Our Team
We are a close-knit team of enthusiastic individuals committed to justice and nonviolence. Diversity, sense of social belonging, and equity are essential parts of our culture and identity. We are constantly learning and strive to create a team that reflects the communities we serve and spaces where everyone feels valued, heard, and empowered.
Board of Directors
Sal Corbin
Board Chair
Sal Corbin worked for 15 years in academia as a Psychology Professor before transitioning to nonprofit work. He has done workforce development training and program management and is now a Training Coordinator for the Maryland Harm Reduction Institute with the Behavioral Health System of Baltimore, and Board Chair for the DC Peace Team. His vision is to help others build and maintain healthy relationships with conflict transformation as the primary focus. His extensive background in leadership facilitation supports his efforts to keep showing up and sharing. He holds degrees in Clinical (M.S.) and Educational (PhD) Psychology.
Angie Whitehurst
Board Member
Angie is a DC community leader involved in many grassroots organizations. She has a keen sense for building sustainable communities and networks. She has deployed with unarmed civilian protection units as part of the DC Peace Team and is a lead recruiter for the organization.
Susie Hayward
Board Member
Susie Hayward is a scholar of religious peacebuilding and Buddhism, peace and human rights activist, former foreign policymaker, and an ordained clergywoman in the United Church of Christ. She first encountered DCPT while living in Washington, DC, organizing locally for racial and queer justice. She brings to the team insights and skills learned from peacebuilders of all faiths around-the-world, particularly in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Colombia, and Iraq, during her fourteen years with the Religion and Inclusive Societies team at the US Institute of Peace. Susie has academic degrees in international conflict resolution and religious studies and has taught at various institutions, including Harvard Divinity School, as well as served as a trainer in peacebuilding skills including mediation, facilitation, and dialogue, for both grassroots peacebuilders and foreign diplomats. She currently resides in Minneapolis, where she serves as a minister of justice formation at a progressive church, but remains deeply connected to DC, where she has ancestral roots.
James Lynch
Board Member
James A. Lynch, Jr. is a Dharma Teacher as authorized by the lay Buddhist Organization Rissho Kosei Kai. He is an official representative for their outside affairs in the New York City area, as well as an official representative for Rissho Kosei Kai to the United Nations. James is currently the President of the Buddhist Council of New York, which represents more than 900,000 Buddhist in the Tri-State area. In addition, he has helped organize the Heiwa Peace Foundation a think tank for peace whose primary work is done in the United States and Asia on behalf of its Founder the Venerable T.K. Nakagaki. He further sits on the Board of Religions for Peace USA which is the largest interfaith peace organization in America and was recently appointed as a Trustee to the prestigious international Parliament of World Religions. James is also a lawyer and a tenured professor, as well as the Chairman of the Business Management Department in the Koppelman School of Business located at Brooklyn College, where he teaches Workplace Happiness and Spirituality.
Synina Pugh
Board Member
Synina Pugh is a native of Washington DC and works in the public sector. She has spent over 20 years in management and operations in the private and public sector. She has spent over a decade volunteering and working with homeless service providers and the homeless population. Synina has also had the opportunity to support organizations that engage in social justice.
Synina is thrilled to be a member of the board of the DC Peace Team and is looking forward to collaborating with members of the community as we move forward in this important work.
Rose Dallimore
Board Member
Rose Dallimore (she/her) is a restorative practitioner, writer, and disability/health equity advocate. She is currently working in Restorative Practices at Georgetown University, where she collaborates with students, faculty, and staff to build capacity for Restorative Justice and create opportunities for restoration and repair within and beyond the campus community. Rose also facilitates restorative circles for women with chronic pain, reproductive health disorders, and related disabilities through her mutual aid organization, Our Body Justice Project. She is passionate about women's healthcare access and disability justice. As a playwright and poet, she views art as a part of her restorative practice and means of exploring interconnectedness. She first joined DCPT as an intern and has served on unarmed civilian protection units, supported and implemented circles and trainings, and coordinated advocacy work. Although she is originally from New York City and Chattanooga, Tennessee, she is proud to call D.C. home (and her favorite city in the world).
Kay Newhouse
Board Member
Kay Newhouse brings a focus on social learning and respectful, joyful communities. She has worked with many types of organizations that empower people to learn, take care of one another, and do good work together, from education to the social safety net to social dance. Her experience with the varied forms of structural decision-making in these multiple contexts informs her approach to program design, values-aligned metrics, social change leadership, and mission strategy. Previous board experience includes Interfaith Works, Washington Elementary Science Teachers Association, the National Association of Swing Dance Events, Rockville Community Nursery School and the Interfaith Housing Coalition. Kay has a master’s degree from Teachers College Columbia University, a love for poetry, dance and learning, and deep belief in the intrinsic worth of each of us as human beings.
