Shamila Batohi

Shamila Batohi is the Senior Legal Advisor to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and head of the Legal Advisory Section. She is intricately involved in the development of the Sexual and Gender based Crimes Policy, the first policy on SGBC to be issued by an International Tribunal/Court, which was adopted in June of last year. Ms. Batohi is currently involved in developing the Policy on Children for the Office.

In 1995, Ms. Batohi was one of two prosecutors appointed to the Investigation Task Unit, a multi-disciplinary unit set up by President Mandela to investigate and prosecute allegations of State supported atrocities committed in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, during the apartheid era. The investigation culminated in the arrest and prosecution of a former Minister of Defense and 18 high ranking persons in the apartheid government. In 1998, she was appointed Deputy Attorney-General in KZN.

In November 2000, she was appointed Regional Head of The Directorate of Special Operations (DSO aka “The Scorpions”), in KwaZulu-Natal, a multi- disciplinary Unit set up within the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to fight the most serious organized crime in SA.

In April 2002, she was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions for the province of KwaZulu-Natal – the 1st female Provincial Director of Public Prosecutions in South Africa.

She was also part of the Transformation team in the post- apartheid NPA. She led the Restorative Justice and Community Prosecutions initiatives in the NPA, exploring proactive, long-term, sustainable crime solutions.

She has received the “Women Achiever of the Year 2000” Award from Department of Justice: KZN. She has also received an award from the Advice Desk for the abused in recognition of contribution towards raising awareness of the rights of women and the scourge of domestic violence in South Africa.

Stephen J. Rapp

Stephen J. Rapp is the former U.S. Department of State’s Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues in the Office of Global Criminal Justice. Prior to his appointment, he served as Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, where he led the prosecution of former Liberian President Charles Taylor. His office also achieved the first convictions in history for sexual slavery and forced marriage as crimes against humanity, and for attacks on peacekeepers and for recruitment and use of child soldiers as violations of international humanitarian law.

Prior to that, he served as Senior Trial Attorney and Chief of Prosecutions at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, where he led the trial team that achieved the first convictions in history against leaders of the mass media for the crime of direct and public incitement to commit genocide.

He received a B.A. from Harvard College and a J.D. from Drake Law School.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo

Luis Moreno-Ocampo was the first Prosecutor (June 2003–June 2012) of the new and permanent International Criminal Court (ICC). Under his supervision and leadership, his office was involved in twenty of the most serious crises of the 21st century, including Iraq, Korea, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Palestine. He conducted investigations in seven different countries, presenting charges against Muammar Gaddafi for crimes against humanity committed in Libya, the President of the Sudan Omar Al Bashir for genocide in Darfur, the former President of Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo, Joseph Kony, and the former Vice President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Jean Pierre Bemba.

Previously, Moreno-Ocampo played a crucial role during the transition to democracy in Argentina, as the deputy prosecutor in the “Junta trial” in 1985 and the Prosecutor in the trial against a military rebellion in 1991. He was a Visiting Professor at Stanford University, Harvard University, and “Distinguished Visiting Fellow” at New York University Law School.

After the end of his tenure as ICC Prosecutor, Moreno-Ocampo was the chairman of the World Bank Expert Panel on the Padma Bridge project. He is now in private practice at a New York law firm and Senior Fellow, Jackson Institute for Global Affairs at Yale University.

Zainab Hawa Bangura

Zainab Hawa Bangura of Sierra Leone is the United Nation’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict at the level of Under-Secretary-General and has held the position since June 22nd of 2012.

Prior to this, Ms. Bangura was the Minister of Health and Sanitation for the Government of Sierra Leone, and brings to the position over 20 years of policy, diplomatic and practical experience in the field of governance, conflict resolution and reconciliation in Africa. She was previously the second female Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, including Chief Adviser and Spokesperson of the President on bilateral and international issues.

