Bea Abrahams
Ms. Bea Abrahams is an independent contractor, specializing in the design and implementation of research and capacity development programmes on psychosocial support to survivors of human rights abuse and torture; forced migration; peacebuilding and community-centred truth-seeking and social justice initiatives. She has extensive experience in the management of large-scale, multiple-partner, multi-country programmes and has worked with international, national and local non-governmental organizations in South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. She also served as the Country Director in David Adams
While at Wesleyan University , and previously at Yale University
Lorna Juliet Amutojo
Ms. Lorna Juliet Amutojo is a Legal & Policy Analyst with special interests in matters of Peace, Conflict and Security; Gender; Human Settlements, Property and Women’s Land Rights; Gender & macro-economics among others. Lorna is currently the Executive Trustee of the Uganda Women’s Land Access Trust and Senior Partner of AA Partners, Legal Consultants & Co Advocates. She holds a Masters of Laws Degree Specialization in Law & Economics from Lorna worked as a Legal & Gender Consultant and Policy Analyst for UNDP Somalia in facilitating the Ministries of Women Development & Family Welfare in Somalia , Family Affairs & Social Development in Somaliland and Somalia , Punt Land
Winnie Byanyima
Winnie Byanyima, Director of the UNDP Gender Team, Bureau for Development Policy, was elected three times to the Uganda
Robert H. Forrester
Mr. Robert H. Forrester is President and CEO of The Newman’s Own Foundation, and Chairman and CEO of Newman’s Own, Inc., both founded by Paul Newman. Newman’s Own, Inc. is the premium
The Foundation is the owner of Newman’s Own, Inc., and all the intellectual property associated with Newman’s Own and Paul Newman and continues Mr. Newman’s commitment of donating all net profits and royalties earned by Newman’s Own, to charity. As of March 2010, the combined giving by Paul Newman and the Newman’s Own Foundation exceeds $290 million. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2005, he founded and was CEO of Payne, Forrester and Associates, LLC, a consulting group providing services to non-profits and philanthropic organizations in the areas of planning, management, governance, fundraising, and communications. During his tenure, the firm has served over 550 clients worldwide. Bob’s career spans over 40 years of work with non-profit and philanthropic organizations in North America, Europe, the Middle East, andAfrica . Board memberships include: The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, the University of Hartford Republic of Vietnam
Purdue University Chad Panzi Hospital
Robert H. Forrester
Mr. Robert H. Forrester is President and CEO of The Newman’s Own Foundation, and Chairman and CEO of Newman’s Own, Inc., both founded by Paul Newman. Newman’s Own, Inc. is the premium
The Foundation is the owner of Newman’s Own, Inc., and all the intellectual property associated with Newman’s Own and Paul Newman and continues Mr. Newman’s commitment of donating all net profits and royalties earned by Newman’s Own, to charity. As of March 2010, the combined giving by Paul Newman and the Newman’s Own Foundation exceeds $290 million. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2005, he founded and was CEO of Payne, Forrester and Associates, LLC, a consulting group providing services to non-profits and philanthropic organizations in the areas of planning, management, governance, fundraising, and communications. During his tenure, the firm has served over 550 clients worldwide. Bob’s career spans over 40 years of work with non-profit and philanthropic organizations in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and
Lee Ann De Reus
Dr. De Reus is the recipient of numerous awards from Penn State University Dominican Republic and Tanzania USA , the co-founder of Save Darfur: Central PA , and a recent addition to the ENOUGH Project’s national speakers bureau. She is a frequent guest speaker locally and nationally about global activism and women’s stories of resilience and hope in Darfur and Congo
Marita McComiskey
Dr. Marita McComiskey received her BA in Sociology from Eastern Connecticut State University and her PhD in Sociology from the University of Connecticut
For the last three years she has served as resident director/faculty advisor for the Honors in Cape Town Study Abroad Program where students participate in three-day a week internships at schools, hospitals, and other non-profit organizations in addition to taking 3 courses while living, working, and learning in South Africa. For this program Marita has designed and implemented pre-departure and re-entry courses as well as teaching “Global Perspectives on Race and Gender” which encourages students to use the insights gained during their study abroad experience to better analyze similar issues within the United States
Ms. Elaine Pearson, acting director of Human Rights Watch's Asia Division, supervises work across Asia , especially South East Asia . Based in New York , Pearson regularly briefs members of the media, government and UN officials regarding the organization's work in Asia . Prior to joining Human Rights Watch in 2007, she lived and worked in Asia for six years including Bangkok , Hong Kong, and Kathmandu . Pearson has specialized expertise in human trafficking and migration. She worked as a consultant for the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, and was research coordinator for the Asia Regional Trafficking in Persons Project. She led the first Trafficking Program at Anti-Slavery International in London Murdoch University , Australia
Rafael Pérez-Escamilla
Dr. Rafael Pérez-Escamilla is Professor of Epidemiology & Public Health and Director, Office of Community Health, Yale School of Public Health. He is also Director and PI of the Connecticut NIH EXPORT Center of Excellence for Eliminating Health Disparities among Latinos (CEHDL).
