Current Board Members

	Name: Randall Amster Institutional Affiliation: Prescott College Board Position: Executive Director Term Ends: 06/2013 Biography: Randall Amster, professor of Peace Studies at Prescott College, holds a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School and a Ph.D. in Justice Studies from Arizona State University. He publishes widely in areas including anarchism, ecology, homelessness, and social justice; writes regular op-ed columns for media outlets including the Huffington Post and Truthout; and serves on the Editorial Advisory Boards of the Contemporary Justice Review, the Peace Studies Journal, and the Journal of Sustainability Education. His most recent books are Lost in Space: The Criminalization, Globalization, and Urban Ecology of Homelessness (LFB Scholarly, 2008), and the co-edited volumes Building Cultures of Peace: Transdisciplinary Voices of Hope and Action (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009) and Contemporary Anarchist Studies: An Introductory Anthology of Anarchy in the Academy (Routledge, 2009). Dr. Amster is the founder and contributing editor for the news and commentary site, New Clear Vision. Email Me
	Name: J. Douglas (Doug) Archer Institutional Affiliation: Hesburgh Libraries, University of Notre Dame Board Position: Board Co-Chair Term Ends: 10/2013 Biography: Reference and Peace Studies Librarian, University Libraries of Notre Dame; Ordained Minister, Northern Indiana District, Church of the Brethren; Past Chair, American Library Association, Intellectual Freedom Committee and Intellectual Freedom Round Table; Past Member, Board of Directors of the Freedom to Read Foundation; Past Chair, Indiana Library Federation, Intellectual Freedom Committee Email Me
	Name: Cris Toffolo Institutional Affiliation: Justice Studies Department Board Position: Board Co-Chair Term Ends: 10/2014 Biography: Cris Toffolo is Professor and Chair of the Justice Studies Department at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. She was the Director of the Justice and Peace Studies program at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota (2003-2008). Some of her publications include The Arab League (2007) and Emancipating Cultural Pluralism (editor, 2003). In 1997 she received a research grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. While on sabbatical in South Africa (2005-06) she was a Senior Researcher at CARRAS, a human rights NGO, for which she conducted research on anti-racism training programs and economic policy. From 1991-2011 she served as Amnesty International (USA)’s Pakistan Country Specialist and has provided court testimony in various immigration cases. Cris has developed, evaluated, and taught in study abroad programs in Guatemala, Ghana, Bangladesh and Northern Ireland. In addition to prior service for PJSA, she has also served as board chair of the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA). Her teaching areas include: conflict resolution, human rights, theories of justice, social movements, and Third World Politics. She received a Ph.D. and MA from the University of Notre Dame; an MA from George Washington University; and a BS from Alma College, cum laude. Email Me
	Name: Jack Payden-Travers Institutional Affiliation: National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund Board Position: Secretary Term Ends: 10/2013 Biography: Jack Payden-Travers serves as the Executive Director of the National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund and has been actively resisting militarism since his college days when he wrestled with the issue of conscientious objection to the draft during the Vietnam War. He refused induction after the Selective Service System denied his request for CO status. Jack has worked on the national staff of the Fellowship of Reconciliation and the ACLU’s Capital Punishment Project. He is an educator, social activist and whitewater enthusiast having just recently learned to roll his kayak. In 2010 he received a Certificate in Conflict Transformation from the Center for Justice & Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University, holds a Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies from Hollins University and a BA in History from Iona College. A former History Professor, middle school teacher, day care center director and househusband, Jack lectures at law schools, colleges and high schools and speaks at various houses of worship. His goal is to ‘teach peace’ through his consultation service, the New Society Construction Company. A trainer for nonviolent direct actions, Jack was one of nine abolitionists arrested for demonstrating in January 2007 on the plaza of the US Supreme Court on the 30th anniversary of the execution of Gary Gilmore, the first man to die in the modern era of the death penalty. He serves on the Board of Directors of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, the Advisory Board of Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, and the Boards of the Episcopal Thrift Shop of Amherst, VA and the Lynchburg Peace Education Center. He has two grandchildren and loves it when they call him “Papa Jack.” He is married to the Rev. Christine Payden-Travers and together they have opposed paying for war while praying for peace for the past 39 years.
