Meet Our Members

Yaa Ansah-Pobi

Luanne Arredondo

Luanne Arredondo is a fourth-generation Rotarian, entrepreneur, and executive recognized for her expertise in change management, corporate turnaround, and project development. She has held leadership roles at the Club, District, Zone 26/27, and Rotary International levels, including District Governor of D5300 (2019–2020) and Rotary International Public Image Coordinator for Zones 26/27 (2021–2024). 

Affectionately known as “Mama Lu” and “Grandma Lu,”  from youth, businesses, and partners alike, she blends professional strength with purpose-driven leadership and service—developing family-centered magazines, educational resources, and community initiatives. Most recently, she launched “Grandma’s House,” a child development and in-home care model designed to foster school readiness and youth empowerment.

Peggy Asseo

Bart Barker

Son of two Rotary Presidents, Bart Barker attended his first meeting in Wilmington, Ohio before the age of five though he does not remember the speaker, only playing with the little creamer containers. He later attended Northwestern University then moved to Connecticut and on to North Carolina where he first joined Rotary officially as a member in 2018 of the now defunct Hillsborough club. He has spent his entire adult life making money programming computers to fund his real work as a poet. http://www.bartbarkerpoet.com/

Brian Berman

Born in New York in 1949, Brian was deeply affected as a child when viewing images of the Holocaust on TV and books on WWII. It wasn’t until 2002 when he was facilitating a Jewish German Reconciliation Project in Germany, that he realized Hitler had made him, inadvertently, a peace-builder.

In 1969, he was trained as a peace marshal by a Quaker group to hold the peace during the Moratorium March in Washington DC.

In 1970, he recognized that peace begins within so he studied and began teaching yoga and meditation representing the Integral Yoga Institute. He raised a family and in 1988, he began Citizen Diplomacy work in the Soviet Union, and attended the International Peace Marathon in Moscow. He returned to the US and began lecturing on the vision of our one global family working for peace.

In 1989 Berman as part of the organization Global Family went back to the Soviet Union teaching “Resonating Core Support Groups” and meditation. In June of that year, with Global Family, he helped facilitate “Seeking the True Meaning of Peace”, hosted by the Costa Rican government and the United Nations, in San Jose, Costa Rica. The 14th Dalai Lama, and 700 other peace builders attended this conference. Robert Muller was his most favorite inspirational speaker, creating peace through education.

Following 9/11, Berman started facilitating a listening training group in his community using Compassionate Listening skills as a path for conflict resolution. In 2002, he was invited by the director of The Compassionate Listening Project to help facilitate a reconciliation group of Jews and Germans in Germany, healing the emotional wounds resulting from World War II and the Holocaust. As a Compassionate Listening facilitator and the former co-director of the Jewish-German Reconciliation Project, Berman’s CL work centered on reconciliation and healing the wounds of war within. He met his German wife Lisa in 2002, and they married a year later. They facilitate peace building workshops, and delegations in the US and Europe.

Brian known internationally as an Artist for Peace, in late 2013, created a unifying sculpture, a design that symbolizes our One Humanity. He envisioned creating cities of peace around the world. We are One Humanity. He and his wife are founded of Ojai International City of Peace in 2014.

He and his wife Lisa registered Awakening Peace INC, a 501(c)3 charity educational nonprofit, with a mission to cultivate peace programs and compassionate action for unity and peace in the world. Each year, they have given the Awakening Peace Award to great peace builders, 2018 awarded to Fred Arment-founder of International Cities of Peace, 2019 awarded to Dr. Robert Dodge-president of Los Angeles Physicians for Social Responsibility and national promoter of the Nuclear-Free Zone Initiative, and 2020 was awarded to Barbara Gaughen-Muller – current president of our Rotary eClub of World Peace.

Berman is trained in Hakomi Therapy, Attitudinal Healing, and taught yoga and meditation for many years. He is an award-winning sculptor and teacher. The theme of his artwork is Art for Peace.

Estera Borcsa

Dr. Estera Borcsa’s mission in life is to break generational curses of trauma, transform lives, families, communities and governments. 

Dr. Borcsa devoted her career and research to understanding human development and how people heal from trauma. Her youngest client was 3 years old and the oldest was 89 years old. She is currently a Deputy Vice President of Neuroscience programs in Newport Beach  created evidence based practices and interventions.  

Dr. Borcsa was born in Romania, a beautiful country wailing from the negative impact left by the communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu and communism.  Dr. Borcsa witnessed disparity to a monumental level and saw individuals, families and communities broken by systemic trauma coupled with poverty, discrimination and abuse.  

Dr. Borcsa earned her doctoral degree with a dissertation focused on global diplomacy. Dr. Borcsa developed a diplomacy training program called Peace Unleashed based in neuroscience for United Nations member states to help diplomats overcome barriers to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.  

Dr. Borcsa’s research on life satisfaction in partnership with the European Union was globally recognized for the importance of its findings on global diplomacy, neuropsychology and mental health.  

Dr. Borcsa Estera earned a master’s degree from University of Southern California (USC) with a concentration in Psychology, Policy and Law.

Julie Boswell

Julie grew up in a Rotary household.  Her father was a Rotarian, and their family often hosted exchange students: Heather from Zimbabwe, Jari from Finland, Terumi from Japan, Greg from Australia, and many more.  Her sister was a Rotary exchange student to Denmark, and she was an exchange student to what was then West Germany.  It was, as is often said, an experience that changed her life.  She loved every minute of it, learning fluent German, learning about another country and making friendships that would last for decades.

Her parents continued with Rotary, going on polio immunization missions, going to world conferences, and supporting local Rotary projects and international projects alike.  She loved Rotary and benefitted from it—from the spelling bees she took part in, to the Group Study Exchange teams they met, to the friends from around the world her family knew.  But she guessed she always thought of it as something for someday.

Meanwhile she went to college and graduate school and began teaching English at community colleges and career schools. She married and currently lives in Cleveland with her husband who works as a science educator at the Great Lakes Science Center. Her husband and Julie work a lot and enjoy doing a bit of volunteer work—he works with the FIRST robotics competitions and she sits on the board of the church.  They love to walk with their energetic beagle, Kilo.

Several years ago, her husband became very ill with cancer—and they both realized that they maybe shouldn’t wait till someday.  After a long battle, she is happy to report that he just passed his ten-year survival mark and can now call himself a cancer survivor.  In the interim, she also became ill with cancer.  She is fine now—but that message—don’t wait for someday anymore—someday is now, rings in their ears.

Someday is now.

JonDarr Bradshaw

JonDarr Bradshaw is a former NASA contractor and military aviator with extensive experience in the aerospace industry. Working alongside NASA scientists, engineers, and astronauts, JonDarr has teamed up with science and technology educators from across the country to develop a variety of award-winning, aerospace-themed, engineering design challenges and activities for middle and high school students.
Mr. Bradshaw’s extensive experience in STEM education (spanning over 25 years) includes over 15 years with NASA’s SEMAA Project where he served as a the coordinator of the program’s first Aerospace Education Laboratory, the national training team lead, and eventually served as the program’s National Operations Manager in the National SEMAA Office. He was the interim V.P. for Education and Programs at Nashville’s Cumberland Science Center, and was a key team member at Ohio’s Center of Science and Industry (COSI) contributing to such award-winning traveling exhibitions as Mission to Mars™ and Virtual Racing™. He has also designed, developed and facilitated over 1,000 hours of STEM-focused, professional development for science teachers at all levels. Through his work with NASA, JonDarr has designed and facilitated 28 spaced-themed robotics competitions and also provided key support for 52 local, 38 regional and 12 international robotics championship events for the FIRST and VEX Robotics Programs.
Mr. Bradshaw has appeared numerous television programs and science-related specials. This includes an appearance in the episode “Quest for Mars” from the PBS television series “Space Age” and was the “Science Guy,” a reoccurring subject matter expert on the long running TNN variety show “Nashville Tonight.” As a NASA contractor working with education, JonDarr has written and appeared in numerous NASA training and professional development videos and served as the head writer and program host for the award-winning, web-based, educational series “NASA Now!”
JonDarr is the 2002 recipient of the Frank G. Brewer Award for excellence in aerospace education, the 2003 recipient of the NASA’s prestigious John M. Hairston Jr., Trailblazer Award, and a 2007 co-recipient of a NASA Group achievement Award for his work with both the NASA SEMAA project and the Aerospace Education Laboratory (AEL) project. He is also a past member of Civil Air Patrol’s National Aerospace Education Advisory Committee and was the 2007 recipient of the FIRST Robotics Competition Regional Outstanding Volunteer Award winner.
JonDarr attended The Ohio State University and earned his Senior Aviation Badge at the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker. He currently serves as the Community Engagement Coordinator and Aerospace Education Lead at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, Ohio where he engages young people and their families to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education across a variety of technology-based platforms. JonDarr is a cancer survivor and proud grandparent whose hobbies include astronomy, aviation, model rocketry, and robotics.

Tami Briggs

Lisa Broderick

Lisa Broderick is founder and Executive Director of Police2Peace, who leads the organization to help communities reimagine how they would like policing to be. Lisa comes from a career in the high-tech industry, where for three decades she helped bring new approaches to society through innovation.  From her start at Apple Computer in its early years, she went on to head one of the first e-commerce companies on the Internet, and has served as CEO of numerous high technology companies. Lisa has frequently found herself at the forefront of applying “disruptive technologies” to societal problems through the use of language and radical thinking. Today, Lisa serves as Executive Director of Police2Peace, where she devotes her time to reshaping policing in America. Lisa holds a BA in Economics from Stanford University and an MBA in Global Finance and Management from Duke University. She has taught as a volunteer at the grade school and college levels, is a member of Rotary International, Mediators Beyond Borders International, the United Nations Association, The Alliance for Peacebuilding, and Women in Technology, and volunteers as board member for The Relationship Foundation for Trauma-Informed Curriculum and the Save an Animal Foundation.

Sheva Carr

Sheva Carr is the founding CEO of Heart Ambassadors, a capacity building organizations for world servers and an official training company for the Federation of International Civil Servants (FICSA). Through Heart Ambassadors (www.heartambassadors.com ) and in her role as Co­Vice President and UN Delegate Leader for United Nations Peace Messenger Organization Pathways To Peace, Sheva is currently in a year long collaboration with 3x Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Scilla Elworthy. Together they are delivering Scilla’s acclaimed book The Business Plan for Peace to an online audience of peacebuilders and lay people all over the world to encourage the creation of a global culture of peace. Sheva is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Board Certified Polarity Therapist and Registered Polarity Educator, and expert HeartMath trainer and coach. The founding CEO of Fyera! Inc, and the founding Executive Director of the Fyera Foundation and Sunflower SunPower Kids, she authored “Being the Source of Love” and “Where the Sky Meets the Earth,” and is featured as a “love luminary” in Marci Schimoff’s New York Times bestselling book “Love for No Reason.” She cofounded the annual Women Illuminated Film Festival parallel to the UN NGO Commission on the Status of Women, and is also the founding visionary behind http://www.operationbigsister.org designed to contribute to efforts to end sex trafficking. She mentors teens from Israel and Palestine in peace dialogues with http://www.creativityforpeace.org under the motto “An enemy is a friend whose story you have yet to hear,” and has participated in a project with the Harvard Project on Negotiation for the Middle East. She has created her own trauma relief interventions, and been published in respected medical journals including “Perspectives in Biology and Medicine,” and other periodicals such as “The UN Special.” She has trained and mentored medical staff from C­level executives to bedside nurses at distinguished medical centers across the US, including Mayo Clinic, Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, Cedars Sinai, Kaiser Permanente, and more. She also founded the first HeartMath hospital patient education program with Cleveland Clinic’s Heart­Brain Institute at North Hawaii Community Hospital. She has worked as a coach and consultant to the World Health Organization, members of the US Military and Homeland Security, the United Nations, leading cardiologists, heart­brain researchers, and physicists. She is the architect and director of HeartMath’s HeartMastery Program, and a collaborator on the HeartMath Institute’s Health Care and other initiatives. She speaks to people all over the world on how to access heart intelligence and peace of mind, in order to receive the benefits of the heart’s impact on their relationships, health, performance, creativity, contribution, legacy, social change, and the building of a global culture of peace.