Kirby Neuner
Board Member
Kirby Neuner is a development and communications professional with more than 10 years of experience in the government, nonprofit, and private sectors. He currently serves as Director of Development & Impact at Nadia's Initiative (NI). Founded by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nadia Murad, NI rebuilds communities in crisis and advocates globally for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. Before NI, Kirby was a speechwriter at the US Department of Defense and completed a Presidential Management Fellowship with USAID and the US Department of State. Previously, Kirby worked on the personal staff of Secretary Madeleine K. Albright at Albright Stonebridge Group (ASG); managed partnerships at OCP Group and Democracy International; and led field research on peace and conflict issues in Haiti and across Africa. He is also a youth travel baseball coach with NoVA-based Bradley Baseball Academy. Kirby holds an MA in Security Studies with a focus on human security and conflict resolution from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service and a BA in History from Williams College. He is originally from Hackettstown, NJ.
Amos Kulumba
Board Member
Amos Kulumba is a Ugandan-American who grew up in the Washington DC Metro area. As a proud Washingtonian, he joined DC Peace Team in 2024, and has become immersed in the Peace Justice concept and community. As a graduating Ph.D student in Public Policy and Administration, he hopes to be impactful as a peacemaker and will expand advocacy for peaceful, nonviolent resistance in his areas of influence and in other organizations where he holds space and identity. Amos is proud to join the DC Peace Team Core Group.
Hope Christensen
Board Member
The Rev. Hope A.J. Christensen is a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington and the CEO of Faith Leaders for Ending Gun Violence. With over 20 years of professional experience in non-profits, she is a dynamic leader working at the intersection of faith and social issues. Hope has a deep and demonstrated commitment to fostering connection and collaboration across diverse sectors and interests to achieve meaningful outcomes. She holds degrees from Bexley Seabury Seminary and the University of North Carolina Greensboro.
Dawn Valentine
Board Member
Dawn Valentine is a long-time practitioner of yoga, grounding her practice in the principles of liberation and collective healing. She serves as the Executive Director of the Mediation and Conflict Resolution Center, a nonprofit community mediation center supporting peacemaking and restorative practices in Howard County MD. With a deep commitment to nonviolence, she brings over 18 years of experience in public health research and evaluation. Focusing on community violence prevention and deescalation, as well as evaluating the effectiveness of both grassroots and city-level interventions in improving health outcomes for the people who live in Washington, DC.. Her work integrates embodied practices with systemic change, fostering spaces where dialogue and transformation can thrive.
Staff Support
Social Media Manager
Eli S. McCarthy, Ph.D.
Director of Programs
Eli has led numerous training in nonviolent communication, unarmed civilian protection, and bystander intervention. He also helps facilitate the deployments of DCPT’s unarmed civilian protection units. He is a professor at Georgetown University, where he teaches in the Justice and Peace Studies Program. His most recent book is titled A Just Peace Ethic: Building Sustainable Peace and Breaking Cycles of Violence (2020). In 2012, Eli published Becoming Nonviolent Peacemakers: A Virtue Ethic for Catholic Social Teaching and U.S. Policy. He has been formed by multiple trips to Haiti, where he worked with people living in poverty, working with people experiencing homelessness in Boston and Washington, DC, monitoring the Palestinian Elections in 2006 with the Nonviolent Peaceforce, and leading strategic nonviolent resistance campaigns.
Leah Landry
Administrative Manager
Leah (she/her) is passionate about building a world where race no longer determines our opportunities to thrive and where we are all liberated from overlapping systems of oppression. Leah is involved in activating white folks in racial justice work, moving white wealth to people of color-led groups and organizations, cultivating organizational cultures and practices that center intersectional racial justice principles, and reimagining and building our capacity for what safety can look like. Through facilitation, organizational change processes, and community organizing, Leah is excited about working towards a more just future.
Francis Gortaire
Operations Manager
Francis is passionate about working with people & improving processes to further positive change. They hold an M.A. in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University; a training certificate from the first Regional Institute in Strategy and Practice of Nonviolent Action from FLACSO, Ecuador; as well as a Project Management Professional certificate from the Project Management Institute. Most recently, they completed a Community Building Fellowship with Rising Organizers. Their professional experience of over 12 years includes operational and programmatic support, staff & volunteer management, community management, monitoring & evaluation, and working for nonprofits in immigration, peacebuilding, education, & human rights. Francis is joining the DC Peace Team to be more involved in the grassroots community of DC and apply their skills to support nonviolent efforts. They are committed to continuous learning and growth, including in their practice of nonviolence, meditation, and social justice advocacy.