She is an experienced results-driven civil society, human and women’s rights campaigner and democracy activist, notably as Executive Director of the National Accountability Groups, Chair and Co-founder of the Movement for Progress Party of Sierra Leone, as well as Coordinator and Co-founder of the Campaign for Good Governance.

Ms. Bangura is a former fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute of London, possessing Diplomas in Insurance Management from the City University Business School of London and Nottingham University. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone.

Niemat Ahmadi

A native of North Darfur, Sudan, Niemat Ahmadi is Founder and President of Darfur Women Action Group and the former Director of Global Partnerships for United to End Genocide. Ms. Ahmadi previously worked for the Save Darfur Coalition as a member of the coalition’s policy and government relation team. She is a founding member of the Darfuri Leaders Network, a coalition of over twenty U.S.-based Darfuri organizations working to promote peace and security in Darfur. She served as advisor at the seventh round of inter-Sudanese Darfur peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria in 2006.

A veteran human rights advocate, Ms. Ahmadi worked with international NGOs in various fields of emergency and development with a focus on women’s empowerment and capacity-building while in Sudan, including Oxfam Great Britain, Intermediate Technology Development Group (currently Practical Action), and the UN’s World Food Program. She also served as an executive member of the Darfur Assessment Mission, a consortium of six Sudanese NGOs in Khartoum, Sudan working on documenting human rights violations in Darfur at the time of the crises. Ms. Ahmadi led the Darfur Diaspora Association of East Africa in Kenya. She also participated in many regional forums, including but not limited to, African women conference for peace and security, and Sudanese women forum for peace.

While in college, Niemat established Darfur call for private education that seeks scholarships and raises funds to support the education of poor Darfurian students. She was also a founding member of the Darfur Student Association at Ahfad University, which seeks to secure scholarships and help students from Darfur receive tuition waivers. She was forced to leave her country after two attempts on her life because of her role in helping victims and being vocal about massive human rights abuses and the genocide in Darfur.

In 2007, Niemat received a fellowship from Ford Motor Company for leadership. She has been recognized by former President George W. Bush as one of the eight global human rights fighters for freedom of their people of the year in 2008.

While in the U.S., Niemat has traveled to over 24 states to tell her personal story and the stories of many other victims of the Darfur genocide to educate the American people about the current genocide in Darfur. Niemat has also testified about the Darfur genocide and the use of rape as a weapon of war before the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council, the U.S. Senate foreign relations committee and many international conferences.

Ms. Ahmadi earned an M.S. In Sustainable Development and a B.A. in Psychology and Pre-school Education from Ahfad University for Women in Khartoum.

Dr. Marja Lehto

Dr. Marja Lehto is the Senior Expert and Ambassador at the Legal Service of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. She was appointed as Head of the Finnish Embassy in Luxembourg on September 1st, 2009.

Lehto has been serving as Director of the Unit for Public International Law of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs since 2000. She joined the Ministry in 1985. She has held various posts in the Legal Department, the Political Department and the Department for External Economic Relations. As for her career in Finnish missions abroad, she has served the Embassy in Paris and Finland’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.

Lehto chaired the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on Terrorism during the period 2006-2007. She has held several positions of trust in the UN General Assembly in the 1990s, i.a. as Chairman of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations in 1999. She also chaired the Ministry’s Working Group on Gender Equality from 2003 to 2005.

Emmanuel Itier

An experienced feature film Producer, Emmanuel Itier directed the thriller “Tell me no Lies” (2000) and the horror film “Scarecrow” (2002). He just completed the Peace documentary “The Invocation” narrated by Sharon Stone and with Desmond Tutu, HH The Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra and many other worldwide peace activists. Emmanuel also produced the films “Wildflower” (1999) and “Scarecrow Slayers” (2003) among other pictures. He also acted as a co-producer and financing consultant: “Johnny Mnemonic”, “Another 9 1/2 weeks”, “Shattered Image” (1998), “The Dentist” (1996), and “Progeny” (1999).