He received his MS in Food Science and his PhD in Nutrition from the University of California at Davis. His public health nutrition, food security, and health disparities research work has taken him all over the world.
He has published over 100 research articles and over 250 conference abstracts, book chapters, and technical reports. Prof. Pérez- Escamilla was a member of the 2009 Institute of Medicine/National Academy of Sciences Pregnancy Weight Gain Guidelines Committee, and is a member of the 2010 USA Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. He has served in the editorial boards of the Journal of Nutrition, the Journal of Human Lactation, and the Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition. Prof. Pérez-Escamilla is a trustee of the Pan American Health and Education Foundation based in Washington DC. He has been a senior advisor to community nutrition programs as well as household food security measurement projects funded by USDA, USAID, PAHO, UNDP, WHO, UNICEF, UNESCO, The World Bank and the Governments of Mexico and Brazil. Prof. Pérez-Escamilla has been a major advisor to over 30 masters and doctoral students
from all over the world and has been the research thesis mentor of five undergraduate honors students. Prof. Pérez-Escamilla is a nationally and internationally recognized scholar who has received numerous professional recognitions and awards as a result of his major contributions to his field of work.
Charles Prewitt
Charles Prewitt
Charles Prewitt supported World War II and served as a chemist with duPont including two years on the Manhattan Project. As a result of Hiroshima Eastern Connecticut State University
He had taught thirty-eight years in universities, ten of those in Asia, including six in Afghanistan , and eight in the peace studies program at the University of Connecticut Asia he wrote several textbooks. During retirement he has been active in a number of peace organizations and has been lecturing on peace topics from Massachusetts to Tennessee
Nasila Rembe
Professor Nasila Rembe holds the UNESCO “Oliver Tambo” Chair of Human Rights at the University of Fort Hare in Alice, South Africa. As UNESCO Chair, Rembe works assiduously to increase awareness of human rights issues among groups and institutions including the judiciary, the police, the military, school children, and traditional leaders.
He has established an extensive human rights documentation center and has made human rights informational materials accessible to the public. Rembe has served as Rockefeller Fellow at the Center for the Study of Human Rights, Columbia University, New York; North-South Dialogue Fellow, Institute of International Law and International Relations, Graz, Austria; and Guest Researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Human Rights, Oslo, Norway. His publications include Transforming South African Universities: Capacity Building for Historically Black Universities and Education for Human Rights and Democracy in Southern Africa, a UNESCO teachers’ resource manual.
Diane E. Sammons
She started her legal career as a young prosecutor at the renowned Manhattan District Attorney’s Office under the guidance of Robert Morganthau. Recently, she has come into the public eye with her representation of several Austrian anti-nuclear groups who are attempting to close a nuclear power station on the Southern border of the Czech Republic. Appearing in press conferences in Austria and the Czech Republic, her work in securing documentation through the Freedom of Information Act is providing a valuable resource to her clients who have been struggling for years to secure basic safety documents related to the nuclear plant. Her most recent endeavors include being appointed co-lead counsel in the first-ever class-action U.S slavery reparations case against corporations who benefited from slavery profits. This litigation was followed by the filing of a class-action suit against U.S. and European companies seeking reparations on behalf of victims of apartheid. She has recently been appointed as Chancellor (legal advisor) to the Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Newark where she oversees all legal matters for 113-church Diocese.
Sarah Santora
Ms. Sarah Santora has been with Foodshare for five years. As Community Involvement Coordinator she coordinates the educational, advocacy and volunteer programs. Recent initiatives include lobbying efforts on behalf of hungry people on a state and federal level. The Community Involvement Team also provides SNAP (food stamp) screening and applications help, schedules volunteer opportunities and coordinates the annual Foodshare Walk Against Hunger.
