Janet is a founding board member and President Emerita of Seeds of Peace. She was there at the very beginning of Seeds of Peace, when her late husband, John Wallach, announced the creation of the new program during a Washington diplomatic dinner. She has been a major force in the organization throughout its years, serving as Executive Director after her husband’s death and serving on the Board continuously through the present day.

The author of 10 books including Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell, Seraglio, Arafat: In the Eyes of the Beholder, and Still Small Voices, presenting the personal stories of ten Israelis and Palestinians during the First Intifada, Janet has written extensively about the Middle East. She has been a frequent contributor to The Washington Post Magazine and a contributor to Smithsonian Magazine and other periodicals, and has written cover stories on leading Middle East personalities. She is currently writing a book about an American woman who worked as a spy in Europe and Asia in the years between World War I and World War II.

Janet has been a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow and has taught at Bradford College, Earlham College, Longwood College, Ohio Wesleyan University, Stetson College, St. Olaf’s College, Susquehanna University, and West Virginia Wesleyan College. She has been a guest speaker at Arizona State University (T.E. Lawrence Symposium), the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, Chautauqua Institution, The Cosmopolitan Club, The Explorers’ Club, Harmonie Club, Meridien House, the National Arts Club, Quinipiac College, St. Olaf’s College (Nobel Peace Prize Symposium), Wellesley College, Women’s Democratic Club, Women’s Republican Club, and Yale University.

She has also appeared as a guest commentator on various television programs for the Cable News Network, A&E Biography, MSNBC, National Geographic, and network talk shows as well as on BBC and C-Span Booknotes. She co-hosted a nationally syndicated program, Private Lives; Public People on the Lifetime cable network.

Janet was born in New York City and received a B.A. degree from New York University. She has two sons, David Allyn and Michael Wallach.