Emmanuel Itier has also been a successful Music and Film journalist for both Rock Magazines, French TV networks and the internet for the last twenty years. Finally, Itier has been a buyer for various French Film distribution companies for the last fifteen years. He was on the board of directors of the Santa Barbara Film Festival for a decade and writes poetry. He is also very involved with charities and the political world.

Emmanuel Itier’s 2013 highly acclaimed film, “FEMME” is an inspirational voyage about women around the world who are actively transforming and healing global society on a daily basis. Starring Sharon Stone, Jean Houston, Marianne Williamson, Jean Shinoda Bolen, Riane Eisler, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Laureats Shirin Ebadi and Mairead Maguire, Rickie Lee Jones, Gloria Steinem, and more! Influential women discuss religion, science, history, politics, and entertainment – and the solutions to the multiple crisis we face throughout the world. “FEMME” focuses on utilizing a feminine approach with nurturing energy to inspire a new hope for the future.

Dr. Gregory H. Stanton

Dr. Stanton is a Research Professor in Genocide Studies and Prevention at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution of George Mason University. He has a long history of involvement in genocide studies and genocide prevention. He is the founder of and President of Genocide Watch. Dr. Stanton is the former director of the Cambodian Genocide Project, which was founded in 1981.

Dr. Stanton taught Human Rights classes at the University of Mary Washington. In 1999 he was selected to serve as the Chair of the International Alliance to End Genocide, the world’s largest anti-genocide coalition. From 2007 – 2009, he served as the President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars.

Previously, Dr. Stanton served in the State Department, where he played a critical role in drafting the United Nations Security Council resolution that created the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the Burundi Commission of Inquiry, and the Central African Arms Flow Commission. He also drafted the U.N. Peacekeeping Operations resolutions that helped bring about an end to the Mozambique civil war. Because of his unique contribution to the practice of diplomacy and human rights issues, Dr. Stanton won the American Foreign Service Association’s prestigious W. Averell Harriman award in 1994.

Dr. Stanton has degrees from Oberlin College, Harvard Divinity School, Yale Law School, and a Masters and Doctorate in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Chicago. He was a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Emira Woods

Emira Woods is the Global Client Principal for Social Impact Programs at Thought Works, a technology firm committed to social and economic justice. She is an expert on US foreign policy toward Africa and the developing world at large.

She is a former co-director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies (ISP). Prior to joining IPS, she was program manager for the Committee on Development Policy and Practice at InterAction, serving as a principal staff contact for advocacy at the UN, the international financial institutions, USAID and Treasury. Previous to that, she served as a program officer of Oxfam America’s Africa program.

Ms. Woods regularly appears on CNN’s Your World Today, BBC’s The World Today, Aljazeera and the Voice of America commenting on issues related to U.S. foreign policy and social and political justice. She has also written, and continues to write, on issues of debt, trade and development, social justice and financial policy.

Emira earned her undergraduate degree from Columbia University and graduate degree at Harvard.

Norrie Kurtz

Norrie was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1943 during World War II. Her family moved to a small resort town in upstate NY when she was 12. After receiving her Masters degree, Norrie worked as a speech pathologist in a school for neurologically impaired youngsters and subsequently as an audiologist for 20 years at Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital in NYC.

In 1989, eighteen months after the adoption of her 7 year old son from South Korea,her husband passed away. Norrie became a single parent and changed careers to become a data research analyst of institutional investors of fixed income, work that ended in August 2010 as her work was transferred to the Philippines.

When she learned of the genocide in Darfur, she joined a local faith-based group (the Summit Darfur Genocide Rescue Committee) that responded to the genocide with outreach, political action and resettlement resource activity. Initially, she was Chair of the resettlement sub-committee and subsequently became Chair of the entire group. She is presently Chair of the Board for Darfur Women Action Group.