Jamie Carroll-Mandelke

Current Professional Experience

 Clinical Research Coordinator, East Bay AIDS Center, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Oakland, CA 2002-present

Mange all aspects of study related pharmaceutical clinical trials for the East Bay AIDS Center. Responsibilities include IRB submission and all regulatory related items, protocol evaluation, site preparation, Investigational drug accountability, reporting and tracking of  adverse events and serious adverse events, data collection and query resolution, specimen collection and shipping, monitoring visits, assistance to Investigator on conduct of trial, recruitment, Informed Consent process, scheduling, screening and  maintaining source documentation. Attend Investigator meetings and HIV meetings as necessary. Recruit, hire and manage research assistant.

Prior Professional Experience

 Research Coordinator/Clinic Nurse, Adult Immunology Clinic, Summit Medical Center, Oakland, CA, 1991-2002

Staff nurse in an out patient HIV clinic serving 300 patients.  Responsible for phone triage, medication management, PICC line insertions, phlebotomy, scheduling, clinic flow, supplies and oversight of volunteers. Managed HIV pharmaceutical drug studies including regulatory, IRB, Informed Consent, data collection, specimen handling, adverse events and serious adverse event reporting, scheduling of subjects and monitoring visits.  Attended Investigators meetings and assisted Investigator in the overall conduct of all studies.

 Clinical Research Nurse, Adult Immunology Clinic, Merritt-Peralta Medical Center, Oakland, CA, 1989-1991

Managed AIDS Clinical Trial Group (ACTG) studies as a subunit of San Francisco General. Responsible for screening, enrollment, study visits, specimen shipment, data collection, query resolution, safety reporting, SAE reporting and attending ACTG meetings.

Intensive Care Unit Registered Nurse, Merritt Hospital, Oakland, CA, 1982-1989

Provided intensive patient care in a demanding medical environment.  Proficient in Swan-Ganz catheters, arterial lines, intra-aortic balloon pumps, ventilator support, intravenous infusions and ECG reading.

Education

San Jose State University, Bachelor of Arts, Health Science, San Jose, CA 1977

Southern Oregon State College, Associate Degree, Nursing,                             Ashland, OR 1982

JoAnne Catran

I have been a member of The Rotary Club of Calabasas since June 2017, as past President, Peace Committee co chair & board member, Paul Harris Society member . I have also attended district 5280 as well as international Peace zoom meetings with Dr Vicki Radel & Marsha Hunt.I did complete training as a facilitator in international Peace building discussions.I joined the San Fernando Valley Rotary e club in 2014. My personal passions include peace, youth, photography, travel. I have attended meetings of The Rotary e club of World Peace where I feel a true connection. I have recently joined the Rotary Action Group for Peace. I feel I can be of service in the Rotary e club of World Peace.
My desire is to transfer to the Rotary E club of World Peace as of April 1st 2024 if not sooner.

Personal/Professional Biography:
I have my Bachelor’s Degree in Child Psychology & have worked in the fields of pre school teacher, as assistant at a addiction rehab house, activity director at The Jewish Home for Aging, Hypnotherapist & CO owner of a family owned travel agency as a front line travel agent. I am currently retired , widowed though would welcome companionship ((Lol.) Three adult daughters & two granddaughters. I am gifted to be in a multi cultural, multi racial family.

Karen Cebreros

Launched Microcredit for Women in Coffee in August 2012 IN GUATEMALA

Specialties: Pioneer of certified organic coffees into North America from 13 countries. Founding member of the International Women’s Coffee’s Coffee Alliance, IWCA and the Environmental Committee for theSCAA.  Co Authored Credit for Women and opened 6 Microfinance programs in Latin America
Pioneered the first SMITHSONIAN MIGRATORY BIRD CENTER coffee.
Started giving coffee tours to origin in 1994.
Launched the first Woman in Coffee tour in 2003.
Served on Coffee Kids Board of Directors twice and Via International

Opened up microfinance in Baja during Covid

SDSU 

XEROX CORPORATION 

ELAN TIMESAVERS 

ELAN ORGANIC COFFEE

EARTHS CHOICE COFFEE ROASTERS

Joanie Ciardelli

Joanie (Misrack) Ciardelli is a very part-time resource and volunteer in the area of peace-building. She was Co-founder of Pathways To Peace (PTP) in 1983 with Founder Avon Mattison, and a Director of the organization until 2002. She continues to be an Advisor, and represents PTP on the Steering Committee of the United Nations Association of Marin. For many years she represented PTP on the Board of the Citizens for a UN People’s Assembly, and served on the Peace and later Democracy and Justice Committees of the Threshold Foundation. She is now on their Documentary Film Funding Circle, which became an interest because of her volunteering for the last 9 years at the Sundance Film Festival. Joanie is also involved in socially responsible investing, having spent many years in the corporate world of business. This included directing/managing Marketing Research for Levi Strauss International and Del Monte Corporation, and consulting/resourcing in leadership development for a large-scale corporate change endeavor. Joanie was a co-founder of Soviet-American Business Opportunities, Inc. and served as President of the American Marketing Association, San Francisco Chapter. She has published articles on “Marketing Peace” and participated on several panels related to PTP’s programs: the Culture of Peace Initiative and Peace Within Organizations.

Joanie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Marketing from the University of California at Berkeley, a Masters of Business Administration in Management from Golden Gate University, and an “Agent of Conscious Evolution” Certificate from the Institute of Conscious Evolution. She is married to Dr. Jack Ciardelli, Jr., and they share their home with the original Peace Cat, Princess Jasmine. She very much enjoys traveling — especially to visit Jack’s five children, ten grandchildren, and two great grandsons. Joanie’s research skills have turned to photography and genealogy, tracing and documenting family back several generations. She began the process of documenting the history of PTP through photos, which will eventually be published as a book and online.

Catherine Cooley

Catherine Cooley is a communication coach, conflict mediator, speaker and founder of Peaceabl. https://www.peaceabl.com She works with individuals, as well as business owners, partners, managers and employees in the workplace that are frustrated by misunderstandings and power struggles that leave people discouraged and disconnected.

She specializes in creating clear, safe and candid conversations that untangle confusing communication and bring ease and understanding. She maps a clear path to meet the core needs of the organization and the individuals, applying Nonviolent or Compassionate Communication (NVC), a model used worldwide for conflict resolution, emotional self care, relationship transformation and community building.

Catherine co-developed second generation Active Peace Circles (APC), a Restorative Justice process to resolve and repair community conflicts, with Scott Brown, founder of Active Peace. She leads Council Circles for women and organizations; facilitates weekly support groups for a mental health and recovery agency, and facilitates workshops in prison for the Alternative to Violence Project.

Catherine is a certification candidate with the Center for Nonviolent Communication and is a member of Mediators Beyond Borders Intl.

She lives in Southern California and has a long time passion for peace and environmental sustainability. When she’s not helping Peaceabl clients, she loves bodyboarding at the beach, hiking in the mountains, reading, meditating, and spending time with friends in council circles, retreats and dance events.

If you are in conflict you can schedule a complimentary exploratory session with Catherine to see how she would approach it: Breakthrough Conversation – 50 min  or https://peaceabl.as.me/bc

JoAnn Deck

Peace Literacy Program Coordinator

After receiving a degree in journalism from Boston University, Jo Ann Deck worked in both the Massachusetts Legislature and the New York State Legislature, gaining insight into policy and power. The wars of the 20th century affected many of the men in her family, which inspired her mission to help end war.

​Her role as vice president of a publishing company capped a long career where she learned how ideas are the highest form of technology, and they can move through society affecting us all for better and for worse. She met Paul K. Chappell in 2006 after her assistant pulled out his book proposal and said, “We’ve never received a manuscript from someone in the army.”

​When Chappell presented military evidence that humans are not naturally violent, her activism and desire for a more peaceful world prompted her to assist him in his work, serving as editor and mentor for his Road to Peace book series. She brings a lifetime of skills and experience to her work for the Peace Literacy Institute with the goal to make education in Peace Literacy a universal human right.

Lori Dekker

Sue DeMorris-Hammer

Terry Felix

Mark Fowler

President of Stowe Management Corporation and CoCEO of Revolutionary Conversations, LLC, is a business growth and corporate re-engineering expert, author and writer, business educator, public speaker and change leader.  Mr. Fowler specializes in transitioning companies from challenge to achievement by focusing both on enhancing revenues and profits and instituting cultural and interactive processes that substantially increase collaboration and engagement–helping companies to achieve a whole new level of success.

Working with more than a 150 companies with all forms of challenges and impediments, he’s helped turn them around, institute rapid growth, develop/implement sophisticated systems and procedures, raise working capital, merge, acquire and demerge organizations while always focusing on the business’ well being and the well being of all stakeholders.  A leader in the “business engagement” field for decades, he has developed systems and communication protocols stressing the importance of team empowerment and personal development.  By focusing on helping business owners and team members to be on the same page, he has aided them in succeeding at incredible achievements unattainable in the current competitive cultural business environments that are all too prevalent in today’s reality.

He is a member of the AICPA and the California CPA Society (“Society”).  He served as a director of the Society, as a State Committee Chair and as a Trustee for the CA CPA Education Foundation..  He is also a Board member and Vice President of the United Nations Association of Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo. An active presenter, he has also written close to 100 articles and created and presented some 35 courses.  With his emphasis on “business engagement”, he created and designed a dialogue and conversation system called the S.H.A.R.E.™ Tools which are the basis of the award winning book he co-authored with Noal McDonald and Barbara Gaughen-Muller entitled Revolutionary Conversations: The Tools You Need for the Success You Want, http://www.revolutionaryconversations.net

Dr. Jack Friedlander

Jack Friedlander has 40 years of community college experience in a range of research and senior level administrative positions from dean, to executive vice president of educational programs, to acting president.  He contributed to the college being selected by the Aspen Institute as the best community college in the nation, the number one community college by Value College, and College Choice’s selection as the best community college in the nation.

