NEW YORK HEADQUARTERS

Dr. William F. VendleyWilliam F. Vendley, Secretary General
Dr. Vendley has served as Secretary General Religions for Peace since 1994. He is a member of the World Council, which is composed of outstanding international religious leaders. He also serves as the organization’s chief executive officer, overseeing the international secretariat in North America, Europe, the Balkans, West and East Africa, and Asia.

In addition, Dr. Vendley coordinates the international activities and projects of Religions for Peace’s Interreligious Councils in more than 70 states around the world. He actively works in areas engaged in armed conflict to mobilize and equip religious communities to mediate and mitigate violent conflict and build a climate of peace. In Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Liberia, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, Dr. Vendley has led negotiations that have helped to prevent conflicts from developing, to mediate peace among warring parties, and to rebuild societies in the aftermath of violence.

Under his leadership, Religions for Peace and its local affiliates engaged religious communities in collaborative work to assist the more than 12 million orphans of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Notable among the Religions for Peace developments during the tenure of Dr. Vendley’s leadership is the first-ever Global Network of Religious Women’s organizations. The network facilitates multireligious collaboration among religious women’s organizations and mainstreams their leadership into Religions for Peace action programs.

Dr. Vendley is a theologian and has served as a professor and dean in graduate schools of theology. He lectures frequently in academic, United Nations and NGO fora. He has been awarded numerous prizes for religion and human rights, and serves on the boards of a number of organizations ranging from the fine arts to those committed to peacebuilding. He holds a doctorate in systematic theology from Fordham University and a master’s degree in religious studies from the Maryknoll School of Theology.

Mr. Stein VillumstadStein Villumstad, Deputy Secretary General
Mr. Villumstad has extensive and distinguished experience in international development, conflict transformation, and human rights. He served as regional representative for Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) in Eastern Africa, where he oversaw development activities in ten countries and managed five regional sub-offices. Previously, he held the position of assistant general secretary of Norwegian Church Aid managing the Department for Policy and Human Rights.

Mr. Villumstad brings history of partnership with religious communities, many of whom he has worked with in conflict and post-conflict situations. He has been a close partner with the religious leaders in Sierra Leone and Ethiopia-Eritrea in their conflict transformation efforts. In 1995, Mr. Villumstad became the first co-chair of the Action by Churches Together (ACT International) Executive Committee, charged with coordinating church based emergency relief for more than one hundred organizations worldwide. Until 2006, he was a member of the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) Commission on International Affairs. His writing includes the book, Reconstruction of Africa: Perspectives from Within and Without (2005), and a number of articles in periodicals and newspapers. In addition to his bachelors of education, Mr. Villumstad holds a masters of international administration from the School for International Training in Vermont, where his thesis focused on policy considerations for non-governmental organizations involved in humanitarian assistance during conflict and complex emergencies.

Lisa Locke, Director of Institutional Support
Ms. Locke is responsible for managing and supporting resource mobilization efforts at Religions for Peace. With more than sixteen years of experience in non-profit management and fundraising, she has extensive experience in proposal development, strategic partnerships at the regional and international levels and public-private partnerships. She also conducted program evaluations on international humanitarian aid projects. Ms. Locke is currently engaged in leadership and governance issues, strategic planning, resource allocation and human resource decisions. Her overseas work assignments include Turkey and India. She has a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from The George Washington University and is completing a master’s degree in organizational change management at the New School University.

Andrea Louie, Communications Manager
Ms. Louie is a writer, reporter, and communications professional with extensive experience in the arts and not-for-profit communities. She has served as a reporter for the Akron Beacon Journal in Ohio, publications director for The Asian American Writers’ Workshop, and senior writer at the office of communications at Brooklyn College. She is co-editor of the anthology, Topography of War: Asian American Essays (The Asian American Writers’ Workshop) and the author of a novel, Moon Cakes (Ballantine Books). Her work on the Religions for Peace video and 2007 Annual Report garnered the DeRose-Hinkhouse Awards from the Religion Communicators Council. In addition, she has received such awards as the Hannah S. and Samuel A. Cohn Memorial Foundation Fellowship, a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship, and a Ludwig Volgelstein Foundation grant. Ms. Louie is a member of the board of The Asian American Writers' Workshop, focusing on branding and marketing, and has served as a steering committee member of the New York Insight Meditation Center, working on membership and diversity issues. She also served as a member of the review panel in literature for the New York Council on the Arts and was a writer-in-residence for the National Book Foundation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in news journalism from Kent State University and a graduate certificate in Asian studies from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Jacqueline Moturi Ogega, Director of the Women’s Mobilization Program
Ms. Ogega is the Director of the Women’s Program at the World Conference of Religions for Peace. Prior to joining Religions for Peace-International in New York, Ms. Ogega served as the African Women’s Project Director at Religions for Peace in Africa where she established the African Women of Faith Network, a fundamental infrastructure for building multi-religious cooperation for action in Africa. Ms. Ogega has extensive experience and skills in gender, peace-building and development programming. She has worked to mobilize financial and human resources to tap on the global resource of women as agents for transformation. Ms. Ogega worked previously in various positions as a lecturer in Gender and Development Studies at the University of Nairobi in Kenya, National Coordinator of the Gender and Development Program of Caritas Kenya, and as a graduate teacher. Ms. Ogega’s field experience blends well with her academic qualifications and interests; she holds a masters degree as well as a post-graduate diploma in gender and development, both from the University of Nairobi Kenya. She earned her bachelor's degree in education from Kenyatta University in Kenya. Ms. Ogega has international specialized training in peace-building and conflict transformation from the School for International Training (SIT) in Vermont, USA and from the Austrian Study Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution (ASPR).