Adil A. Taha

Adil is a pro-democracy activist, working to bring about democracy Sudan since 1980. He is a co-founder of the Sudan Democratic Forum, a Washington D.C.-based organization promoting democracy, peace and justice in Sudan.

Adil, was a university student movement leader that peacefully led the Sudanese people uprising that succeeded in removing late General Gaffar Nimairi’s dictatorship regime in 1985.

Adil is currently an executive committee member serving as External relation secretary of the Independent Movement Abroad, Stockholm, Sweden, an NGO working to extend support for the Sudanese people in the field of education, health, and human rights.

William Deng

Mr. Deng is the CEO and President of the Aweil Youth Association, USA, created to unite the children of Sudan, many of whom were enslaved. The organization also works to promote democracy and human rights in Sudan. He was recently nominated as Homeland Security Associate Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he also received the “Black History in the Making” Award.

long with Dr. Al Sutton and the Nuba Mountains International Association, he has coordinated and successfully delivered $800,000 in medical supplies to refugees in the Sudans and has also coordinated the delivery of another million dollars’ worth of medical supplies and 35,000 meals to Sudanese refugees.

Dr. Daniel Rothbart

Daniel Rothbart is a professor at George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Professor Rothbart specializes in identity-based conflicts, ethics and conflict, conflict theory and philosophy, the causes of protracted violence, and civilians in war. In addition to his numerous publications in scholarly journals and volumes, he recently published the following books:

Identity, Morality, and Threat: Studies in Violent Conflict (co-edited),
Why They Die: Civilian Devastation in Violent Conflict (co-authored),
Civilians and Modern War: Armed Conflict and the Ideology of Violence, (co-edited),
Violent Conflict and Peacebuilding: The Continuing Crisis in Darfur, (co-authored).

He currently serves as editor of the book series “Ethics, Conflict and War” for Routledge Press. In the area of conflict resolution, he chairs the Sudan Task Group, which works towards peacebuilding in the Darfur region of Sudan.

After earning his Ph. D. in philosophy from Washington University, St. Louis, Dr. Rothbart was a visiting research scholar at Linacre College, Oxford, at Dartmouth College (Summer 1994), and at University of Cambridge.

Dr. Rothbart won the ICAR Faculty Research Award (2007), Office of the Provost Excellence in Teaching Award (2000), and the Fenwick Fellowship Award (2000). His courses include the following: Ethics, Conflict and War; Philosophy, Conflict Theory, and Violence; Integration of Theory, Practice and Research; Positioning Theory and Protracted Conflict; Hannah Arendt and Global Conflicts; The Enemy and the Innocent in Violent Conflicts; Philosophy and Conflict Research; Research and Inquiry in Conflict Resolution; and the Ethics of Practice.

Dr. Leslie Dwyer

Leslie Dwyer is an Associate Professor and Director of the Center for the Study of Gender and Conflict at S-CAR. She is a cultural anthropologist with a Ph.D. from Princeton University whose academic expertise focuses on issues of violence, gender, post-conflict social life, transitional justice, and the politics of memory and identity. She is currently working on a book entitled ‘A World in Fragments’: Aftermaths of Violence in Bali, Indonesia, which will be published in the University of Pennsylvania Press “Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights” series in 2016.

She is also a documentary filmmaker whose most recent film, The Black Highway, engages critically with post-conflict peace-building practices in Aceh, Indonesia. She is the Director of the Indonesia-U.S. Youth Leadership Program, an exchange program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State that teaches conflict resolution and leadership skills to youth. In addition to her work in Indonesia, Dr. Dwyer has conducted research in Mindanao, Philippines and Nepal on gender, peace-building and gender-based violence. She has also assisted U.S. government agencies and educational organizations with developing training curriculum on gender and conflict issues.