Joanne Sheehan
Keith Harmon Snow
Mr. Keith Harmon Snow is the 2009 Regent's Lecturer in Law & Society at the University of California Santa Barbara. Over the past decade, he has been recognized for his work in contesting official narratives on war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. He has also worked as a genocide investigator for the United Nations. An independent (non-corporate) freelance journalist and investigator whose work revolves around truth, freedom and equality, Keith is entirely dependent on individual donations and voluntary contributions to sustain his work. He has lived under the poverty line for over a decade, while continuing to work as a volunteer for non-profit humanitarian organizations. On his missions to Africa, Keith has provided food, medical supplies and basic health necessities to many, many indigent and suffering people. He is a believer in direct action, non-violent social protest, and civil disobedience.
Shyamala Raman
degree in Economics from the University of Madras. She joined the faculty of Saint Joseph College in 1983. Since 1994, she has directed the International Studies program. She has created a multidisciplinary undergraduate major in International Studies, established a Study Abroad program and has been actively connected with the K-12 community. She has also coordinated international exchanges and partnerships at Saint Joseph College, the most recent one being a part of a team that received a U.S. government partnership grant for teacher education in the Middle East.
She has taught a wide variety of courses in economics, international studies and finance. She has been awarded several grants for curriculum development and technology. She is the recipient of the 2001 Father John J. Stack Award for Teaching Excellence. She is strongly committed to demystifying, deconstructing and democratizing the discourse of economics and global issues. In June 2005, she served as the codesigner of a Professional Development Institute for Educators on Integrating Human Rights Into the High School Curriculum sponsored by the UNESCO Chair of Comparative Human Rights at the University of Connecticut. She has also served as a speaker on the Millennium Development Goals at four of the Annual Intergenerational Leadership Forum held each August by the UNESCO Chair in Comparative Human Rights at the University of Connecticut.
For seven summers, between 2002 and 2008, she served as the academic director of the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) Summer Institute in International/Global Studies for high school students held each summer at Saint Joseph College. She is a member of the Interagency Task Force on Trafficking in Persons was established by the Connecticut General Assembly in 2004 by Special Act 04-8. She serves as a director on several boards including the World Affairs Council of Connecticut, the National Conference on Community and Justice (West Hartford/Massachusetts Chapter), the Hill Center for World Studies, West Hartford Public Access TV, Connecticut Council for Interreligious Understanding, Inc. and on the advisory boards of Kumarian Press and the University of Connecticut Asian American Studies Institute. She founded the first South Asian women’s organization in the United States— SNEHA, Inc. She is an active member of Volunteers in Service to Education in India, Inc. In the spring of 2007, two community organizations in Connecticut recognized Dr. Shyamala Raman for her advocacy on women’s issues. She is a passionate advocate on several global and local issues.
Gillian Martin Sorensen
relationship, addressing audiences as diverse as Rotary International and the Air Force Academy; university students; staff and members of Congress; journalists and leaders of civil society.
From l997 to 2003, she served as assistant secretary-general for external relations on appointment by Secretary-General Kofi Annan. She was responsible for outreach to non-governmental organizations and was the contact point for the secretary-general with parliamentarians, the academic world, religious leaders and other groups committed to peace, justice, development and human rights. Prior to that, Mrs. Sorensen served from 1993 to 1996 as special advisor for public policy on appointment by Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, where her duties included directing the UN’s global 50th anniversary observances in 1995. She led the planning of conferences, debates, documentaries, concerts and exhibits; the preparation of books and curricular materials, and the coordination of the UN50 Summit at which 180 presidents and prime ministers participated. She is an experienced public speaker and often represented the World Organization in this
country and abroad.
Mrs. Sorensen earlier served for more than 12 years (1978-1990) on appointment by Mayor Edward I. Koch as New York city commissioner for the United Nations and Consular Corps, head of the city’s liaison with the world’s largest diplomatic community. Her responsibilities included matters related to diplomatic security and immunity, housing and education, and other cultural and business contacts between the host city and more than 30,000 diplomats. She secured federal reimbursement to New York for the costs of diplomatic protection, which continues to this day. Mrs. Sorensen is a graduate of Smith College and studied at the Sorbonne. In the fall of 2002, on leave from the UN, she was a Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government (Institute of Politics) at Harvard University. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow at the University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy. Previously, she served as a board member of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting on appointment by the president of the United States. In addition to her public service, she has been active in politics and was a delegate
to three national presidential conventions.
Deanna Zandt