Dr. Friedlander has authored or co-authored over 80 articles, monographs, and assessment instruments. He has given over 70 presentations at state and national conferences. Dr. Friedlander has received a number of state and national awards for his research, administrative support for students, faculty and staff with disabilities, and contributions to community colleges. He has authored or co-authored grants in excess of 70 million dollars from a wide range of agencies including the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the U.U. Department of Education, the Fund for Improvement in Post-secondary Education, the Ford Foundation, the Andrew Mellon Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation.

Dr. Friedlander was selected by the Obama White House as one of 40 community college leaders as a champion of Change in Community Colleges. He served on a committee to advise the Obama senior higher education and labor policy staff on policies and proposed legislation pertaining to the nation’s community colleges. Dr. Friedlander was  one of 30 people invited by the Gates Foundation to help it develop its plan to improve the effectiveness of community college developmental education programs. He received his BA in psychology from Florida International University, MA from UCLA in curriculum and instruction, and PhD from UCLA in Higher Education.

Dr. Friedlander currently serves on the boards for the United Nations Association-Santa Barbara-Tri-Counties, the Channel Cities Club, the Committee on Foreign Relations and, Get-Focused-Stay Focused Program. He is a member of the World Business Academy, the Global Citizens Club, and the Citizens Planning Committee. His interests include public policy, the arts, film, human rights, and swimming.

Tezikiah Gabriel

Tezikiah (Tez) founded Gabriel Associates in 1991. The mission of Gabriel Associates is to partner with nonprofit organizations and leaders to strengthen and increase their ability to make a positive difference in the lives of people they exist to serve and to change our world. Over the past 30 years, as a nationally recognized consultant and trainer, Tezikiah has provided change management consulting and training to hundreds of mission-based organizations and thousands of nonprofit leaders who wish to create and inspire sustainable change through transformative approaches that value individual differences, unleash untapped potential, honor inherent wisdom, and deliver desired results.

As Executive Director for Pathways To Peace, Tezikiah views her work as an extraordinary opportunity to bring together her vision for peace, passion for making a difference, and her knowledge of nonprofit organizations as vehicles for bringing Peace to our world.

Barbara Gaughen-Muller

Founder of Gaughen Global Public Relations, an author, a business leader and a public speaker. B.A. from San Diego State University and Masters work in Organizational Behavior from the University of California, Santa Barbara and San Diego State University. Radio show host, Inspiring Conversations with business, educational and spiritual leaders, broadcasts worldwide from the Radio for Peace International in Costa Rica. President of the United Nation Association, Santa Barbara Tri-County chapter;  and the past president of the Book Publicists of Southern California. www.unasb.org ; Global public relations consultant, author, speaker and columnist for Going Organic Magazine; SEE (Surgical Eye Expeditions) International Board of Directors. Good Morning World daily email www.goodmorningworld.org ; Barbara’s late husband, Dr. Robert Muller and she wrote 7500 Ideas and Dreams for Peace and a Better World which is shared in a FREE daily email to subscribers in 5 languages world wide.

www.RevolutionaryConversations.net
Co-Author, Revolutionary Conversations, The Tools You Need for the Success You Want introduces not just a concept but a new way of communicating: the S.H.A.R.E.™ Tools.

Elizabeth Gibbs

Ms. Gibbs has served as a public administrator with 32 years of experience in local government across a wide range of departments, with expertise in public policy, project management and design, crisis management, fiscal management, community outreach, and public engagement. Ms. Gibbs holds a Bachelor degree and a Master of Public Administration degree from California Baptist University.

Ms. Gibbs’ most recent experience with the City was as our Community Services Director. She served in this role from July 2018 through January 2022. Prior to serving as the Community Services Director, she served as the City’s Transit Director from May 2016 through July 2018. Ms. Gibbs also served as the Beaumont Interim City Manager between June 2015 and May 2016, as well as several other City positions prior to that. She is currently City Manager.

Suleiman Halasah

RESEARCHER, CENTER FOR TRANSBOUNDARY WATER MANAGEMENT

Dr. Suleiman Halasah is a Research Associate at the Centre for International Studies at Oxford University and Co-director of the Jordan-Israel Center for Community, Environment, and Research (JICCER) at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, Dr. Halasah is director of the Jordanian consulting firm, i.GREENs,  which focuses on energy, water and environment. As the Jordanian partner, he was part of the founding group behind the Arava Power Company, a leading solar energy company operating in Israel and other countries.

Dr. Halasah holds a PhD in Desert Studies from Ben-Gurion University in the Negev, Israel; an Masters of Science from BGU and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Jordan in Amman.

David Hammer

David Hammer is a semi-retired attorney and a US Coast Guard Merchant Marine Captain.  His last full-time employment was from 1998 to 2004 as the County Counsel for Trinity County, California.  After four years of pro bono legal and community services, David returned to part-time public employment, representing Trinity County Child Protective Services.  Prior to his public employment, he was a sole practitioner for 23 years.  David believes that attorneys have a duty to provide public service.  He joined the Rotary Club of Weaverville, California in 1975 and has been the president of three clubs.  David served as the chair of several committees for District 5160 in Northern California and participated in many international projects. 

David says his most rewarding experiences in life have been in giving service to others; both in his law practice, and private life.  As an example, representing Child Protective Services and helping save children who have been neglected or abused have been tremendously rewarding.  Vaccinating children in Africa from polio, and building classrooms for the children in Las Varas, Mexico were equally rewarding.

Emmanuel Itier

An experienced feature film Producer, Emmanuel Itier directed several pictures before completing in 2012 the Peace documentary ‘The Invocation’ narrated by Sharon Stone and staring Desmond Tutu, HH The Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra as well as many worldwide peace activists. In 2013 Mr. Itier executive-produced a Drama filmed in Hong Kong: ‘Red Passage’ which won many Awards in the Festival circuit. Emmanuel Itier has also been a successful Music and Film journalist for both Rock Magazines, French TV networks and various websites for the last twenty five years. Finally Itier has been a buyer for many French and American Film distribution companies for the last twenty years. He was on the board of directors of the Santa Barbara Film Festival for a decade and he writes poetry. He is also very involved with charities and the political world. Mr. Itier seats on the board of Directors of ‘Darfur Women Action Group’ in an attempt to bring Peace to Darfur. He is also the  founding President of the Rotary E-Club of World Peace ( www.RotaryEclubofWorldPeace.org ) and he is part of the U.N Association, Santa Barbara chapter. Lately he joined the World Council of Wisdom (https://thevisioneers.ca ) to bring Peace to the World.

Mr. Itier grew up in France and he moved in the USA thirty years ago. He resides in Santa Barbara, California with his wife and three sons. Emmanuel Itier released in 2014 another inspiring documentary Celebrating Women around the planet: ‘FEMME-Women healing the World.’ This Documentary earned over 20 Awards around the World. Late 2017 Mr. Itier completed his third feature Documentary: ‘Shamanic Trekker’, about shamanism in Peru. Mr. Itier has just released two more documentaries in order to keep “Making Peace, One movie at a time.”

These films are part of a series called ‘The Oneness Collection: Documentaries for a conscious Humanity.’ The first one is called ‘The Cure: Healing The Mind, Healing The Body, Healing the Planet’  and the politically loaded Doc: ‘We The People: A Re-Evolution of Economics and Politics’, which is sure to shake the system!

Mr. Itier is a recipient of the ‘2018 Global Citizen Award’ from the prestigious United Nation Association and he was named President of The Year 2018 by the Rotary E-Club of World Peace. In 2019, just before the beginning of the Covid pandemic, Mr. Itier went to film a drama about quantum physics in Germany and in German. The shooting was stopped by the crisis and he hopes to return by mid 2021 to complete this new endeavor.

In 2021 the impactful and very timely 6^th documentary directed by Emmanuel will be released: ‘Guns, Bombs & War: A Love Story’. Finally, Mr. Itier has formed a spiritual and political movement in France called ‘The French Victory’ (www.LaVicotireFrancaise.net ) with the ambition to run for President in 2022. His vision is: “I, The People – We, President.”  In Oneness, we shall heal the World.

Karen Johnson

Karen Johnson dedicated her life to service in 1991 and shortly thereafter chose to explore all things contributing toward world peace.  She has served in several local, regional and national advocate and leadership roles with the Peace Alliance (PA) since 2005.

Karen has a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership, a Paralegal Certificate and a Peacebuilder Certification and has received trainings in NonViolent Communication, convergent facilitation, Connection Practice and restorative and peacebuilding circles.  Karen works in Chicago as a paralegal.  She was first on the ballot in 2017 and is currently serving as a Lockport Township Trustee and on two political party boards.

Arthur Kanegis

Writer/Producer ARTHUR KANEGIS is President and founder of One Films, LLC, a motion picture development and production company dedicated to producing uplifting entertainment that makes a difference. He also founded Future WAVE, a non-profit organization that aims to shift our culture of violence to a culture of peace. He owns all rights to Garry Davis story. Just One! is a labor of love for Kanegis, who has spent seven years researching and developing the Garry Davis Story, including taping extensive interviews in France, Germany and the US not only with Garry, but also with Esther Peter-Davis, Ginia Davis and others who shared in the adventures.

Marc Kassouf

Ike Khamisani

Marilyn King

Marilyn King is a two-time Olympian in the five event Pentathlon. Her 20-year athletic career includes five national titles and a World Record. An automobile accident in 1979 rendered her unable to train physically for her third Olympic Team. Using only mental training techniques she placed second at the Olympic trials for the 1980 Moscow Games.

 This extraordinary experience and resulting research led to a 35-year career as an expert in the field of exceptional human performance. Her work focuses on systemic change in the areas of business, education and peace.

Marilyn’s participation in an international, five- year think tank on the role of business in peace building led to a career conducting programs for senior executives with global responsibilities at Fortune 500 companies. Her corporate clients include: AT&T, IBM, Ikea, Microsoft, Nokia, Oracle, Starbucks and Wells Fargo.

Marilyn has also presented at over 200 national and international education conferences with academicians and researchers who are designing the schools of the future. Her most pioneering work, a joint Russian-American venture called “The Peace Team” resulted in two opportunities to speak at the United Nations and an invitation to create a U.N. sub-committee on the role of sport in peace building.

In 2017 Marilyn was honored with the Distinguished Alumna Award from Cal State University East Bay and a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Visioneers International Network in Vancouver Canada. Marilyn has also been featured in numerous articles and books including, Enlightened Power- How Women Are Transforming the Practice of Leadership by Lin Coughlin, Marilyn’s television and radio interviews include The News Hour with Jim Lehrer and NBC Nightly News.

Steve Klein

Sunita Kumar

Sunita Kumar, based in South Carolina, is a trained mediator and commercial arbitrator, serving on the board of Mediation and Meeting Center of Charleston. In her role as mediator, Sunita also volunteers for the Upstate Mediation Center and Midlands Mediation Center. Though new to MBBI, Sunita has already made a lasting impression on the organization and has become immersed in new and emerging projects.