Dr. Sarah Federman

Presidential Scholar at George Mason University, Sarah completed an MA at the American University of Paris and a degree in Intellectual History from the University of Pennsylvania. Sarah’s research addresses the French train company’s (SNCF) role in the WWII deportations and the ensuing U.S. conflict that exists today fueled by unhappy survivors. She worked pro-bono with the House of Representatives, looking for ways to reconcile the company’s past while continuing to serve as a productive contributor to society. Her dissertation explores this case through the larger lens of corporate accountability for mass atrocity. She also has an avid interest in the role of language in conflict. Her blog www.languageofconflict.com considers the role of language across a variety of personal and international contexts.

Sarah has a Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution.

Tanotamon Gerais

Mr. Gerais is a board member of Voices for Sudan, an organization that works to give a voice to the Sudanese diaspora community and help end the political crisis. Mr. Gerais is also the co-founder of Nubia Project, an organization which advocates for the protection of Nubian artifacts and culture against the flooding due to the building of dams by the government of Sudan.

Mr. Gerais is a human rights activist, and strong advocate for the marginalized people of Sudan. He has appeared on a numerous events and rallies advocating for the protection of the Nubian People. As a founding member of the Kushite Nubian Rally, he has given a number of lectures on Kush heritage and its historical significance. His work is also dedicated to preservation of the Nubian culture, language, and land.

Gerais has lectured about Nubian culture and heritage at Johns Hopkins University, Howard University, Virginia Union University, Virginia Common Wealth University and several churches.

As part of Voices for Sudan, Mr. Gerais has participated in many activities related to the marginalized people of Sudan in the south, Darfur, Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile, Beja, and Nubia in the far north of Sudan. He has also participated in and attended many events at the U.S. State Department, U.S. Congress, Hudson Institute, and several community centers.

Jacqueline Wilson

Ms. Wilson is an individual consultant and former Senior Program Officer at the Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding at the United States Institute of Peace, with a focus on programs in Africa. She specializes in local peace processes and traditional mechanisms of conflict resolution as well as electoral violence prevention. She led projects on Sudan and South Sudan.

After serving a 23-year active and reserve Air Force career, Ms. Wilson retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel. She served at the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya as the CENTCOM liaison. She played a significant role in the drafting of the verification and monitoring mechanism in the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which was signed in 2005 between South and North Sudan. Ms. Wilson holds a doctor of liberal studies degree from Georgetown University, and a Master of Science degree in strategic intelligence with Middle East Emphasis from the Joint Military College. She also received a master’s of arts degree in defense administration from Northern Michigan University.

Dr. Douglas Irvin-Erickson

Douglas Irvin-Erickson, Ph.D., is Fellow of Peacemaking Practice and Director of the Genocide Prevention Program at George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution.

An expert on genocide and international law, he served as the Director of Outreach (2007-2009), co-led genocide prevention projects for the Democratic Republic of Congo (2012-2013), conducted ethnographic research in Cambodia in connection to reconciliation and the Khmer Rouge Genocide Tribunal (2010), and conducted in-country research on political violence and reconciliation in Argentina (2009) at the Rutgers University Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights.

Previously, Irvin-Erickson has worked in Phnom Penh in relation to the Khmer Rouge genocide and ongoing issues of justice and reconciliation. He is the author of chapters and articles on genocide and political theory, and the co-editor of Hidden Genocides: Power, Knowledge, and Memory. His current research includes a book on the life and works of Raphael Lemkin, the originator of the word “genocide” who authored the UN Genocide Convention; and an co-edited volume titled, Violence, Religion, Peacemaking: Contributions of Interreligious Dialogue. Irvin-Erickson also serves as Associate Editor of Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal, the official publication of the International Association of Genocide Scholars.

