Our People

The Board of Directors and Staff of The Initiative work together to ensure that the programs developed by The Initiative are reflective of our mission.

Board of Directors

Professor Mari Fitzduff, Chair
Ireland/Britain
Director 
MA Program in Coexistence and Conflict at Brandeis University

Dekha I. Abdi
Kenya
National Coordinator
Nomadic Pastoralists Development Initiative

Dr. Gaya Gamhewage, Vice Chair
Sri Lanka
Training Officer
Emergency and Humanitarian Action
World Health Organization

Dr. Meenakshi Gopinath
India
Honorary Director
Women in Security Conflict Management and Peace (WISCOMP)

Barbara Merson, Treasurer
USA
Executive Director
The ISEF Foundation

Roelf Meyer
South Africa
Chairman
Civil Society Initiative of South Africa

Stella M. Sabiiti
Uganda
Executive Director
Centre for Conflict Resolution (CECORE)

Alan B. Slifka
USA/Israel
Managing Principal, Halcyon/Alan B. Slifka Management Co., LLC
Chairman
The Abraham Fund Initiatives

Paul van Tongeren
The Netherlands
Executive Director
European Centre for Conflict Prevention and Transformation

Board Biographies

Professor Mari Fitzduff
Director, MA Program in Coexistence and Conflict at Brandeis University
Previously, Mari Fitzduff was Professor of Conflict Studies and Executive Director of UNU/INCORE (International Conflict Research), which was set up in 1993 by the University of Ulster and the United Nations University. The aim of INCORE is to address the management of conflict through an integrated approach using research, training, policy, program, and practice development. From 1990-1997, she was Director of the Community Relations Council (CRC), set up in 1993 and funded by the EU and the British Government. The aim of the CRC was to develop programs of conflict resolution with statutory and business bodies, trade unions, politicians and community groups in Northern Ireland. She has also worked as a consultant on conflicts in the Middle East, Indonesia, the Caucausus, Sri Lanka, and the Basque country. She is the author of 'Community Conflict skills' a source book for group skills in intercommunal conflict, and of 'Beyond Violence: Conflict Resolution Processes in Northern Ireland.

Dekha Ibrahim Abdi
National Coordinator, Nomadic Pastoralists Development Initiative, Kenya
Dekha Ibrahim Abdi is a peace and development worker from the Wajir District of Northern Kenya. She was the founding member and coordinating Secretary of the Wajir Peace and Development Committee. She has worked in various capacities as head teacher, coordinator of peace and development issues and trainer in both peace and development, within Kenya and internationally. She is now working part-time with COPA/RTC as the Policy and Learning Advisor coordianting the Linking Practise to Policy Project Linking for African communities of peacebuilders In Kenya, Uganda, Somaliland, and South Africa.

Dr. Gaya Gamhewage
Training Officer, Emergency and Humanitarian Action - World Health Organization, Sri Lanka
Dr. Gaya Gamhewage currently works in the department of Emergency and Humanitarian Action at the World Health Organization's headquarters in Geneva. She is responsible for training emergency preparedness and prevention, emergency management, and post emergency recovery in natural and man-made disasters. Before taking up her present post, Dr. Gamhewage worked for Save the Children UK and Save the Children Norway in Sri Lanka where she was head of Advocacy and Communication. There she headed an award-winning national media campaign on the impact of armed conflict on children. She was also a key member of an inter-agency initiative: "Children as Zones of Peace". Over the last four years she has helped pilot WHO's initiative on "Health as a Bridge for Peace" in both Sri Lanka and Indonesia. As Director Community Health for Sri Lanka's largest NGO which works in over 10,000 communities and villages, Dr. Gamhewage has worked on psychosocial and peace promotion issues, human rights and community health with children affected by armed conflict, survivors of torture, the military, youth, elderly and other groups. Her interests and specialization are: children and conflict situations, human rights, community healing, coexistence, gender issues, conflict resolution, peace education, promotion of peace building through health and rural development. Dr. Gamhewage is a medical graduate of the Beijing Medical University in the People's Republic of China and has received educational and professional training in the United Kingdom, the USA, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. 
 
