Alouat Hamoudi Abdelfatah (Algeria) earned a B.A. in political science and international relations from Westminster College. He was born and raised in a Saharawi refugee camp in southern Algeria. On three occasions, Alouat spoke on behalf of Saharawi refugees to the UN General Assembly Fourth Committee in New York City. He also has written articles about the conflict in the Western Sahara region. Alouat speaks five languages. ahamoudi@nd.edu
Nancy Abwola (Uganda) holds a B.A. in social sciences from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, and a postgraduate diploma in conflict management and peace studies from Gulu University. Since 2007, she has worked for American Refugee Committee International, where she supported organizations working to prevent gender-based violence. nabwola@nd.edu
Karla Alvarez (USA) graduated from University of San Diego with a B.A. in international relations. As a program officer and youth liaison at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice, she worked with young people along the U.S.-Mexico border and conducted conflict transformation workshops in Kenya and the Philippines. In 2009, she received a fellowship from the Washington Ireland Program and the U.S. Department of State to study Northern Ireland’s peace process. kalvare1@nd.edu
Shubham Amatya (Nepal) holds an M.A. in conflict, peace and development studies from Tribhuwan University in Kathmandu. She also earned a B.A. degree in social work from St. Xavier’s College, Kathmandu University. Shubham has worked as a program manager at the Association for the Protection of Children, an NGO that works with Kathmandu’s street children. She also interned for Care Nepal, where she researched local peace committees for Nepal’s Ministry for Peace and Reconstruction. samatya@nd.edu
Daniya Baisubanova (Kyrgyzstan) earned a B.A. in international and comparative politics from American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. She has interned with International Crisis Group’s Central Asia office and served with Habitat for Humanity. For three years, Daniya worked for USAID in Kyrgyzstan, where she focused on advancing food security and agricultural development. dbaisuba@nd.edu
Daniel Kofi Banini (Ghana) earned a B.A. in political science from Collegium Civitas University in Poland and a teaching diploma from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. He also holds certificates in interfaith conflict resolution and conflict analysis from the United States Institute of Peace. Daniel has worked as a schoolteacher, volunteered for the International Humanity Foundation, and served as a member Africa Foundation with Difference, a group that speaks out against racism in Poland. dazilagb@nd.edu
Julie Bodnar (USA) holds a B.A. in political science and international studies from Loyola University in Chicago. As a student, she studied abroad in El Salvador. She served for two years in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, where she worked with the Homeless Rights Project in San Francisco and the United Community Housing Coalition in Detroit. Most recently, Julie worked in Chicago with an organization that provides emergency housing and support services to pregnant and parenting teenagers. jbodnar@nd.edu
Rachel Fairhurst (New Zealand) holds a postgraduate diploma in peace and conflict studies from the University of Otago. She also earned a B.A. degree in political studies from the University of Otago and a B.A. degree in international relations from Victoria University. She has been actively involved in Amnesty International, and most recently worked as a research assistant at the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Otago, where she researched the role of amnesties in peace agreements. rfairhur@nd.edu
Maria Gavrilova (Russia) graduated from Kutafin Moscow State Law Academy in Moscow with a degree in international law. She has convened several university-level scientific conferences and roundtable discussions dedicated to international law, peace, and security. She also has interned with the International Committee of the Red Cross. As a member of the Student Scientific Community and the Russian Association of International Law, Maria authored several articles on the law of armed conflicts. mgavril1@nd.edu
James Hallowell (Sierra Leone) earned a B.A. degree in history and sociology from Fourah Bay College at the University of Sierra Leone and a teachers’ certificate in performing arts. He has worked as a program coordinator for Peacelinks Sierra Leone, a regional coordinator for Energy Crossroads West Africa, and an adviser for the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change. He witnessed the beginning and end of the Sierra Leonean civil conflict, during which he worked with young victims and perpetrators to develop programs geared toward moving beyond conflict. jhallowe@nd.edu
Diane Janzen (Canada) holds a B.Sc. in electrical engineering from the University of Calgary. She has served as a full-time volunteer with Christian Peacemaker Teams in the West Bank, Palestine, accompanying civilians and documenting human rights violations. She worked as program director for Project Ploughshares Calgary, a peace research and education organization, where she organized workshops on nuclear weapons, small arms, and nonviolence. djanzen@nd.edu
Wisam Khaleefah (Iraq) holds a B.A. degree in international relations from Skidmore College. He also studied at King’s College in London, where he focused on war studies. He has interned at the Union of Arab Jurists in Geneva, where he helped NGOs conduct research on human right violations in Iraq. He was awarded a Davis Peace Project grant to renovate a war-torn elementary school in Fallujah and to develop art and sports programs for the city’s children. wkhaleef@nd.edu
Daniel Moya (Colombia) graduated from Goshen College with a B.A. degree in peace, justice, and conflict studies. As a student, he worked as a researcher and interpreter for a research institution focused on the education of Latino youth. He has interned at Justapaz, a nonviolent action and conflict resolution center in Colombia, and has worked for organizations that provide healthcare services to Latino immigrants. He is the founder of “Proyecto La Voz,” a newsletter highlighting local immigration initiatives. dmoyauru@nd.edu
Samuel Nichols (USA) earned a B.A. degree in sociology and philosophy/theology from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California. He has worked with Christian Peacemaker Teams in Hebron, West Bank, where he wrote articles for various news sources and created short films about human rights abuses. He also has worked for Catholic Charities and interned with the Center for Justice and Reconciliation. snichol4@nd.edu
Mina Rizk (Egypt) earned a B.A. in political science from the American University in Cairo, where he specialized in international relations and political economy. As an undergraduate, Mina studied at the U.N. through the State University of New York at New Paltz. He has worked for the Egyptian Foreign Service, Egypt’s Bi-national Fulbright Commission and Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation. mrizk@nd.edu
Engy Said (Egypt) graduated from Cairo University with a B.Sc. in economics and political science. She also studied conflict management at Georgetown University. She has worked at the Secretariat General of the League of Arab States, helping to coordinate the first Arab economic, social and development summit. She also has worked for the International Commercial Bank of Egypt. Engy serves as a diplomat at Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs where she helps manage bilateral relations between Egypt and the Balkans. esaid@nd.edu
Tamara Shaya (USA) holds a B.A. degree in media communications from Taylor University. She has worked for Crescent Project, an organization connecting Christians and Muslims, where she directed the organization’s filmmaking and public relations program and launched a women’s advocacy group. Most recently, she worked for the Clapham Group, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm, where she represented clients such as the ONE campaign, a group that focuses on alleviating poverty and preventable disease in Africa. tshaya@nd.edu
Jessica Shewan (USA) earned a B.A. degree in history from the University of Evansville. She also conducted research on nationalism and ethnic conflict at the Université Gaston Berger in St. Louis, Senegal. As a journalist for World Next Door, an online social justice magazine, she lived in Nairobi, Kenya and interned at a local church. She later returned to Kenya to conduct grassroots research for community development programs. Most recently, Jessica taught English in Shenzhen, China. jshewan@nd.edu
Lidet Tadesse Shiferaw (Ethiopia) holds a B.A. degree in integrated social sciences from Jacobs University Bremen in Germany. As a student, she conducted research at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, where she focused on the political economy of transition from war to peace. She has interned with the German Development Service, where she mapped traditional peace practices according to nationalities, and the Peace and Security Department at the African Union Commission, where she focused on communication efforts. lshifera@nd.edu

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