He holds a Ph.D. in Global Affairs from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and an M.A. in English Literature

Claudine Kuradusenge

Claudine is a Ph.D. student at George Mason University in the School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution (S-CAR). Her research is mainly focused on diaspora phenomenon. At an early age, she fled her native country of Rwanda to escape the 1994 genocide. She spent years in refugee camps before coming to the United States as a refugee. She has very little clear memories of her native country of Rwanda. Her memories come from living in refugee camps. She is currently working on establishing a non-governmental organization to help displaced populations maintain memories and traditions of their homelands. The NGO, called Community Future Path, will work to empower displaced peoples by helping them maintain homeland traditions and memories while creating positive attitudes of the future.

Ms. Kuradusenge earned her master’s at George Mason after undergraduate work at Utah Valley University, where a mentor who knew her interests recommended Mason’s internationally known conflict analysis school. The breadth of Mason’s offerings in conflict analysis and resolution was initially a hurdle for her.

Don Kraus

Don Kraus is a Senior Fellow at GlobalSolutions.org, a groundbreaking online movement for the 80% of Americans who want the United States to take a responsible and cooperative role in the world.

Don previously served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the organization and of its political arm, the Global Solutions Action Network. Prior to that, as Executive Vice-President, he directed Global Solutions’ Government Relations Department and Political Action Committee. Earlier he served as the Executive Director of the Campaign for United Nations Reform and its affiliated political action committee, CUNR PAC. An expert in building U.S. political support for the U.N. and other international institutions, Don brings his considerable enthusiasm and drive to advocating for responsible global policies.

Don has co-chaired three NGO working groups: the Partnership for Effective Peacekeeping (PEP), the Washington Working Group on the International Criminal Court (WICC), and the CEDAW (women’s rights treaty) task force. He has also played a lead role in the Law of the Sea Working Group, a broad group of organizations and trade associations focused on U.S. ratification of the convention.

Don compiled the Global Solution Report Card, an assessment of congressional voting records on global issues. He is a regular contributor The Global Citizen blog, the Huffington Post and has been quoted in the New York Times, the Washington Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and many other publications. He has been interviewed on CNN, BBC, NPR, and many other radio and TV shows.

Don is also a past president of the Center for UN Reform Education, a UN reform think tank. He currently serves on the boards of PeacePAC, the Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship, the World Federalist Movement – Institute for Global Policy and the advisory board of the United Nations Association, National Capitol Area.

Elfadel Arabab

El-Fadel Arabab is a survivor of the Darfur genocide and has become an activist speaking at many events about Darfur and the importance of bringing President Bashir to justice.

When Mr. Arabab was only 12 years old, the Janjaweed attacked his village. He managed to escape and get to Khartoum where he lived for years as a homeless child on the streets. He then found a relative in the city who managed to get him to Egypt where he stayed until 2004 when he traveled to the US.

Mr. Arabab is the secretary and lecturer of the Fur Cultural Revival Organization which is an organization committed to raising governments awareness of the Darfur genocide and helping serve the Darfur community in the Portland area.

Carl Wilkens

Carl Wilkens is the Director of the website www.worldoutsidemyshoes. The website is designed to educate students and adults about things that are happening “outside of our shoes.” In 1990, Wilkens moved with his young family to Rwanda, where he served as the head of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRAI).

Mr. Wilkens was the only American who chose to stay in Rwanda after genocide began in 1994, although he was asked by his church and the US government to leave. Mr. Wilkens insisted on staying to help save innocent lives. Indeed, through his negotiation skills, social connections, and kind approach, he was able to save hundreds of lives. He worked with locals to relocate survivors to safe places, and brought them supplies as angry soldiers continued to slaughter innocent civilians. Since his return to the States in 1996, Mr. Wilkens has been going to schools and colleges sharing his experiences in Rwanda.

Mr. Wilkens is the author of I’m Not Leaving, which was released in 2011. The book is based on tapes he made for his wife and children during the genocide. Mr. Wilkens holds an MBA from Baltimore University.