Paul Sherbow, Senior Researcher
Mr. Sherbow has studied several world religions, specializing in Hinduism. He was senior Sanskrit editor for translations published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust in the 1970s, and his articles have been included in recent publications from Columbia University Press, Oxford University Press, and the Journal of Vaisnava Studies. He holds a bachelor's degree in Middle Eastern studies from Columbia University.

Deepika Singh, Director of Program Coordination
Ms. Singh is responsible for managing and coordinating grant management; overseeing grant compliance and donor stewardship; developing and implementing a donor-outreach strategy for external audiences; supporting strategic program development and project planning, implementation, and monitoring; and developing and editing proposals and reports. Previously, Ms. Singh was at the Environmental Health Project, a USAID-funded project in Nepal where she was responsible for developing operational plans, overseeing program implementation, and establishing linkages with local and international partners. She also served as editor-in-chief of Strategic Studies, published by the Nepal Institute for International and Strategic Studies in Kathmandu. She received a bachelor’s degree with honors from Bede's College, in Shimla, India, a master’s degree in English literature from the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh, and a master’s of public administration from Pace University in New York.

Rev. Kyoichi Sugino, Director of Inter-religious Council Development and Field Coordination
Rev. Sugino has been secunded from a lay Buddhist organization in Japan, Rissho Kosei-kai (RKK), to Religions for Peace. He graduated from Rissho Kosei-kai Seminary in 1991 as a Dharma Teacher. In 1995 he worked at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International in London, then served as Policy Research Officer at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva between 1996 and 1998. He holds a master’s degree in international law and international human rights law from the University of Wisconsin. Rev. Sugino currently coordinates Religions for Peace’s regional offices in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe and affiliated inter-religious councils in seventy countries. He has directly engaged in multi-religious diplomacy and negotiations in Sri Lanka, Iraq, and other conflict areas. His published works include: The “Non-Political and Humanitarian’ Clause in UNHCR’s Statute,” Refugee Survey Quarterly, Volume17, Number 1 (UNHCR/Oxford University Press, 1998), and “Building Peace in Iraq: Inter-religious Council of Iraq,” United Nations Journal, Vol.4, 2004.

The Rev. Donald "Bud" Heckman, Director for External Relations
An ordained Christian minister from the West Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church, Rev. Heckman has served formerly as: Chief Development Officer of Hartford Seminary, Secretary General of Religions for Peace USA, Executive Secretary in the Mission Volunteers unit of the General Board of Global Ministries, and Program Administrator for the World Congress of Philosophy. 

A summa cum laude graduate of Ohio University, Rev. Heckman has graduate degrees from the University of Chicago Divinity School and Boston University’s Division of Religion and Theological Studies, as well as additional education from several other schools and centers.  He has served rural, urban, and suburban churches in Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut.

A frequent speaker and writer on interfaith relations, Rev. Heckman is editor of a new reference book for the field called InterActive Faith: The Essential Interreligious Community-Building Handbook (SkyLight Paths, 2008).  He lives in Manhattan with his wife Laura and children Annah and Noah.

Ms. Katerina Ragoussi, Associate Director for Youth and Network Coordination
Ms. Janet Phillips, NPI Project Coordinator
Ms. Allison Pytlak, Disarmament Program Coordinator
Ms. Valerie Nash, Chief of Staff
Ms. Masue Suzuki, Executive Assistant to the Secretary General
Ms. Luisa Hernandez, Director of Finance and Human Resources
Ms. Darlene Garcia, Junior Accountant
Ms. Jessica Schuder, Office Administrator
Ms. Erin McNamara, Women's Program Assistant
Ms. Alicia Allison, Communications Assistant
Ms. Gloria DeCamps, Communications Intern
Mr. Nicholas Phelan, Department for External Relations Intern
Ms. Elizabeth London, Women's Program Intern

RELIGIONS FOR PEACE AFRICA (NAIROBI, KENYA)

Dr. Mustafa Ali, Director & Secretary General, African Council of Religious Leaders 


Rev. William Tolbert, III, Coordinator, West Africa sub-regional office 


Ms. Zebib Kavuma, Project Coordinator, Children and HIV/AIDS


Celestin Nkundabemera, Project Director, Conflict Transformation, East and Central Africa

Ms. Emma Kang’ethe, African Women’s Project Director


Ms. Sandra Kidwingira, Youth Coordinator

Mr. Geofrey Angira, Finance and Administration Manager

Ms. Gloria Diffu, Secretary, Administration

RELIGIONS FOR PEACE WEST AFRICA  (MONROVIA, LIBERIA)

Rev. William Tolbert, III, Coordinator, West Africa sub-regional office 


RELIGIONS FOR PEACE LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN (LIMA, PERU)

Mr. Elias Szczytnicki, Director & General Secretary of the Latin American and Caribbean Council of Religious Leaders (LACCRL)

Rev. Eduardo Chinchilla, Program Officer