Dr. Meenakshi Gopinath
Honorary Director, Women in Security Conflict Management and Peace (WISCOMP), India
Meenakshi Gopinath is currently Principal, Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi, where she also teaches at the Department of Politics. She is also Founder and Honorary Director of WISCOMP (Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace), an initiative that seeks to promote the leadership of South Asian women in the areas of peace, security and regional cooperation. She is Co-Chair of the Academic Advisory Committee at the University of Peace, Costa Rica, and is a member of multi-track peace initiatives in Kashmir and between India and Pakistan including the Neemrana Peace Initiative, Dostaana e' Kashmir and the Pakistan India Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy. She is the author of Pakistan in Transition and has contributed chapters and articles in several books and journals on Gandhi, the politics of Pakistan, and the arts. Her interests include issues of human rights and gender, conflict resolution and Buddhist philosophy. In recognition of her contribution to the field of women's education and empowerment, she has received several awards including the Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi Award, the Shiromani Mahila Award and the Delhi Citizen Forum Award. Dr. Gopinath serves on the Governing Boards of research institutes, NGOs and educational institutions. She has been a Fulbright scholar and has received several fellowships including the Australian International Education Foundation Fellowship for 1996-97 and the University Grants Commission Indo-Israel Exchange Program 1994-96. 

Roelf Meyer
Civil Society Initiative of South Africa, Chairman, South Africa
Roelof Petrus (Roelf) Meyer was born on July 16, 1947 in the Eastern Cape. He practiced as an attorney in Pretoria and Johannesburg until 1980. In August 1979 at the age of 32, he was elected Member of Parliament. He served as Chairman of the Standing Committee on National Education, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Constitutional Development, and as a Whip. From December 1986 to August 1991, he served as Deputy Minister of Law and Order and, subsequently, as Deputy Minister of Constitutional Development. He served as Minister of Constitutional Development and of Communication (May 1992 to May 1994); in this capacity, he served as the Government’s Chief Negotiator at the Multi-Party Negotiating Forum in Kempton Park, where national consensus on a new Constitution was reached with the subsequent historical elections of April 1994. After the elections, he was appointed Minister of Provincial Affairs and Constitutional Development in the Government of National Unity. He resigned from the National Party and Parliament at the end of May 1997 and became involved in the New Movement Process. On September 27, 1997, a new political party was launched, the United Democratic Movement (UDM), of which he was the co-leader. The UDM was elected to Parliament where Meyer served as Deputy President of the party and as Member of Parliament until his resignation at the end of January 2000. Meyer is currently the Chairman of the Civil Society Initiative (CSI) of South Africa. During 2000 he became more involved in corporate business and in 2001 be became a Director of TILCA. He is currently Executive Chairman of TILCA Infrastructure Corporation (Pty) Ltd and is also involved in a strong international marketing drive of TILCA’s service offerings into Africa and the Middle and Far East, utilizing his vast network of business contacts and connections.
 
Stella Sabiiti
Executive Director, Centre for Conflict Resolution, Uganda
Stella Sabiiti has lived and worked in Kenya, Canada and the Netherlands, mainly co-ordinating African groups across the continent in peace programs as well as utilizing the media in peacebuilding. She initiated, developed and ran the Africa Desk of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) based in The Netherlands for nine years. This position included full responsibility for organizing conflict resolution, negotiation and mediation skills training throughout Africa. She has carried out extensive research on African traditional methods of conflict/dispute resolution and reconciliation in Uganda as well as on sources, types and impact of conflicts and mechanisms for handling such conflicts. She was involved in mediation and advocacy for the support of women in the peace process in the Great Lakes Region and Burundi and specifically the Peace House - Arusha. She also worked with UNICEF on the plight of the abducted children in the north, coordinated the production of campaign theme songs for children in armed conflict and violence against women in Africa, and worked with the UNDP to promote peace through development. Among the special groups she works with are: former rebels, ex-soldiers and warriors in cattle-rustling communities. 
 
Alan B. Slifka
Managing Principal, Halcyon/Alan B. Slifka Management Company; Chairman, The Abraham Fund Initiatives, USA/Israel
Alan B. Slifka is a New York investment manager and philanthropist who is the Managing Principal of Halcyon/Alan B. Slifka Management Company LLC, an asset management firm specializing in corporate event investing. It currently manages fifteen investment entities consisting of in excess over one billion in equity capital. Prior to this, he was a partner of L.F. Rothschild & Co., Inc. Long active in business, civic and philanthropic affairs, he serves on several corporate boards including The Pall Corporation. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of GTS (Global TeleSystems Group, Inc.), who provides advanced telecommunication services to businesses in the emerging markets of Eurasia. He is founding Chairman and member of the Board of Directors of the Big Apple Circus, a Director of the Abraham Joshua Heschel School and a member of the Executive Committee of the American Jewish Congress. He is Chairman of The Abraham Fund, which he co-founded in 1989 as the first and only public foundation whose sole purpose is to further coexistence between Israel's Jewish and Arab citizens through support of programs and projects in Israel. It is his belief that legitimization and enhancement of coexistence and coexistence programs between majority and minority, whether ethnic, tribal or religious, is currently the most essential yet under-supported need in the world.