Bryce Kyle

Bryce Kyle is a concert clarinetist, veteran, and doctoral research fellow whose work explores the transformative role of art and education in veteran reintegration and community well-being. After serving over three years in the U.S. Army Infantry—including one tour in southern Afghanistan—he returned home seeking new ways to process the complexities of service and homecoming. Art became that bridge. His teaching and scholarship now center on art as a form of dialogue—an aesthetic and mind-expanding practice that can transform both individuals and societies toward intercultural competency and peacebuilding. Bryce earned his Master of Music in Clarinet Performance from Carnegie Mellon University and is Ph.D. (expected) in Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio (11/15/2025). His dissertation, Drawing Out Student Veteran Workforce Transitions: Inscriptions, Editions, and Discoveries, examines how creative engagement fosters self-reflection and counternarratives that challenge stereotypes of military transition. He is currently building partnerships with the National Gallery of Art and the Phillips Collection to expand community-based art programs for veterans in Washington, D.C. Professionally, Bryce has served in national policy and advocacy roles, including as a (current) HillVets LEAD Fellow, a Legislative Fellow with the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Student Veterans of America, a Legislative-Research Fellow at Veteran Education Success, and a Graduate Archer Fellow with the University of Texas System in Washington, D.C. His policy work has advanced legislation like the Not Just a Number Act, which integrates VA benefit usage data into suicide-prevention strategies, and the conceptualization of the VETS-CORE framework, promoting federal collaboration on student-veteran outcome reporting between the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Education. As a teacher and musician, Bryce has instructed clarinet students across the country and performed with orchestras such as the Johnstown Symphony and Black Diamond Philharmonic, often using music as a means of community connection and healing. His commitment to service extends to facilitating discussions on war, homecoming, and belonging among veterans and civilians, drawing on classical texts like The Odyssey and contemporary arts-based pedagogies. Through scholarship, music, and service, Bryce seeks to embody Rotary’s idea that peace is not merely the absence of conflict but the presence of understanding, creativity, and compassion in action.

 Dr. Barbara Leger

Founder/Director of Golden Path of Peace

    Since growing up in a bi-cultural family in Quebec, Canada, this grandmother, mother, educator, change-maker has tackled diverse community projects large and small and it all led to Ukraine.

     As owner of YES Productions, (1986 to 2010) she co-founded,  served and consulted for several California non-profits,  ‘Routes for Youth’ and KRCB -TV/RADIO a new CPB licensed PBS station, as well as community youth education programs, active in Chamber of Commerce committees and large scale community construction projects.

     As owner of LEGER Internationale (1989 to 2003), she co-founded globally focused non-profits such as Sonoma County World Affairs Council and North Bay World Trade Association, serving global business project development with partners and teams with US, Finland, Sweden, USSR and new entrepreneurial ventures. LEGER Int’l. formed the first Joint Venture in Ukraine immediately after 1991’s fall of the Soviet Union, training women to make jewelry for a successful California design and creation company.

     Her biggest projects include the 7 years of development of a $64,000,000 Veneer mill in Siberia as a Joint Venture with a large Russian logging company and Boise Cascade/ US and Plytec/Finland which unfortunately did not get built due to Russian political, legal and economic reality. Her last project (2002/3) of her bold company was the total redesign of the largest former Soviet company in Estonia, Krenholm,  coaxing, tugging and supporting 7 departments (7,000 employees) into 1 large textile company with 5,000 employees with a clear vision of success in the global textile industry.

     From 2001 to 2019, Dr. Barbara lived in Ukraine and shared with adults a universal point of view based on self-esteem, power of positive thinking, personal responsibility, peace and conscious choice. In 2020, she shifted her focus to youth in community organization and public education. The world of Ukraine has changed from a land very focused and determined,  on the cusp of democracy, self-reliance with exciting sense of purpose and possibility to one of a different very focused reality. Now, with 10% of the capacity of soldiers and armament, and airpower, Ukraine is even more determined as it fiercely defends it’s sovereign land, culture, people and possibilities. Our new Project called ‘The Understanding PEACE Project’  trains teachers in the power of inner peace, a calm based on choice of focused attention on HOPE, PURPOSE, POSSIBILITY AND THE RESULT IS PEACE. We are our 3^rd year and our statistic are: Student completions of 5 week, 5 days a week project:  17,349  and total Teachers facilitating project:  491 from over 300 schools.

     Our Vision is we are a global organization with projects in all continents and are making a substantive impact of possibility of peace beginning with HOPE, leads to Purpose and Possibility and all lead to PEACE.

Barbara Leicht

Andrew Lenec

Andy Lenec is the son of Ukrainian refugees who settled in the United States after WW II. He joined the Peace Corps in March 2017 after a successful career in the United States, first as an executive in the field of Economic Development and Electric & Gas Utilities, then as an executive and consultant for non-profit
organizations. When Andy applied to the Peace Corps in 2016 the agency had just changed its rules to allow applicants to request their country of service, and Andy feels very fortunate to have been selected to serve in Ukraine, the country of his ancestors, where he found family and made many enduring friendships.
Andy has been a Rotarian for over 35 years. While in New York he was a member of two clubs in District 7210, and was president of both clubs twice. He was also the Team Leader of a Group Study Exchange mission to India in 2008. Upon moving to Boulder in 2009 to become the first Executive Director of Clean Energy Action, Andy briefly became a member of the Rotary Club of Boulder. While in Ukraine he was a member of the Rotary Club of Lviv International, and he is now happily ensconced as a member of the satellite group of the Denver Lodo Club, made up of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.
Andy has extensive experience in management, strategic planning, board of
director training and development, fund raising and event planning, all of which came in handy as he was developing the idea of an International Youth Conference while in the Peace Corps, the project that ultimately brought RYLA to Ukraine.
These skills are now being put to use in his very active support of relief efforts for Ukraine since the invasion. Andy handled media relations for Ukrainians of
Colorado, then brought the project he started (converting used solar panels into standalone USB chargers) to Sunflower Seeds Ukraine. To date over 300 such panels have been sent to schools, camps, healthcare facilities and front line defenders, and the project has been replicated by at least seven Rotary Clubs (the number is growing). Andy has also been actively fundraising to support his network of agencies and individuals in Ukraine for both military and civilian humanitarian purposes. He stays in touch with his extensive network in Ukraine on a daily basis and runs monthly Zoom calls with his contacts in the USA (mostly Rotarians) and in Ukraine.
A graduate of Columbia University and originally from Poughkeepsie, NY, Andy
has lived in Colorado since 2010, except for the two years he spent in the Peace Corps. He has two grown children, Alana (36) who lives in New York State with
her husband and runs her own business, and Andrew (31) a music teacher in
Hawaii. Andy is wedded to Joan Goering Lenec, whom he met six months before deploying to Ukraine to begin his service there.

Laurie Marshall

For 30 years, my goal has been to empower young people to have a positive impact on the challenges they face. What if we asked them to do only important work? My passion for collaborative innovation, project-based learning, and arts integration has taken me to rural and urban classrooms; founding a parent cooperative; teaching in universities, working with NASA, curriculum writing, coaching teachers and administrators and inviting the whole world to make a shared vision of success through a mural project based on trees.

http://www.laurie-marshall.com/

Scott Martin

Scott Martin, a landscape architect-turned-peacebuilder, is a former chapter president of MBBI-LA and former co-leader of MBBI’s Rwanda project. Scott has been engaged with MBBI for about a decade as a founding member of MBBI. In 2017 became a Rotary Peace Fellow at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. Global Partnerships Manager at MBBI.

Fergal McCarthy

Fergal McCarthy is the Peace Programs Manager at Rotary International.  Prior to his role at Rotary, Fergal worked at the Rand Corporation in California, the Irish Prime Minister’s Office in Dublin Ireland as well as the Irish Foreign Ministry.  He holds a BA in World Religions & Theology and an MPhil in International Peace Studies both from Trinity College Dublin, an MA in Comparative Ethnic Conflict Studies from Queens University Belfast and an MSt in International Relations from the University of Cambridge.

Bob McKechnie

I am Bob McKechnie. I live in Cathedral City, California (next to Palm Springs).  I have no community organizing experience.  I was a young, gay English and journalism teacher in California when the voters were asked to pass on an initiative that called for the firing of LGBT teachers just for being found out. That’s the year I started to march in San Francisco’s Gay Freedom Day Parade. Toward the end of my career I worked as a school guidance counselor in a school district close to the California-Mexican border.  Our students were the children of farm workers. Many were undocumented. This 10-year experience set me up for a commitment to peace and social justice. Much of my outside volunteering over the last 40 years involved working with people establishing and maintaining clean and sober lives of grace, especially in the LGBT community. I am 81 years old. Recently I realized that I must do something consequential before it’s too late — possibly failing to realize that it may already be too late.  Jane Fonda, age 82, is an inspiration for me. The game changer was my attendance at a Rotary-sponsored world peace conference in January 2020.  I met David Swanson of World BEYOND War.  In his talk David suggested that if we can get eradicate infectious diseases (polio, smallpox, malaria, measles, mumps, etc.), we can get rid of war. That was enough for me. It led to my becoming co-founder of the California Chapter of World BEYOND War and transferring my Cathedral City Rotary membership to the Rotary Club of World Peace.

Peter Meisen

Peter Meisen is life-long San Diegan but considers himself a global citizen.  An Honorary Member of the Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary Club, he’s exhibited at many International Conventions over the past decade where you’ve seen his projects in the Friendship Hall Exhibition

Peter graduated in 1975 from the University of California in San Diego with a degree in Applied Mathematics and Engineering Sciences.  The inspiration for his life’s work came from meeting the visionary engineer Buckminster Fuller and reading his seminal book “Critical Path.”

Dr. Fuller created the global gaming simulation, The World Game – its mission is “to make the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible time through spontaneous cooperation without ecological damage or disadvantage to anyone.”

Peter launched the Global Energy Network Initiative (GENI) to promote the premier solution – the linking of renewable energy resource around the world. The GENI initiative has earned the endorsements of 7 Nobel Peace Laureates, and newsman Walter Cronkite calling it “the best solution to peace and sustainable development he’s seen.” After 30 years, the world has now embraced this solution, just far too slowly.

With the urgency of many global issues upon us, Peter and GENI launched another Buckminster Fuller vision, the World Resources Simulation Center.  The SIMCenters’ mission is “to visualize sustainable solutions to global and local problems so we make more informed choices quicker.”  The SIMCenter is an immersive visualization facility designed for accelerated understanding and collaborative problem solving.

His current focus is to develop SIMCenters in partnership with universities and city leadership.  City leaders must deal with complex, interconnected problems and need options and strategies.  Universities have smart professors and passionate students that have the time and capacity to work on them.  The SIMCenter is a surround visualization tool, like a Mission Control Room, that enables collective understanding and dialogue.

