — From the Mouths (and Hearts) of Boys. Thanksgiving 2018
No matter your political beliefs or where you live, I think we as Americans and humans can all agree that the last few months and years have been pretty rough. Beauty, kindness and hope have not seemed to be abundant in our world. However, given that the focus of my work the past 30+ years has been violence prevention, I continue to seek out rays of light, however hidden they may be; perhaps  in part to convince myself that we just might make it through these dark days, in spite of ourselves. I recently had the privilege to work with a group of incredibly wise people, who have in fact (re-) instilled in me the possibility that we humans do carry within us the sparks of beauty, kindness and hope.  
​Read more about 2018 work with the Minnesota Boychoir.

​Minnesota Boychoir "Respect Workshops." StarTribune, Nov. 2, 2017.
A Public Health Approach to Preventing
​Workplace Sexual Harassment: 
We are at a critical stage in better understanding, effectively addressing and preventing sexual harassment in the workplace and greater community. Donald Gault with Building Peaceful Community has developed a Public Health approach to preventing workplace sexual harassment, offering a vision, tools and new opportunities for successful prevention, with the goal of positive change toward healthier, more respectful work environments and experiences for all of us, now. Read the article and workshop and consultation description.
Workshops on Refreshing Your Workplace:
Customized 3-4 hour facilitated discussions to help your workgroup better understand one another's strengths and work more effectively toward common goals
Videos on creating healthier, more peaceful families, communities and workplaces -- developed in partnership with the University of Minnesota Katherine Densford International Center for Nursing Leadership.
Op Ed publication: Castile tragedy offers an opportunity for healing, Minneapolis StarTribune