	Name: Richard McCutcheon Institutional Affiliation: Menno Simons College / University of Winnipeg Board Position: Treasurer Term Ends: 10/2013 Biography: For almost thirty years Richard McCutcheon has been committed to blending an activist and academic life. As an activist Rick is committed to nonviolent social movements, and has been arrested on numerous occasions in solidarity actions. In 1991 he traveled to Iraq twice, and in 2000-2001 lived there for a year as a Non-Governmental Organization representative with his wife Tamara Fleming. In his professional academic life Rick is an Assistant Professor of Conflict Resolution Studies at Menno Simons College, a College of Canadian Mennonite University, located on the campus of and affiliated with the University of Winnipeg, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He also is Co-editor of Peace Research: The Canadian Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies. He holds an MA in Religious Studies and a PhD in Anthropology. Email Me
	Name: David Ragland Institutional Affiliation: Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Board Position: Membership Chair Term Ends: 10/2014 Biography: David Ragland specializes in Peace Education, the Philosophy of Education, Critical Race Studies and Urban Education. His research is focused on the Philosophy of Peace Education, Theory and Practice of Justice and the School-to-Prison Pipeline. David currently teaches 'Multicultural Foundations of Education', 'Educational Psychology' and Theories of Learning' at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. He is also the book review editor for Infactis Pax: Online Journal of Peace Education and Social Justice. David is currently living in St. Louis, Missouri. Please contact him if you are interested in working on PJSA membership issues. Email Me
	Name: Edmund Pries Institutional Affiliation: Wilfrid Laurier University Board Position: Conference Chair Term Ends: 10/2013 Biography: Edmund Pries (BTh, BA, MDiv, MA, PhD) was raised in Winnipeg and now lives in Ontario, where he teaches in the Department of Global Studies (War, Peace, Global Ethics) at Wilfrid Laurier University. He was just awarded the University's 2011 Award for Teaching Excellence. His current two areas of research include the inter-relationship of religion and violence, and the ethical imperative inherent in Global Citizenship. Email Me
	Name: Barbara Wien Board Position: Fundraising Chair; Awards Committee Chair Term Ends: 10/2013 Biography: Barbara Wien is a peace educator, trainer, activist and inspirational public speaker. She is the author of 15 articles and two books, including Peace and World Order Studies, a pioneering curriculum guide for university peace studies. She has catalyzed over 200 university Peace Studies programs in 58 countries, and has taught alternatives to war and violence at the University of Maryland, Georgetown, Columbia and Catholic University. She was famously forced out of the Congressionally-funded U.S. Institute of Peace for opposing the bombings of Afghanistan after 9/11. Barbara was also Executive Director of COPRED for five years (one of 2 predecessors of PJSA). She currently teaches Peace Education courses at American University and Nonviolence courses at Georgetown University. Email Me
	Name: Michael Minch Institutional Affiliation: Utah Valley University Board Position: Liaison to Research Institutions Term Ends: 10/2013 Biography: Michael Minch has been the director of Peace and Justice Studies at Utah Valley University during its seven years and is also the chair of the Philosophy and Humanities Department at UVU. Dr. Minch works in the intersections of political theory, democratic theory, political theology and political ecology, conflict transformation, peacebuilding, and theories of justice and human security. He holds a PhD from the Program on Political Thought (Political Science and Philosophy) from the University of Utah, where his second field was International Relations and holds a MDiv in Theology as well. Minch has presented over 30 conference papers and invited lectures across the U.S., in Europe, Canada, and Latin America. His publications include "When Soldiers Aren't Heroes," Teaching Ethics (Fall, 2004); "Democracy as Music, Music as Democracy," Radical Philosophy Review (V.12, nos. 1 and 2, 2009); fifteen articles in the forthcoming (2011) Encyclopedia of Global Justice (Deen Chatterjee, ed); The Democratic Theory of Michael Oakeshott (2009); and, with Christine Weigel, Living Ethics (2nd ed., 2011). Email Me
	Name: Kelly Kraemer Institutional Affiliation: College of Saint Benedict/St. John's University Board Position: Liaison to Academic Programs Term Ends: 10/2013 Biography: Kelly Rae Kraemer is Associate Professor of Peace Studies at the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University in central Minnesota, where she teaches courses on nonviolent struggle, gender, and race. She earned her Ph.D. in political science at the University of Hawai`i, where she studied the roles of non-Hawaiians in the native self-determination movement. Her current research interests include the impact of third party support on nonviolent struggles and the emergence of family-based peace movement organizations after 9/11. Over the past three decades, she has been active in anti-war, women’s, and native self-determination movements. Email Me