Jeanne Marie Moore

Raymond Naylor

Rotary Background
I joined Rotary in 2007 after retiring as an Engineering Program Director. I was introduced to Rotary from a friend who was also recently retired, and I was interested in finding out more about Rotary’s focus on eliminating Polio. Although I don’t remember any details about having polio, my mother
and grandmother always reminded that I had polio.
Since joining rotary, I have had many roles in my
former District:
At the Club level:
 Treasurer
 Club Foundation Treasurer
 Club President
At the District Level:
 Public Image Chair
 RI Foundation Fundraising Subcommittee Chair
 Community Service Chair
 Assistant Governor
 Literacy Chair
 Co-Chair for two different District Conference
In addition to my interest in Polio Eradication I have been very very interested in Social Justice (or injustice). When I heard about the 2016 Peace
Conference, my wife Kathy and I decided to attend. As I have told many people, I have been to many Rotary Conferences and Conventions .. but this was the best conference I had ever been to. We returned to the 2020 conference and that’s when I decided to join the E-Club.
Personal Background
I was born in Dallas Texas and spent most of my first 10 years of life on my grandparents’ farm. At the age of 10 my family moved to Mexico City where we
lived for 5 years. While there I started at a local school and I was the only English speaking person. I learned Spanish very quickly and at a young age
leaned a lot about different cultures. It was a time when “Pinata’s” of Uncle Sam were hung from street poles and burned in protest. From there we moved
to Michigan, then New Jersey and finally to New England. It was there that my date for the senior prom was my wife, Kathy. After High School and a short run at college I jointed the Air Force where I spent 3 years of duty in a resort town on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. As my term of enlistment was going to end, I received orders for Vietnam and decide that wasn’t for me. After that BS Engineering, marriage, a pregnant wife working full time and finishing up her PHD, then the greatest daughter in the world.

Dan Nelson

Laura O’Connor

Belinda Olvera

Elaine Parke

Elaine Parke, MBA, CS, CM, NSA is the author of The Habits of Unity: 12 Months to a Stronger America….one citizen at a time. For 30 years her scalable and evidence-drive 12 habits social unity model has transformed several million community citizens and youth across the USA’s Midwest and in Rwanda, helping them feel more caring and connected to one another. In 1993, her monthly-branded and colorful habit-forming model was deemed a “Social Invention” by the London Institute for Social Inventions.

Parke spent 25 years fine-tuning her mass-market media skills in corporate America. Then in 1987 she re-directed her focus to helping people get along better. Her first book Join the Golden Rule Revolution – Practice One Habit Each month of the Year was published in 2001. She has won many awards and recognitions for her work.

Parke is certified in public speaking, violence prevention, conflict management, and mediation, as well as meditation, and has been a popular speaker in her field of driving health and positive social and civic engagement with managed media strategies.  She been an occasional guest-marketing lecturer at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and Carnegie Mellon University.

Stephanie Phillips

Ashley Portillo

Ashley Portillo is a passionate organizational development consultant and proud member of Power of Women (POW). With a focus on creating a more conscious business world, Ashley helps organizations recognize the interconnectedness of economic, social, and environmental systems. She integrates holistic practices into her work, creating sustainable and inclusive business models that prioritize the well-being of all stakeholders, including employees, customers, communities, and the environment. As a member of POW, Ashley is dedicated to empowering women and promoting collaboration and inclusivity to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through POW’s innovative use of music, media, and entertainment, Ashley inspires women to embrace their innate power and participate in decision-making processes, broadening historical narratives by incorporating women’s perspectives.

Ashley’s ultimate goal is to make a meaningful contribution to society by promoting socially responsible and conscious organizations, empowering women to become agents of positive change, and fostering a sense of community and collaboration for the wellbeing of all. She is excited to join Rotary E-Club of World Peace’s efforts in promoting peace and goodwill worldwide.

Shenali Rajaratnam 

Shenali Rajaratnam is a social entrepreneur and the founder of Power of Women and co-founder of We Are The Hope. She is dedicated to empowering women and creating initatives towards the development of self, society, and the environment. With a diverse background in music, media, entertainment and tech platforms, Shenali focuses on creating innovative and sustainable solutions such as Edutainment, to lead with a fresh perspective. She uses solution-driven approaches that bring solidarity and raise consciousness. Collaboration, peace, well-being, and love are at the core of her work.

Miomir Rajcevic 

Founder and President at Media Education Centre, President and General Manager at Media Education Centre – Danube for Peace and Advisor for Design Thinking, Learning and Leadership at Global Media – International Youth Media Space.

Distinguished Leader in Global Media Education and Literacy | Innovative Education Advocate | International Peacebuilder | Co-Initiator, International Patriotic Pact Organization (IPPO).

Professional Experience

Media Leadership

• Founder & President, Media Education Centre (MEC) (2001–ongoing)
• Led initiatives integrating animation and gamification into educational programs, empowering youth in media creation and literacy.
• Secured consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council, expanding MEC’s global impact.
• Executive Directorships
• Oversaw projects leveraging media as a tool for social change and peacebuilding.
• Executive Director, World Summit on Media for Youth (2006–2016)
• Executive Director, Danube Peace Boat E.U.R.O.P.E. (2015–ongoing)

Strategic Roles & Projects

• Directed and scripted children’s, youth, educational, and science programmes at Serbian Broadcasting Corporation.
• Coordinated international projects including AGORA – Euro-Mediterranean Audio-visual Forum for Youth and Kids for Kids Festival.
• Pioneered innovative educational projects such as the Sailing Animation Classroom, showcasing creative animation applications for media literacy instruction.
• Collaborated on EduGami, an initiative leveraging animation and generative AI for groundbreaking educational projects.

Global Engagement & Representation

• Represented MEC at UN headquarters (New York, Geneva, Vienna) and led MEC delegation at UN Plural PLUS (2016–ongoing), forging high-level international partnerships.
• Active Member, Global Peace Networks
• International Network of Museums for Peace
• International Cities of Peace
• Danube Peace Boat EUROPE
• Danube+ Peace between Countries and People
• Danube+ Peace with Nature
• International Institute for Peace through Tourism
• Demonstrated commitment to peace by integrating media literacy, cultural diversity, and dialogue into youth empowerment initiatives.
• Co-Initiator, International Patriotic Pact Organization (IPPO) (2023–ongoing)
• Pioneered global initiative to unite patriotic values with international cooperation, advocating for peace, development, and justice through cross-border dialogue and shared responsibility.
• Member of International Patriotic Pact Organization (IPPO) Committee  (2025-2029)

Key Skills and Competencies

• Media Excellence and Leadership: Proven expertise in film, media, and educational programme development, promoting intercultural dialogue and social transformation.
• Cross-Functional Expertise: Skilled at blending traditional and digital media, fostering creativity, and driving effective problem-solving across diverse teams.
• International Collaboration and Advocacy: Demonstrated ability to establish global partnerships and represent organisational interests at major international forums.
• Visionary Educator: Committed to empowering youth by nurturing their media literacy and creative capacities through innovative training initiatives.

Carolyn Ratliff

Health, fitness and wellness have always been center in Carolyn’s life. She found like minded people at the University of Colorado where she went to college and later did her Pilates training at the Pilates Center in Boulder, Colorado. She opened the first Pilates studio in Birmingham in 2001 and currently has a studio at Bhm. Physical Therapy in Cahaba Heights. She has published two books and is working on her third. She loves the City of Bhm and serves on Boards to strengthen the city. Piano, hiking, gardening, cooking, photography, horseback riding, exercise and good friends light up her life!

Sarah Ritter

Kimberly Rodgers

Kimberly Rodgers – Holistic Health Practitioner

• Kimberly Rodgers’ journey toward holistic health began from a place of deep personal challenge. Losing her father tragically at the age of 2 and raised by a mentally ill parent, she endured many forms of abuse and hardship. Growing up poor while surrounded by wealthy schoolmates, Kimberly confronted the complexities of inequality early in life. At the age of 16, she began the personal work of overcoming a “victim mentality,”  determined to reshape her future.

Raised in a highly religious environment that bordered on the cultish, with deep notes of toxic shame, Kimberly still carried a deep sense of justice, initially setting her sights on becoming a prosecuting attorney. However, life took a different path, and she became a young mother of three, choosing marriage and motherhood over law school. In her 30s, she began to break free from the religious conditioning that had shaped much of her earlier life but managed to still keep the true parts of her faith.

In 2005, Kimberly pursued her passion for healing by attending massage school, where she continued her education to become an accomplished Holistic Health Practitioner. She now specializes in meditation, particularly with clients who strongly believe they cannot meditate, helping them unlock a sense of peace they thought was out of reach in moments with ease.  Many meditation students are pleasantly surprised at their new findings and find enthusiasm to develop a healthy meditation practice in a way that suits them perfectly. Clients with ADD symptoms finally find a place of rest and healthy focus. As a trusted local massage therapist, overachievers that find themselves with chronic physical pain are drawn to Kimberly for relief. Survivors of physical abuse are also drawn to her practice, and she works to guide them to an understanding that physical touch can be safe and healing once again.  This broad spectrum of clients had created a technique that has been described as unmatchable worldwide by many of her seasoned clients – heartfelt, nourishing and deep bodywork.

Kimberly is deeply committed to community service, recognizing the importance of giving back to the community that has embraced and supported her healing work. She is passionate about supporting small business owners, knowing that they are the backbone of local economies and key drivers of the health and well-being of nonprofit organizations. Through her work, Kimberly strives to uplift those around her, creating a ripple effect of wellness that extends beyond individual clients to the broader community.

Through her work, Kimberly strives to be a source of peace for those around her as she continues her own healing and growth. She shows others that the peace they seek is always within them—accessible and never out of reach. This creates a ripple effect of wellness, beginning with herself, extending to her clients, and spreading further to the broader community and beyond.

Denise Rosenblatt

Prabha Sankaranarayan

President and CEO of Mediators Beyond Borders International

She is committed to partnership, as evidenced by the organization’s collaboration with over 120 organizations globally. She leads MBBI’s recent partnership with Rotary International, a global network of 1.2 million members, as well as with NAFCM, a North American network of over 300 mediation centers.

She is a conflict transformation practitioner who has mediated, facilitated and trained in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the USA. Her public and private sector work includes conflict analysis for public/private partnerships, consultation & assessment for industrial development zones, design and implementation of trainings for multinational corporations; interfaith dialogues as well as facilitation of multi-stakeholder mediations.

Prabha is actively involved in regional, national and international civic activities focused on civil liberties, sexual violence prevention, conflict mitigation & mediation and the recovery & rehabilitation of trauma survivors. She is an Adjunct Professor at Washington and Jefferson College. She designs programs and interventions, trains and delivers presentations globally, on the impact of family and community violence, the intersection of trauma and peacebuilding, restorative justice, conflict resolution, mediation, and transitional justice.

She speaks English, Tamil, and Hindi. She practices yoga and also enjoys hiking, rafting, and climbing.

Albertine “Mumzy” Scray

Is A Philanthropist, Serving In Africa & USA. Founder of “Mumzys Children Relief Foundation” A 501c Tax-Exempt nonprofit based in Illinois.  Mumzy empowers children & communities in remote rural villages to lift themselves out of extreme poverty through education & sustainable projects like the best way to produce and sell local products such as targeted agriculture, soap making, crafts, sustainable crops, sewing… 

In the communities where she serves, there is no clean water, no electricity, no roads, no medical center, almost no accessible education. No schools, no teachers. https://mumzycrf.org/  Education is the most efficient way to fight poverty. The new school year 2022/23 starts in a few weeks. The tuition is $10/Child/Year yet many children cannot afford it. The goal is to send 3,500 children to school next month. MumzyCRF foundation is running 13 schools with 30 teachers on payroll. (Please donate $10 today to sponsor one child.  