Allyson Neville-Morgan

Allyson Neville-Morgan serves as the Legislative Associate for the Prevention of Violent Conflict on FCNL’s Peace-building Policy team. She coordinates the Prevention and Protection Working Group (PPWG), which is a coalition of human rights, religious, humanitarian and peace organizations dedicated to the prevention of deadly conflict and protection of civilians. Allyson works to ensure full funding for critical accounts within the U.S. Budget that work to prevent violent conflict. She organized numerous briefings and roundtables between government officials and civil society organizations. She has traveled to Central African Republic to learn about peace-building efforts in the country.

Prior to joining to FCNL, Allyson served as government and media relations at United to End Genocide (formerly Genocide Intervention Network) where she led the organization’s efforts to pass comprehensive legislation on Sudan. She also conducted a successful fact-finding trip to bring attention to attacks against civilians in Burma/Myanmar, as well as advocating for increased U.S. government capacities to prevent mass atrocities. In addition to Burma and Sudan, she has worked to support an end to violence against civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, South Sudan and Syria. Between 2012 and 2014, she served as an advocacy and communications consultant, working with Fairtrade America and The Aegis Trust.

Allyson graduated from American University in Washington, D.C. with a BA in Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics and Government in 2003. She received her MA in International Affairs from American University in 2006 with a focus on violent conflict in Africa’s Great Lakes region and issues related to reconciliation after genocide.

Albert I. Sutton

Al is an American filmaker, and actor, who has produced a variety of films of different genres, including documentaries in the medical field, documentaries of memorable, historic events, and theatrical films. He is also a musician, and operates his own record label, Alsut Records.

As documentary filmmaker, he produced Fraternal Twins: The First Year of Life, which was widely distributed to universities in the 1980s, when he was a practicing physician. His footage of the first Gay Liberation March in 1970 was aired, at the time, on network TV, and is now being considered for a new release. His rare footage of the Women’s Strike for Equality, which took place in New York City in 1970, was released in 2011 as a short entitled, Equality, I Am Woman, featuring the music of Helen Reddy,, with narration by Gloria Steinem and Jacqui Ceballos .

Allyson graduated from American University in Washington, D.C. with a BA in Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics and Government in 2003. She received her MA in International Affairs from American University in 2006 with a focus on violent conflict in Africa’s Great Lakes region and issues related to reconciliation after genocide.

Dr. Jo-Marie Burt

Jo-Marie Burt teaches political science at George Mason University, where she is also director of Latin American Studies and Co-director of the Center for Global Studies. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America, where she conducts research and writes commentaries on human rights and transitional justice issues in the region.

She previously worked as editor at NACLA Report on the Americas. In 2010, Dr. Burt was the “Alberto Flores Galindo” Visiting Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.

Dr. Burt has published widely on Latin American politics and society in academic journals, edited volumes, and in journalistic magazines and newspapers. She is author of Silencing Civil Society: Political Violence and the Authoritarian State in Peru (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007), which was published in Spanish in early 2009 (with a second edition in 2011) as Violencia y Autoritarismo en el Perú: Bajo la sombra de Sendero y la dictadura de Fujimori by the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos (IEP) and the Asociación Servicios Rurales (SER). She is co-editor of Politics in the Andes: Identity, Conflict, Reform (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2004).

Professor Burt has commented frequently on Latin American politics for various news media, including BBC World, The Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Democracy Now, Pacifica Radio as well as Peruvian print and electronic media. She has received grants and fellowships from the Open Society Foundation, Fulbright, U.S. Institute of Peace, the Aspen Institute, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Inter-American Foundation, the Latin American Studies Association Otros Saberes Initiative, the Thomas J. Watson Foundation, and was a fellow of the International Human Rights Internship Program of the Institute for International Education and the Ford Foundation. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University.

Martha Boshnick

Martha Sumrall Boshnick has been the co-chair of the Darfur Interfaith Network, along with another Sudan Sunrise board member, Richard Young, since 2009. They are responsible for rallies and vigils held in the DC area to raise awareness of the continued plight of the innocent people of Sudan and South Sudan. Her passion is helping and working with refugees and raising awareness of the atrocities that continue in Sudan, South Sudan and other parts of Africa. She feels that reconciliation is one of the most important tools that can be used to stop the violence in these regions.