	Name: Laura Finley Institutional Affiliation: Barry University Board Position: Liaison to K-12 Education Term Ends: 10/2014 Biography: Laura Finley earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from Western Michigan University in 2002. She is currently Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Barry University. Dr. Finley is the author or co-author of eight books and has two in production. She has also authored numerous book chapters and journal articles. In addition to her academic work, Dr. Finley is a community peace activist, with active involvement in local, national, and international groups. She regularly presents on topics related to peace and social justice. In addition, Dr. Finley is on the Board of Directors of No More Tears, a non-profit that provides individualized assistance to victims of domestic violence and their children, as well as co-chair of the South Florida Diversity Alliance. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Amnesty International-USA, and the Board of Directors of UNIFEM East Florida Chapter. Email Me
	Name: Tom Hastings Institutional Affiliation: Portland State Univ Board Position: Liaison to IPRA and Media Term Ends: 10/2014 Biography: Tom H. Hastings is Director of Peace & Nonviolence Studies track in the Portland State University Conflict Resolution MA/MS program. His books include: Lessons of Nonviolence (2006), Power (2005), Nonviolent Response to Terrorism (2004), Meek Ain’t Weak: Nonviolent Power and People of Color (2002), and Ecology of War and Peace: Counting Costs of Conflict (2000). With Seattle writer Geov Parrish, he wrote the 2002 War Resisters League calendar datebook, 52 True Stories of Nonviolent Success. He has published several chapters, articles, and book reviews in peer-reviewed publications. He directs PeaceVoice, a program of the Oregon Peace Institute. He is a nonviolent peace, justice and environmental activist, a Plowshares nonviolent veteran of three prisons and has done nonviolence trainings for more than 25 years across the US. He is on the Boards of Directors of the Peace and Justice Studies Association, the International Peace Research Association, the Metta Center for Nonviolence, and the Oregon Peace Institute, as well as on the Academic Advisory Council of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict. He lives in Whitefeather Peace House, and commutes by bicycle. His c.v. is available on the Portland State University website. Email Me
	Name: Gail Presbey Institutional Affiliation: University of Detroit Mercy Board Position: Liaison to Activists Term Ends: 10/2014 Biography: Gail M. Presbey is a Professor of Philosophy at University of Detroit Mercy. Her areas of expertise are social and political philosophy as well as philosophy of nonviolence and African philosophy. She has done research in Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, and India. She has co-edited a textbook, The Philosophical Quest: A Cross-Cultural Reader (McGraw-Hill, 1995/2000), an anthology, Thought and Practice in African Philosophy (KAF 2002), and edited Philosophical Perspectives on the ‘War on Terrorism’ (Rodopi, 2007). She has over forty articles and book chapters published. She has been active in Pax Christi for many years, and has participated in SOA Watch actions and a delegation to Honduras as well as a CIS elections observation team to El Salvador. She has been Executive Director (5 years) and President (2 years) of Concerned Philosophers for Peace. She is director at her university of the James Carney Latin American Solidarity archive, and hosts about twelve peace and justice events at her campus yearly, coordinating events with local peace and justice organizations such as Michigan Coalition for Human Rights, WILPF and others.
	Name: Sheherazade Jafari Institutional Affiliation: American University Board Position: At Large, Women and Gender Issues Term Ends: 10/2014 Biography: Sheherazade Jafari is pursuing her doctorate in International Relations at American University's School of International Service. She has written and co-written articles and book chapters about gender and religion in peacemaking and development. Previously she served as the Assistant Director of the Religion and Conflict Resolution Program at the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding (New York, NY). Her research interests include gender justice and transnational advocacy across religious, secular, and cultural differences.
	Name: Joanie Connors Board Position: Publications Chair Term Ends: 10/2014 Biography: Joanie Connors, Ph.D. has been a peace and social justice activist since 1970, working with antiwar groups, women’s groups, as a peace witness in Central America, and as a board member of PJSA. She is a licensed counseling psychologist who has worked for 30+ years as a systems therapist and has taught peace studies, counseling and sociology for 19 years as an adjunct assistant professor. Her research interest is in systems and interpersonal sciences as they relate to peace and justice.