Her Foundation also helps 12 orphanages in the slums near the cities where hunger is overwhelming and education is too expensive for the orphans.

Mumzy fight for WOMEN’S Right and against early marriage, early pregnancies & FGM.  In villages where she serves, girls stop going to school as soon as they get their period due to the lack of feminine pads. Having their period also means in some traditions that they’re ready for mariage & childbirths. 

In collaboration with Sukhi222, she runs an ongoing Clean Water campaign in Many villages in Cameroon & Kenya and since 2019, she has made filtered water available to over 4000 impoverished people.  NB: About 90% of all diseases in extremely poor villages are due to the lack of clean water. 

Mumzy organizes, once a year, a full service Mobile Hospital  ASCOVIME that travels all the way into the jungle providing a skilled team of doctors & staff who volunteers the following services FREE of charge:

• Consultations,
• Surgeries,
• Dental,
• Ophthalmology,
• Testing,
• Vaccination

N.B: ASCOVIME Is lead by the renowned Dr GEORGES BWELLE who is the recipient of The 2013 CNN Hero Award, finishing in the Top10. Our mobile campaign is the only chance a villager often gets to see a doctor.

In Central Illinois, USA, Mumzy delivers food, clothing, blankets, Christmas gifts, Thanksgiving meals and Easter egg hunt events to struggling families and the homeless. Her foundation works mostly in Central Illinois and around Pembroke. 

Mumzy has a Coffee Business based in USA. MUMZYS AFRICAN COFFEE. She brings coffee coffee from Cameroon’s Farms and sells it in USA. Each bag of coffee sold sends a child to school for 1 year! https://mumzyscoffee.com/

Dr. SD Shanti

Seva—the Sanskrit word for selfless service—has been a guiding theme in my life since the age of nineteen when I first experienced a deep calling to serve others in need and that has influenced my path ever since.  I dedicated my life to ending the global epidemic of violence which affects over one billion people (one in every three women, one in every two children, one in every three school learners and countless others). In response to the pessimism (expressed to me in private) by leading experts in public health and mental health, I developed innovations to advance violence and depression prevention to the tipping point.  This work was incubated at Stanford University and reviewed by the Violence Prevention Alliance of the World Health Organization, where I received organizational membership based on a review of the science underlying my methods. My work is characterized by the integration of science, strategy, and soul. 

I founded the World Love Forum, dedicated to the public health application of love in all spheres of life –  in response to the magnitude of violence in the world. My innovations in mental health and public health have been supported by UNICEF, the American Psychological Foundation and foundations in Switzerland and the UK. By way of formal training, I am a multi-disciplinary public health professional, with advanced degrees and training in dentistry (dual specialist in pediatric dentistry and dental public health), and clinical and health psychology; I am also an ordained interfaith minister. I hold a DDS from Northwestern University, a PhD in psychology from the University of Vermont and a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University. 

Born in India to a family of public servants—on my father’s side my relatives were civil servants and involved in the early days of malaria control, and on my mother’s side my relatives were Gandhians who participated in the Salt March. I am a dual citizen of the United States and Switzerland, and live between both countries.

My guiding motto is: The world is my family, love is my religion and public health is my passport.

Dr. Andrea Shields

Dr. Shields’ primary professional roles have been as a college professor, a clinical and forensic psychologist, a business consultant and a life and executive coach. All of these professions involve facilitating change and growth, understanding and transformation in individuals, groups and communities. A published author and poet, her publications and presentations cover a wide range of topics that pertain to improving the quality of individual and community life through personal change, healing, conflict resolution and service. She has specifically presented at Peace and Conflict Resolution Symposiums and Conferences as well as at conferences addressing workplace conflict issues.

A twenty-four year Rotarian, Rotarian Shields is a past president, has served at district, zone and international levels. She has been to India and Mexico on National Immunization Days and volunteered on numerous other international as well as community projects. Thus Dr. Shields integrates real life experience with theoretical perspectives to enable her audience to apply her presentation to their lives.

Dr. Raymond Shields

Dr. Shields is a native of Richmond, VA and received his medical degree from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1988.  Internal Medicine and Vascular Medicine postgraduate training was completed at the Mayo Clinic in 2000.  Dr. Shields then joined the vascular medicine group in the Gonda Vascular Center at Mayo Clinic where his academic career has continued as an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the College of Medicine with board certifications in Internal Medicine (ABIM) and Vascular Medicine (ABVM).  He has a particular interest in peripheral vascular diseases and wound management.  Additional interests in education have led to him directing several international vascular disease conferences and symposiums.  Dr. Shields has also achieved board certification in hyperbaric medicine (ABPM) and is a Hyperbaric Medicine specialist at Mayo Clinic

Barry Simon

Maria Skoumpopoulou

Maria Skoumpopoulou started volunteering as a community champion to gain experience of working in the public sector after she moved to the UK from Greece.

Maria said: “This role helped me to work as part of a team and I feel more confident by taking part in their activities. I truly believe that if someone has an interest in community matters and wants to gain experience and interact positively or online with other community groups, then the friendly and supportive community champions team should definitely be their choice”.

The champions will provide support around issues such as tobacco, alcohol, physical activity, poverty, mental health and health protection. They will be supported with regular updates, resources and free training.

Cllr Hood added: “Becoming a community champion will help you connect with other people and learn new skills all whilst giving back to others in your community.”

Volunteers don’t need to have any prior experience in health. They just need to be over 18, live in County Durham and be willing to share public health information with their friends, family, and people they know in the community.

Stephanie Smith

Dr. Marilyn Tam

Marilyn Tam, Ph.D. is a Speaker, Author, Consultant, Board Certified Executive/Corporate Coach. She was formerly the CEO of Aveda Corp., President of Reebok Apparel and Retail Group; Vice President of Nike Inc. and also a successful entrepreneur who has built four companies.

Marilyn is a contributing writer to Huffington Post on how to live a happy, healthy, successful, and dynamically balanced life. Brand Channel lists her as one of the four most prominent names in Ethical Business globally. She is one of the top 100 leadership speakers in the world according to Inc Magazine. Brand Channel lists her as one of the four most prominent names in Ethical Business globally.

Her life is an inspiring example of what can be achieved if one followed their dreams. She grew up as an abused and neglected child in Hong Kong. She left home as a teen to come to America alone. Following her life mission, she achieved international business and humanitarian success.

Marilyn was recognized as one of the Top 30 Female Entrepreneurs in the USA by Fempreneur magazine. Jack Canfield detailed her work in his book on the strategies for success, “The Success Principles”.

Among her numerous recognition and awards is the Artemis Award from the Greek Government and Euro-American Women’s Council, with her image on a Greek postage stamp. Marilyn is featured in many documentary movies including GLOW Project, The Compass, Tapping the Source, and FEMME for her accomplishments and inner wisdom.

Marilyn’s award winning and top rated business book, “The Happiness Choice”, shows how and why happiness is crucial for business productivity and success, and for your physical, emotional, spiritual and financial health. Her book, “How to Use What You’ve Got to Get What You Want”, is published in six languages.

www.marilyntam.com

Bill Tobin

Bill Tobin joined the Rotary in 2004 and has been involved with ShelterBox for 15 years, initially as a ShelterBox Volunteer Ambassador, where he earned a Presidential Volunteer Service Award 7 times.  After retiring from a distinguished 30-year career as an inspector of nuclear power plants, Bill transitioned to the nonprofit sector, became certified in Non-Profit Management through the University of the Pacific, and joined ShelterBox staff as Rotary Relations Manager at ShelterBox USA in January 2019.

A well-spoken storyteller, Bill has shared the ShelterBox mission with over 450 Rotary Clubs. He has been a keynote speaker, and facilitator for Rotary President-Elect Seminars, District Conferences, and Zone Institutes. He has also coordinated ShelterBox leadership training events for major corporations including AirBnb and Tokio Marine, a global insurance group.

Bill has held most Club roles including President in 2010-11. His District service is admirable, having served terms as Action Groups Chair, Interact Chair, Assistant Governor, Youth Services Chair, Polio+ Chair, and Membership Chair. Bill was recognized as “Rotarian of the Year” by Rotary District 5180 in 2016-2017 for his active and devoted service to Rotary and his unwavering commitment to ShelterBox.Bill and his wife Sherie are major donors to The Rotary Foundation. 

Melissa Hunt Trikilis

Volunteer Efforts: Uganda Development Initiative – Sponsored a child from Primary School thru College with continued mentoring. Top fundraiser for the LA Gulu Walk, bringing attention to the plight of child soldiers. Past Parent  Board of John Thomas Dye School and Marlborough School.. Past Parent volunteer at Westwood Presbyterian Church.  I participated in starting a school lunch and school supplies program with Athletes and Entertainers for Kids at the 102nd street school in Los Angeles. I’m a member of the Los Angeles Conservancy and I recently signed up with Meals On Wheels and will start delivering meals on March 10.

I’m interested in helping children in Los Angeles and around the world however I can.  I’m also interested in water preservation and clean water for all in addition to a variety of other issues.

Rosemary Uzzo

Dr. Rosemary J. Uzzo is a distinguished international educational administrator, educator, and author with a passion for empowering students and enhancing their educational experiences. Her career has spanned across various roles and organizations, reflecting her commitment to education and community development.

As a former President of the School of Education Alumni Association at Fordham University in New York City and the Fordham Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, Dr. Uzzo has played a pivotal role in fostering educational excellence. She has also served as a Board Member of the Lower Hudson Council of Administrative Women in Education (LHCAWE), contributing to the advancement of women in educational leadership positions.

Beyond her educational contributions, Dr. Uzzo has been involved in supporting the arts and community initiatives. She was a Vice President of Yonkers Arts, an organization dedicated to promoting and nurturing the arts in Yonkers, New York. Notably, she played a part in the creation of “Yonkers Art Spots,” a valuable map that showcases over 70 locations for architecture, performance, and art in Yonkers.

Dr. Uzzo’s dedication to staying informed about global educational issues has led her to be an active member of the Association of Supervisors and Curriculum Developers (ASCD). Her extensive experience in education led to co-authoring educational materials such as “Exploring New York Activity-Text” and “Shenmo Mental Mathematics,” which focuses on using the abacus as a tool for intellectual and mathematical brain development.

Throughout her career, Dr. Uzzo has received numerous awards and honors, highlighting her contributions to education and her community. These include the Jenkins Honorary Life Membership Award from the New York State Council of PTAs, the Marion Jackson Award of Merit from the Westchester County Democratic Committee, and the Working Women of Westchester (WoW) award.

Her involvement in various boards and organizations continues to make a significant impact. Dr. Uzzo serves on the Advisory Board of the Yonkers Basics movement, the Academic Advisory Board of the Qingdao Baishan School in Qingdao, China, and the Advisory Board of Voices for African Mothers, which focuses on women’s education and empowerment in Ghana. Additionally, she is part of the Belt and Road International Business Federation, promoting cultural understanding and global prosperity.

Dr. Uzzo’s international experiences include teaching and consulting in countries such as El Salvador, Australia, Italy, and various cities in China. She is also active in global activism, participating in initiatives like President Carter’s Friendship Force and the United Nations Hunger Project.