Paul van Tongeren
Executive Director, European Platform for Conflict Prevention and Transformation, The Netherlands
Paul van Tongeren played a key role in the establishment of the European Platform for Conflict Prevention and Transformation. This NGO network evolved after the European Conference on Conflict Prevention in 1997, which was organized, amongst others, by him and brought together over 1,200 people from around the world. He has been involved in numerous Dutch NGOs in the field of development aid, peace and environmental organizations. For more than twenty years, he worked as program manager for the Dutch National Committee for International Co-operation and Sustainable Development (NCDO). Presently, he is the Executive Director of the European Platform for Conflict Prevention and Transformation, based in the Netherlands. This center functions as the secretariat of the European Platform and aims to stimulate collaboration and synergy among participating organizations through information exchange, education, lobby and advocacy activities. He is the initiator and coordinator of the publication People Building Peace 35 Inspiring Stories from Around the World that was launched at The Coexistence Initiative in Belfast 1999.

Staff 
 
Jennifer Kalule
Program Manager - Coexistence Center Uganda 

Craig Bischoff
Administrative Asssistant

Satya Ornstein
Information Technology Associate

Laia Grino
Research Intern

Elizabeth Howell
Research Intern

Sabrina Sadeghi
Outreach Coordinator

Marcelle White
Research Intern

Staff Biographies

Jennifer Kalule
Program Manager - Coexistence Center Uganda
Jennifer has been trained by The Center for Conflict Resolution (CECORE) - Uganda, in the role of the media in conflict resolution. She has worked with CECORE at various levels as a volunteer and a journalist. Prior to joining The Coexistence Initiative, she worked as an Information Officer at the Department of Information, Office of the President. She is specifically interested in ensuring that there is increased media coverage of coexistence issues, including encouraging journalists to take up coexistence as a field of specialization, just like the environment, health, and politics. Jennifer holds a BA in Mass Communication from Makerere University, Kampala and is currently undertaking a masters program in MSc Information Science at the same university. 

Craig Bischoff
Administrative Assistant
Craig studies NGO sector trends and practices at New York University's School of Continuing and Professional Studies, particularly organizations with an international focus, in preparation for receiving the Certificate in Nongovernmental Organizations. Before joining TCI Craig worked at Columbia University's Graduate School of Business and at the Home Instruction Program for Pre-School Youngsters. He has a BA in Political Science from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Satya Ornstein
Information Technology Associate
Satya is a graduate of Barnard College and holds a BA in Sociology and Women’s Studies. Prior to joining TCI, she worked in both academic and magazine publishing. She occasionally freelances as a Graphic Designer and Production Associate and is also Design Director for the magazine Wedding Dresses. She enjoys traveling and has spent time studying and volunteering in Central America. 

Laia Grino
Research Intern
Laia recently graduated from the University of Southern California, where she received a BA in International Relations. During her senior year she wrote her honors thesis, which compared the 1999 war in Kosovo and the 2001 conflict in Macedonia to determine what prevented the Macedonian conflict from escalating into war. She has taken this year off to gain some practical experience in the field, but plans to continue her graduate studies next year. She is interested in pursuing a Master's degree in conflict prevention and resolution, especially as it relates to societies divided along ethnic or religious lines.

Elizabeth Howell
Research Intern
Elizabeth recently graduated from Middlebury College with a BA in Sociology and Psychology. She enjoys travelling and being politically active, and has worked in a variety of capacities with autistic children. Her interest in the field of coexistence was piqued by participation in a cultural exchange program in Cuba and a study abroad program in Morocco. Elizabeth hopes to continue her studies within the next few years, pursuing advanced degress in either law or public policy.

Sabrina Sadeghi
Outreach Coordinator
Since the completion of degrees in International Studies and the Comparative History of Ideas at the University of Washington, Sabrina Sadeghi has pursued work on a number of projects in coexistence, intercultural exchange, and education. She worked as a Program Assistant for the American Cultural Exchange Junior Institute. She was International Programs Coordinator at the University of Washington, designing and implementing programs and curricula both for UW students in Asia, Africa, and Europe and for international visitors to the University. Most recently, Sabrina worked for Seeds of Peace, which brings together teenagers from regions of conflict to engage in coexistence programming, both as Development Assistant at their New York headquarters and as a counselor/facilitator-in-training at their International Camp in Maine.

Marcelle White
Research Intern
Marcel recently graduated from the Department of Peace Studies at The University of Bradford in England, with an MA in Conflict Resolution. She also holds a BA in European Law & Languages from the University of the West of England.  Marcel is originally from England, but has lived and worked in New York for a number of years. Before returning home to undertake her Masters Program, she worked for several years in the fields of Dispute Resolution and Cultural Exchange. Marcel previously lived in overseas in Spain where she studied Law and volunteered with a human rights organization. She is also trained in mediation and worked as a volunteer community mediator.

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