	Name: Tony Jenkins Institutional Affiliation: National Peace Academy Board Position: At Large Member, External Review Service Term Ends: 10/2014 Biography: Tony Jenkins is Education Director of the National Peace Academy and serves as the Global Coordinator of the International Institute on Peace Education; Co-Director of the Peace Education Center at Teachers College, Columbia University; coordinator of the Global Campaign for Peace Education; and a regular visiting professor at the UN mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica. Tony’s current work and research interests focus on examining the impacts and effectiveness of peace education methods and pedagogies in nurturing personal, social and political change and transformation. He is also interested in formal and non-formal educational design and development with special interest in alternative security systems, disarmament, and gender. Email Me
	Name: Michael Nagler Institutional Affiliation: Metta Center Board Position: At-Large Member, PJSA Books Project Term Ends: 10/2013 Biography: Michael is Professor emeritus of Classics and Comparative Literature at UC, Berkeley, where he founded the Peace and Conflict Studies Program, and is the founder-President of The Metta Center for Nonviolence Education. His major work, The Search for a Nonviolent Future, received a 2002 American Book Award and has been translated into Korean, Arabic, and other languages; he also wrote Our Spiritual Crisis: Recovering Human Wisdom in a Time of Violence (2005), The Upanishads (with Sri Eknath Easwaran, 1987), and other books as well as many articles on peace and spirituality.
	Name: Matt Meyer Institutional Affiliation: New York City Board of Education Board Position: At Large, Nominations Committee Chair Term Ends: 10/2014 Biography: Matt Meyer is an educator-activist, based in New York City. Founding PJSA Co-Chair along with USF Dean Jennifer Turpin, Meyer has long worked to bring together academics and activists for lasting social change. A former public draft registration resister and chair of the War Resisters League, he continues to serve as convener of the War Resisters International Africa Working Group. With Bill Sutherland, Meyer authored Guns and Gandhi in Africa: Pan-African Insights on Nonviolence, Armed Struggle and Liberation, of which Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote, "Sutherland and Meyer have looked beyond the short-term strategies and tactics which too often divide progressive people . . . They have begun to develop a language which looks at the roots of our humanness." Meyer is author of Time is Tight: Transformative Education in Eritrea, South Africa, and the U.S.A., based in part on his experiences as Multicultural Coordinator for the NYC Board of Education's Alternative High Schools and Programs. He has edited the Fellowship of Reconciliation's "Puerto Rico: The Cost of Colonialism;" War in Africa and an African Peace; and the two-volume Seeds of New Hope: African Peace Studies for the 21st Century.
	Name: Swasti Bhattacharyya Institutional Affiliation: Buena Vista University Board Position: At-Large Member, Syllabus Project Term Ends: 10/2014 Biography: Dr. Swasti Bhattacharyya is associate professor of religion at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. She teaches courses on religion, culture, history, gender & sexuality, nonviolence, and peace & justice. She is the author of the book Magical Progeny, Modern Technology: A Hindu Bioethics of Assisted Reproductive Technology (SUNY Press, 2006). Email Me
	Name: Ivan Boothe Institutional Affiliation: Rootwork.org Board Position: Web Manager Term Ends: 10/2014 Biography: Ivan Boothe is the creative director of Rootwork.org, working with nonprofits and social change groups about how to build online movements; engaging, supporter-driven websites; and real-world activism that takes advantage of online social networks. Ivan is a community organizer with Casino-Free Philadelphia and the online communications coordinator for the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Ivan has experience in a number of social change and nonprofit groups, including co-founding the Genocide Intervention Network and why-war.org, which launched a nationwide campaign of electronic civil disobedience against the voting machine manufacturer Diebold in 2003. Ivan co-organizes Philadelphia NetSquared, which brings together nonprofits and tech experts for discussions about using social technology for social change. He has a degree in peace and conflict studies from Swarthmore College and authored a thesis on third-party nonviolent intervention, which was presented at the 2005 PJSA conference. Ivan also serves on the American Friends Service Committee Nobel Peace Prize Committee.