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Executive Director: Nicholas C. Martin

Nick is the Executive Director of UPEACE/US and has been with the organization since graduating from the Peace Education Masters program at UPEACE in 2006. Nick oversees all activities of the organization, both programmatic and operational, and is the chief liaison with the senior administrators at the University. His favorite role however is helping out with the DCPEACE afterschool program in local elementary schools. Nick is passionate about ideas and projects that connect the fields of education, peacebuilding, technology, and global citizenship and, over the past few years, has worked with closely with a number of organizations including Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, the Genocide Intervention Network (GI-NET), the United Nations Association for the United States (UNA-USA) and the Prague Security Studies Institute (PSSI). Nick holds a BA with honors from Swarthmore College and was recently selected as a 2009 Global Fellow by the International Youth Foundation for his track record as a young social entrepreneur.

Director of Programs: Rebecca Harned

Rebecca is an alumna of the University for Peace and the Director of Programs for UPEACE/US. In this capacity she supports all of UPEACE/US programming to ensure high quality & innovtive programming along with high integrity financial management. She is also a Partner of Energetics Development, a Washington, DC based consulting firm, where she works with government agencies, companies, and national associations dealing in energy, environment, and homeland security. Prior to working with UPEACE/US, she was the Program Coordinator at the Center for Sustainable Development based in Costa Rica. She also worked on a multitude of other projects in conjunction with the American Friends Service Committee and other nongovernmental organizations in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Cuba. She holds a M.A. in International Peace Studies specialized in Economic Development from UPEACE and a B.A. in Biology from Colby-Sawyer College with a concentration in sustainable economic development.

DCPEACE Program Manager: Indhika Jayaratnam

Indhika Jayaratnam is Director for the PeaceRooms program, a collaborative learning project that uses online social networking as a platform for facilitating cross-cultural dialogue on conflict transformation, peace, and global awareness. She oversees curriculum design, lesson planning and facilitation, and program evaluation. Prior to joining UPEACE/US, Indhika worked at Center for Inspired Teaching, a nonprofit providing professional development for K-12 educators. Indhika is passionate about peace education, community-based peacebuilding, and contemplative approaches to conflict resolution. Indhika is a Masters student in International Peace and Conflict Resolution at American University. She holds a B.A. and M.A. in Cultural and Social Anthropology from Stanford University.

DCPEACE Program Manager: Tres Thomas

Cleophus Tres Thomas, III is a graduate student and research assistant at American University in the Master’s program for International Peace and Conflict Resolution based out the School of International Service. Thomas attained a Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Political Science. After graduation he served as an intern at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. His research covered the areas of international development and security through the Center for Global Prosperity and the Center for Future Security Studies. He now works with UPEACE/US as a Program Manager for peace education activities at Malcolm X Elementary School.

DCPEACE Program Advisor: Karen Douglass

Karen Douglass joined UPEACE/US in May 2009 after moving to DC to pursue a Masters in International Training and Education at American University. As part of the UPEACE/US team she implements the DCPEACE program at Malcolm X Elementary School which provides elementary school children with the conflict resolution skills to promote peace in their school and community. Karen received her B.A. in International Relations from Boston University where she graduated summa cum laude and studied in five nations. Prior to joining UPEACE/US Karen was the Sections Coordinator at the Boston Bar Association and worked at several non-profits in both Boston and Peru.

DCPEACE Program Advisor: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Kelsey Visser-Eason has been with UPEACE/US since the fall of 2007 and serves as an advisor to our Peace Education and Conflict Prevention program (DCPEACE). She is currently assisting with the implementation of DCPEACE at Malcolm X Elementary School, which encompasses educator trainings, student sessions, arts initiatives, curriculum enhancement, virtual partnerships, parent workshops, and program evaluation. Born in British Columbia Canada, Kelsey later moved to Florida and obtained her B.A. from Florida State University in International Affairs. She holds an M.A. in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from the School of International Service at American University. She is passionate about the institutionalization of peace both domestically and globally, and is honored to be working with UPEACE/US.

DCPEACE Coordinator: Diana Wells

Diana Wells serves as a coordiator for our DCPEACE Program. She supports the planning and implementation of teacher trainings, after school workshops, and in-school seminars. Diana holds a BA in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Social/Behavioral Sciences from Soka University of America, where her academic work centered on social movements and education. She has studied language and culture in Beijing and Nanjing, China. Diana's primary interest is international educational development, particularly for persons with disabilties. When not busy coordinating for DCPEACE, Diana also works at the National Geographic Museum as a visitor services representative. She is honored to be able to support UPeace/US.

Executive Intern: Emily Hunter Cohen

Emily is our executive intern for the spring of 2010. She supports the after school and in-school programmic aspects of DCPEACE. Emily is an International Relations and French double major at American University and graduates in May of 2010.She has studied international politics, cultural relations and education at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand and at La Sorbonne in Paris, France. Prior to joining UPEACE/US, Emily has worked with the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, in the public school system in Paris and with various community service organizations in the DC area. Emily is passionate about education as a means of fostering peace and international development.

Legal Counsel: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Stephanie J. Gliege is an alumna of the University for Peace, served as a faculty member in the department of International Law and Human Rights (2004-2006), and is a practicing attorney. She received a B.A. in Biology and Chemistry and after a short tenure as a NASA researcher, went on to earn her J.D. from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona (USA) where she was an associate editor on the Jurimetrics Journal of Law, Science, and Technology. She formerly held law clerk positions at the Federal District Court of Alaska, Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund and the San Francisco Baykeeper, the latter two being prominent environmental non-profit organizations based in San Francisco, California (USA). She currently practices with a small law firm in northern Arizona in estate planning, water utilities law, construction law, civil rights and family law.

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