In her local community of Yonkers, New York, Dr. Uzzo remains deeply engaged in political, economic, and cultural activities. She actively contributes to the betterment of her community while continuing to inspire and support students’ educational journeys both locally and globally.

Nienke van Bezooijen

Nienke was born in 1967, a mile from the International Peace Palace in the Hague, the Netherlands. But it took 50 years before she found herself ready to contribute to peace with programs in listening, heartbased connections and communication skills. In her program in 2022, Building Bridges- Connecting Worlds, she took her first global steps to bring peace by building bridges. Her friend and business partner, Daeyoung Kim, invited her to visit Korea in October 2024. This bridging East and West 2 weeks opened her heart even further for the Korean culture and people, particularly the Silsangsa Indramang Sengmyeong community in Jiri mountains. With The Rotary e-club she loves to share her journey at the DMZ between North and South Korea and the peacebuilding activities of the Silsangsa Indramang Sengmyeong community in Jiri mountains. About Nienke Co-founder of the Phoenix-Frequencies.com Trainer, consultant, and mentor and podcast host. Heartambassador and International HeartMath coach and trainer Founder of Presentation-Master professional public speaker coach and trainer, TEDx specialist.

Sofie VanLonden

Advocaat (NL) & Solicitor NSW (AU) Data Technology: law & ethics & Renewable Energy |Executive Director | Non-Executive Director | General Counsel

Paul Vercammen

Paul Vercammen is the communications director for one of the world’s most decorated and effective relief organizations, ShelterBox USA. Charity Navigator gives ShelterBox a top rating. He pushes out messages of life-changing response after calamity by working with colleagues spanning multiple countries and several continents.
Paul led ShelterBox response to help in the Eaton Fire Zone in Altadena by assessing needs and literally handing out necessary supplies. He recruited impactful speakers for Women’s Day event, including pioneering LA County Fire Captain Sheila Kelliher.
He honed his skills as a rare hybrid reporter/producer who created high impact content for CNN on the television and digital platforms, the # 1 digital news source across all measurements including “We can always count on Paul to deliver,” said CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “He is solid and knows news, and his track record proves it.”
His breaking news reporting offered more than let’s say, acres burned. In the Paradise Fire, he told the story of a heroic bus driver rescuing 22 school children.
His work generated millions of impressions and forecast coming news stories, such as the parole of O.J Simpson months before he walked, or the Montecito Mudslide, a week before the hills gave way.
Paul was seen everywhere from elections, to court cases, to natural disasters. His compassionate reporting on Hurricane Harvey, got excerpted as a positive “Zen moment” on the Daily Show.
His election coverage included exclusive announcements of primary and general voting results. He has tracked down and interviewed Sarah Palin live at an Alaska hockey rink and reported live on cheering Bernie Sanders’ fans celebrating in High School gymnasiums out West.
CNN also gave him time to craft stories of human connection.
He has won five Emmy awards. He received Peabody awards for contributions to the CNN coverage of the Gulf Oil Spill and contributions to CNN election coverage.
Paul now is thrilled to facilitate coverage of ShelterBox.

Chantelle Vo (Doerksen)

Chantelle Doerksen is a Rotary Peace Fellow alumnus (Queensland, Class X), past MBBI Chair, and return Peace Corps Volunteer (Paraguay). She currently works for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) as a senior coordinator for the Policy Development Support Department, working with an international network of volunteers. Her professional background includes experience working in business, community development, and public policy. In 2012, she graduated from the Rotary Peace Centre at the University of Queensland located in Brisbane, Australia. During her time as a Rotary Peace Fellow, her research focused on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and the role of women in decision-making and peace- making processes at local, national, and international forums. As a graduate student, she completed formal mediation training and worked with several Peace Fellows to host local community dialogues focused on building trust and fostering a sense of community. For her research project, Chantelle spent time with the United Nations Development Programme on local initiatives in the South Pacific. She co-authored a book chapter in 2016 that incorporated her research. For the Rotary Peace Fellowship, Chantelle was sponsored by Rotary District 5300 and by Karen Whisenhunt of the Las Vegas Rotary Club. In Australia, she was adopted by the Rotary Club of Brisbane High Rise and Rotary District 9600 (which covers not only part of Australia, but also Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Nauru). Chantelle remains active in community development projects in Los Angeles, California, where she lives with her husband (a local jazz musician/ educator) and their two-year old daughter.

Karyn Westervelt

Karyn Westervelt, Immediate Past President of Rotary E Club of World Peace.

Karyn has been deeply involved in Rotary since joining the Rotary Club of Lake Arrowhead Mountain Sunrise in 2007. She served as Club President in 2009-10.

Her focus in Rotary has been on our youth, working with the Boys and Girls Club, Rotary Youth Camps, various Literacy and Training Programs.

Karyn’s first International Convention was in 2008. It was when she realized the enormous power of Rotary to end polio and change the world.

In 2015-16, her husband, Rudy, served as the Rotary International District 5330 Governor. Together they visited all 62 Rotary clubs in the Inland Empire and met hundreds of Rotarians with exciting new ideas.

January 15-16, 2016, Rudy convened the Rotary World Peace Conference. She helped him and the conference was a huge success. Many compared it to an international convention with over a dozen tracks and over 100 speakers and facilitators working to develop solutions to major issues happening in our communities.

She has started working with Rudy and others on the Rotary World Peace Conference 2020.

Karyn is very excited about being president of the Rotary Club of World Peace for 2018-19. Emmanuel has been a marvelous president and he, Karyn and Derek Moore, president, 2019-20 are now working together to continue the club’s success and growth.

Rudy and Karyn have five grandchildren living in four different states. They enjoy RI Conventions, working to promote peace and travel.

Rudy Westervelt

Rudy Westervelt, Club Member & Advisor, Rotary District 5330 Governor 2015-16, Convener of the Rotary World Peace Conference 2016, CEO of Power in Learning. Programs Chair for the 2017 Presidential Peace Conference at the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta. Programs Chair for the 2017 Zone 25-26 Institute in Reno. Advisor to the 2017-18 Rotary International Conference Series. Convener of Rotary World Peace Conference 2020. President of Solutions for Peace Foundation, Inc.

Rudy earned his B.S. from Cornell University, his M.S. from the University of Connecticut. He has numerous scientific publications and has given presentations and led training sessions around the country. For 30 years he led manufacturing plants and distribution centers for The Kroger Co.  He currently operates his own company, Power in Learning and is a sought after consultant across the food industry and a training facilitator and team building leader for all leadership teams.

David Wick

David Wick has held the vision and values of personal and societal evolution to our highest and best. He currently serves as:

Rotary E-Club of World Peace, President 2021-2022

Ashland Culture of Peace Commission, Executive Director

Pathways To Peace, Director

David Wick’s work with young people began in Santa Cruz, CA. In 1974, after counseling troubled youth for three years in the Santa Cruz Juvenile Hall, he founded Youth Services in Santa Cruz and Watsonville. It is still going strong today as an essential multi-million dollar organization. Based on the dynamic early years of Youth Services he authored a chapter in the recently published book, “The Origins of Neuro Linguistic Programming.”

In 1983 David helped launch the United Nations NGO, Pathways To Peace (PTP) which had assisted the adoption of the UN’s International Day of Peace in 1981. David has been a leader in organizing the celebration of the International Day of Peace since 1984. While working at Stanford University, in 1985 he founded the ten year-long PTP Peace Within Organizations program and in 1995 co-founded the visionary project Peace Building Through Business which led to being a leading member of a five year international think tank on the future role of business in the 21^st Century. He has been the Team Leader of the global Culture of Peace Initiative (CPI), a UN-designated “Peace Messenger Initiative”, of which Pathways To Peace serves as the Secretariat. Building upon his knowledge and experience, David co-lead the development of the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission (ACPC) and currently serves as its Executive Director, engaging the Ashland community in new ways of thinking and behavior, and developing a local – global model other cities may benefit from.

In his previous role as Vice President of Southern Oregon China Connection, David has been an essential initiator in developing a growing economic, educational and cultural bridge between Oregon and China and worked closely with Oregon’s legislators and the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco. David focuses on leadership development and international relations and in the related position of Adjunct Professor, School of Business, Southern Oregon University he co-taught the Leaders Growth Series. David also worked in the Public Diplomacy area through placing foreign exchange students in high schools and with host families in Southern Oregon.

David has over 30 years of executive and management training and organizational development consulting experience, and has held important positions within Sun Microsystems, Stanford University, Levi Strauss and the European Foundation for Management Development (efmd). He has designed extensive international training programs and has received accolades in both the business and peacebuilding arenas.

David’s previous experiences are culminating in his leadership as President, Rotary E-Club of World Peace, July 1, 2021-June 30, 2022 where he has the opportunity to assist the top international service organization toward its expanding goals in global peacebuilding and the Culture of Peace, Ashland, OR

Kristine Ina Winter

Ina grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska and received her education from the University of Nebraska. She holds Batchelor of Science degrees in Mathematics and Civil Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering with an emphasis in Engineering Management. Ina’s career spanned nearly 30 years with the Nebraska Department of Roads (now the NDOT) where she fulfilled various roles from field surveyor to district engineer. Ina retired in 2011, moved to Hot Springs, South Dakota with late husband Brad Winter and is now devoting her time to volunteer activities and personal pursuits.
Among those – past and present – are serving on the Board of Directors for a new animal humane society in an area previously without shelter services; serving Rotary as club treasurer, executive secretary, club president for two clubs, District Membership Chairperson for District 5650, District Grants Subcommittee Chairperson and District Governor for District 5610;
currently serving as President of the Board of Directors of our local critical access hospital. Interests include gardening, reading, martial arts, travel, hiking, and the study of obscure and rare crafts such as nålbinding, tatting, and paper making. Ina joined Rotary because of PolioPlus and its peace mission. She has been on NIDs to Nigeria, Mali, and Chad and wants to turn her attention to furthering RI peace efforts.

Mark Zober

Mark joined the Rotarian Action Group for Peace (RAGFP) Board because he believes that Rotarians have, are and will continue to effectively promote peace and conflict resolution/prevention through humanitarian service. He is confident that the Rotarian Action Group for Peace (RAGFP) will bring greater focus to Rotarian PeaceBuilding initiatives, muster the needed resources and talent to achieve greater understanding, goodwill and peace in our communities and conflict zones around the world.

Mark serves The Rotary Foundation as a Technical Coordinator for the Cadre of Technical Assistance Advisers in the Area of Focus: Peace & Conflict Resolution/Prevention. He has served as President of the Jerusalem Rotary Club RY 2009-10, was a Presidential Citation Awardee RY 2009-10 and received the District Outstanding Service Shield in RY 2009-10 & RY 2012-13. He is currently serving as the Chair of the Club Services Committee RY 2012-14, and was the Club Secretary RY 2004-5 as well as the Club Bulletin Editor for six years and Webmaster RY 2003-present. Mark has been named District TRF Fund Raising Chair in RY 2014-15.