She and her husband, Bill, are board members of the Next Generation group at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum working to make sure the lessons of the Jewish Holocaust are never forgotten. She has worked as a human resources professional in the DC area for the past 20 years. She lives with her family in the DC area.

Elizabeth Blackney

Elizabeth Blackney is the Media and Communications Director for the Panzi Foundation, a partner organization to the Panzi Hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Blackney has led creative teams on numerous advocacy campaigns, developed reputation management strategies for thought leaders, corporate clients, and advocacy organizations. Her expertise in blending media, advocacy, good governance, and diplomatic accountability, informs every campaign.

Elizabeth has written for numerous NGO and advocacy organizations, and speaks to schools, universities, and conferences on building awareness strategies. She frequently writes for the Huntington Post. She develops training for core constituencies in the human rights, political, and philanthropic environments. She recently completed a 40-Day Hunger Strike in order to draw attention to the unprecedented sexual and gender based violence ongoing in Congo.

Professor Brian Kritz

Brian Kritz is a teacher in the Conflict Resolution and Department of Government at Georgetown University. He is also a Research Fellow in the MA Program in Conflict Resolution at Georgetown University. He was a Senior Fellow in the Institute for International Law, Technology, and Global Security at Georgetown University before joining the Department of Conflict Resolution and Government. He is a former Democracy Fellow and Senior Human Rights and Rule of Law Advisor at USAID, a pro bono legal advisor to the Prosecutor General’s Office for the Republic of Rwanda, and criminal prosecutor in California.

Caroline Sarkis

Caroline Sarkis holds a MA in Conflict Resolution from Portland State University. Her thesis won the 2007 Distinguished Master’s Thesis award from the Peace and Justice Studies Association. In collaboration with Dr. Barbara Tint, Caroline worked in helping create an African dialogue, reconciliation, facilitation, and training program to promote peace-building and cooperation between African diaspora and refugees in greater Portland, Oregon.

Prior to that, she worked in Kigali, Rwanda to build schools for orphans of the genocide and of HIV-AIDS, acting as a liaison between the local coordinator, community leaders and volunteers, as well as assisting with trauma healing and Alternative to Violence workshops with local peace groups. Most recently, Caroline comes to George Mason’s PhD in Conflict Resolution from the private sector where she worked as a Senior IT project manager. Caroline’s research interests include reconciliation in post genocide societies, judicial mechanisms in response to genocide and mass violence, as well as gender issues in judicial processes. She is currently a Ph.D. student at George Mason University.

She is an experienced results-driven civil society, human and women’s rights campaigner and democracy activist, notably as Executive Director of the National Accountability Groups, Chair and Co-founder of the Movement for Progress Party of Sierra Leone, as well as Coordinator and Co-founder of the Campaign for Good Governance.

DeVan Hankerson

DeVan Hankerson is the Research Director at MMTC. She has expertise in industry analysis and the application of economics to public policy, particularly as it relates to telecommunications networks and information services.

DeVan’s background is in international telecom regulation, competition and technology policy. Prior to joining MMTC, DeVan served as an Economic Research Associate for the government of the United Arab Emirates in the Dubai Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Research Department. DeVan’s masters work was an economic and trade policy analysis of services markets in the emerging world, particularly network and information services in the Middle East and North Africa.

DeVan has been active as a media and technology consultant for private, non-profit and academic institutions for the past 9 years. She holds a certificate in project management and she is a former Foreign Language Area Studies Fellow. DeVan is currently a member of the Federal Communications Bar Association and co-chair of the consumer advocacy organization Communications Consumers United.

DeVan received her B.A. from Vassar College and her Masters Degree in International Trade Policy, from Middlebury College Graduate School, the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Her graduate specializations were Telecom Services and Arabic.