He and his wife, PP Dr. Marilyn Farber, are Rotary Foundation (TRF) Major Donors, Benefactors, Bequest Society members and Multiple Paul Harris Fellows. Mark has also served Rotary as District Chair Peace Projects RY 2004-5, and served two terms as the Chair, International Fellowship of Rotarian Editors and Publishers (ROTARY IFREP) RY 2007-08 & 2012-13. Mark served as District Chair Rotary Friendship Exchange (RFE) RY 2010-13 reestablishing this program after a 23 year hiatus. Mark is the Co-founder and Past Co-Chair of the Rotary Leadership Institute (Israel Division).

At present, Mark is a Director on the Paul Harris Peace Forest Board of Directors RY 2012-15, the Zone Institute (Jerusalem) Coordinator for Sergeants-at- Arms services (November 2013), the District Program Coordinator for Rotary Services RY 2013-14, The Rotary Foundation (TRF) Technical Advisor (Microfinance, Community and Economic Development), The Rotary Foundation (TRF) Technical Coordinator (Peace & Conflict Resolution/Prevention) RY 2012-15.

Over the span of his career, Mark has worked with diverse organizations in the USA and in Israel: U.S. Peace Corps Country Director, the United Nations Development Program Senior Advisor, Jewish Federation and Community Center Executive Director and in various Ministries for the State of Israel: Division Director, Research and Program Evaluation, Ministry of Social Affairs. He has lectured and taught at prestigious educational institutions including Hebrew University, Haifa University, Cornell University, Brandeis University and Boston University.

Mark received his Ph.D. in Social Welfare at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA (USA). He also holds a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (Economic and Social Development) in Pittsburgh, PA (USA), and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science (with concentrations in Economics and Sociology) from San Diego State University in San Diego, CA (USA).

Honorary Members

Sala Sweet

Al Jubitz

Bill Timpson

Ann Frisch

Samantha Henry

Patricia McCleese

Richard Denton

Dee Boswell

Dennis Wong

Patricia Froh

In Memory of Members:

Henry Oster

Henry Oster was born Heinz Oster on November 5, 1928 in Cologne, Germany to Hans and Elisabeth Oster. He entered grade school in 1934 and in 1935, the Nurumberg laws prohibited Jewish students from attending school and Henry was expelled.

In October of 1941, Henry and his parents were forced on a train and sent to the Lodz Ghetto. He lived in a single room with 18 other people with no modern facilities. His father died of starvation within 6 months.  In 1944, Henry and his mother were forced into cattle cars and transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau Death Camp. Henry was selected for the work camps and his mother was immediately murdered in the gas chambers.

Henry was tattooed with the number B-7648.  Working 16 hours per day in the stables, Henry was able to avoid selection for the gas chambers on three more occasions.  With the Soviet Army advancing, Henry survived a Death March to the train station and transported in an open cattle car to Buchenwald Concentration Camp.  A thousand Jewish boys were rounded up to work in the quarries.   From April 1 to 11, Henry and the other inmates were given no food. On April 11, 1945, General George Patton’s U.S. Third Army liberated Buchenwald.

Henry was sent to an orphanage in France and was able to reach the United States in 1946 to join his uncle in Los Angeles.   Today, Henry shares his personal testimony as a speaker at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

Henry’s message to all of us is “Be aware of how easily people can be persuaded to commit genocide if nobody speaks up against it.”

Jerry Levin

Birmingham resident, Jerry Levin and former television network journalist, is an author and public speaker advocate/activist on behalf of peacebuilding nonviolence as a way of life at both the micro and macro level of human relations. The former WBRC-TV News Director, while serving as Cable News Network (CNN) Middle East Bureau Chief based in Beirut, Lebanon was kidnapped in early 1984 by Hezballah and became the first of the so-called forgotten American hostages. He was able to escape eleven-and-a-half months later on Valentine’s Day 1985 due to the nonviolent strategies developed by his Birmingham native wife’s, Dr. Lucille (Sis) Levin and her team of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian friends at home and in the Middle East.

While in captivity, he had a profound spiritual and philosophical awakening. After a sudden insight about what he labels “the futility of violence” and motivated by his intense contemplation of Jesus’ teachings about human behavior, he moved from paying lip service to the belief that at times violence has its uses to becoming an anti-violence activist on behalf of unconditional nonviolent living. A member of the global violence prevention organization, CPT (Christian Peacemaker Teams), he and his wife served for many years in the Israel’s occupied territories trying to help defenseless Palestinians withstand the impoverishing and expropriating effects of the Israeli Army’s colonial rule of the West Bank and its ghettoization of Gaza. In 2003 The Levins were also on the ground serving as human shields against the U.S. bombing of Baghdad during the opening months of the second Gulf War.

At home he has become involved in local racism, poverty, and homelessness issues and causes, co-founded the Birmingham Committee to Protect the Homeless, and was a guest lecturer in the Introduction to Peace Studies course his wife taught at the University of Alabama, Birmingham.

Along with his wife, Jerry Levin was the recipient of the 2009 Dali Lama’s Wisdom in Action: Unsung Heroes of Compassion Award. In 2016 his name was placed in nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize causing him to say he should not to be considered because there were and are clearly many more people and organizations who have given and risked far more than he in the name of nonviolent peace and justice. He is also a recipient of Life Memberships in the Radio and Television News Directors Association, and the Foreign Press Association of the United States

He has written about his conversion to nonviolence in Reflections On My First Noel and his experiences in the Middle East in West Bank Diary: Middle East Violence as Reported by a Former American Hostage. The story of his wife’s efforts to free him was told in the motion picture, Held Hostage, starring Marlo Thomas. It premiered on ABC Television on the Sunday evening before the first Gulf War began in January 1991.

Upon their return to Birmingham, the Dean of the Episcopal Cathedral Church of The Advent asked the Levins to serve as his Pre Marital Counselors (they are professionally trained, certified servers in this field). Dr. Levin, a long time Rotarian International member, joined her husband of forty years in accepting membership in the Rotary E Club of World Peace. Together they have made over one thousand talks on Healing the Dysfunctioning Family of Abraham both here and abroad.

Sigurd Wathne

Sig Wathne, a Rotarian since 1980, Founder and former President of SIKAMA International, Inc. an electronic manufacturing company in Santa Barbara for the evolving Microelectronics and Semiconductor industries.

Sig’s interest in electronics started in high school, (Norway then under German occupation had confiscated ALL radios, if any were found, punishment was immediate death) Sig wanted to listen to the BBC, right across the waters. Outfoxing the Occupation powers, he obtained rolls of toilet paper, removed the paper, wound a coil on the core (Tuned to the Scotland frequency) glued in a Detector, clips (for ear plug, antenna and ground) placing the paper carefully back on the roll and alas, a crystal-set was born. At 8 PM every night was “Toilet time” for the latest progress of the Allied Forces. Almost a hundred were made, not a one was found! All due to tight lipped friends.1940 was the year Norway became drawn into World War II. On 9 April Nazi Germany invaded our country, which remained occupied until 8 May 1945.

“This was the beginning of 5 long years of torture,” said Santa Barbara resident and author Sig Wathne. I was 12 and my little brother was 2, asleep in the other room. We left LA during the depression and had returned to our Grandparents in Norway. Let’s make our opposition to war heard before war is once again a reality. Peace begins with me, is my motto for my life.

Dr. Lucille “Sis” Levin

Mountain Brook native, international peace activist and arts patron Sis Levin passed away Friday at the age of 89, her family confirmed. Dr. Lucille Hare (Sis) Levin was the founder of national and international educational endeavors focused on violence reduction and prevention — was a leading exponent of training teachers (preschool through University) in the techniques of systemically and comprehensively teaching students the concepts of nonviolent living.

“She was brilliant and a great writer,” Levin’s daughter Florence Selman said of her mother, who was passionate about the arts and activism.

Levin was the devoted spouse of Jerry Isadore Levin, a former Middle East Bureau Chief for CNN. She relentlessly pushed for his release after he was abducted by Hezbollah and held hostage for a year in Lebanon in the 1980s.

“My mother was a true steel magnolia. She could charm a bird from a tree, but look out if you crossed her,” said daughter Suzelle Smith.

“Heaven definitely became a more interesting place last Friday when Sis walked through the pearly gates.” Levin was known for talking to anyone she met about international peace, whether they were a waitress or a hospital worker. “Her entire focus was peace, nonviolence, conflict resolution and love,” said Selman.

Sis Levin died in February at age 87. Selman was not told the exact cause of her mother’s death, but she believes it was a broken heart. “I’m sure they’re arm in arm,” said Selman of the Levins. “She wanted to be with him more than anything,” she said.

Avon Mattison

On Wednesday, October 13th, our club lost a lifelong peacemaker, Avon Mattison.  The world lost an amazing peacemaker.  Please send thoughts and prayers to her family and friends, whose lives are forever changed for the better because of the heart and mind of this loving woman.

Avon Mattison, President & Co-Founder/Steward of Pathways To Peace (PTP)

Avon Mattison was a Peacebuilding and Inter-Organizational Consultant, Advisor and Mentor with five decades’ experience. She worked with innovative leaders, groups and organizations on the “frontline” building a diverse regenerative Culture of Peace ~ inter-generationally and multi-culturally for the Common Good & future generations.

She was Co-Founder and President of Pathways To Peace (PTP), an international Peacebuilding, educational and consulting organization. PTP has Consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and is an official Peace Messenger Organization of the United Nations (UN). Avon had served as special advisor to United Nations Conferences, Declarations and Programmes, and also to renowned international leaders and emerging youth leaders.

Avon Mattison was also connected with the U.S. Foreign Service for three years in the European Community during the Cold War era. Through Pathways To Peace, she co- created the Culture of Peace Initiative in 1983/84 in colleagueship with former UN Assistant Secretary-General Robert Muller. This local/global Peacebuilding Initiative unites the strengths of over 4,000 international organizations and focuses co-operative Peacebuilding along diverse pathways/sectors.

Philip Hellmich, a member of the Rotary E-Club of World Peace, passed away Friday, April 1, 2022. Philip was a well-known peacebuilder and a force for goodness in the world. As the Director of Peace at The Shift Network, he was the chief architect of the Summer of Peace, Yoga Day Summit, and World Peace Library and was the co-lead faculty of the Peace Ambassador Training. Philip was also a published writer, including his book God and Conflict: A Search for Peace in a Time of Crisis, and presented nationally and internationally, including at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum. He was an active member of the Yogananda community. Philip lives on in our hearts.

Dr. Vana Prewitt

Partnering for Peace

In loving memory of our dear friend and former board member, Dr. Vana Prewitt, a dedicated Rotarian and Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. Vana’s journey with the Peace Corps began in Liberia in 1983, where she served with passion and commitment until 1986.

Later in life, Dr. Vana Prewitt embraced a second Peace Corps adventure as a Knowledge Management expert in St. Lucia, West Indies, supported by United Nations funds. She found solace and purpose in Laborie, a charming fishing village in the south. Through her experiences, Dr. Vana Prewitt transcended borders, adopting the identity of a Global Citizen and leaving an indelible mark on the world.

Her legacy as a Rotarian and Peace Corps Volunteer will forever inspire us at Partnering for Peace. May Dr. Vana Prewitt’s adventurous spirit and dedication to global harmony be a beacon for all. Rest in peace, dear Vana.