Elli Ward
Social Media Manager
Elli (they/he) is the current social media intern with the DC Peace Team. They are an undergraduate junior at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD). Elli is majoring in Psychology and Criminology & Criminal Justice and minoring in Law and Society and Anti-Black Racism. They are interested in the criminal justice system, social justice, and rehabilitative practices. Restorative justice has called to Elli for its harm reduction and community oriented principles. Elli is excited to learn about restorative justice as it relates to the legal system, but also as a lifestyle.
Facilitators & Core Members
Meet some of our experienced facilitators and dedicated supporters. We love them and are inspired by their commitment to passionately share their time and expertise with the world.
Eliane Lakam
Experienced Facilitator
Eliane is a peace educator and consultant on gender-responsive policies with a background in peace and security, housing justice, environmental justice, and racial justice. Her work focuses on advancing nonviolence and climate action and promoting women's participation—as critical actors—in all efforts to achieve sustainable peace and justice. Eliane's training sessions empower participants to embrace nonviolence as a way of life and are rooted in the the promotion of human rights and dignity. Through interactive, context-relevant and trauma-informed approaches, she has trained people from all backgrounds and walks of life in the U.S and globally, including community and religious leaders, activists, elected officials, college students, and educators. She is a proud Hoya and completed graduate studies at Harvard University.
Jamal Jones
Experienced Facilitator
Jamal (he/they/them) is is a second-generation educator who earned their bachelor degree in Psychology and Psychoeducational Studies whilst at Howard University. Jamal's career focus has been on at-risk, juvenile, and special education students, specifically students with Emotional Behavior Disorders. While teaching in these alternative school settings, Jamal became a self-taught and trialed by fire in the skills presented. Jamal is currently finishing a Masters in Special Education and currently teaches adult learners at the Academy of Hope, DC.
Jeri Fields
Experienced Facilitator
Jeri (she/her) is a former educator who serves in her community as a first responder chaplain with a longstanding commitment to the spiritual well-being of all of God’s people. She holds a Professional Certificate in Restorative Justice from Vermont Law School. Jeri is inspired by the transforming and healing powers that occur within circles that offer safe spaces to be brave and vulnerable as personal stories are shared openly with authenticity, deep listening, and respect for others. In her professional and personal life, she is passionate about restorative justice and is an enthusiastic member of the Restorative Justice family of the DC Peace Team.
Tarek Farouk Maassarani
Experienced Facilitator
Tarek is currently focused on Restorative Justice efforts as a member of the Restorative DC team and the DC Alliance for Restorative Practices. His experience in the field of peacebuilding more broadly includes developing and implementing cross-border encounter programs, gang intervention efforts, community mediation and dialogue, and school-based peace education programs, as well as a wide variety of training/facilitation services. Tarek has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in conflict resolution. He holds a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School for International and Public Affairs and a J.D. from Georgetown University, as well as a B.S. in Environmental Studies and B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Lauren Brownlee
Experienced Facilitator
Lauren supports DC Peace Team's social media presence. She works in social justice education, and has helped lead student trips to Appalachia, Northern Ireland, Haiti, South Africa, Tanzania, and Rwanda. Lauren is deeply engaged in Quaker peace and social justice initiatives and is on the Steering Committee of the Quaker Palestine Israel Network. She has presented on such topics as "Pacifism Isn't Passive" and "Building the Beloved Community through Social Action" and has had articles published including "Recognizing Teacher Activism" and "Our Drop in the Wave of Liberation."
Debra Budiani-Saberi, Ph.D.
Experienced Facilitator
Debra (she/her) is a medical anthropologist academic and health and human rights activist with a longstanding background of international advocacy at the grassroots level and consultancy with international agencies/organizations including the United Nations, the Vatican, Europol and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. She is a trauma-aware facilitator of Mindfulness, Nonviolent Communication (NVC), Conflict Transformation and Restorative Justice Practices (RJPs) with an approach that blends an exploration of our inner worlds with our interpersonal relationships and that is rooted in neuroscience and social justice.
Andria Chatmon
Experienced Facilitator
Andria is a graduate student in the online Social Justice and Community Organizing Program of Prescott College. She became involved with DCPT after moving back to Maryland from Madison, WI, where she studied Spanish and Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison before working as a Bilingual Restorative Justice Intake Coordinator at YWCA Madison. Andria is excited to expand her knowledge around RJ and the implementation of other peaceful practices, use these practices to address systemic and community harm, and bring transformative, liberatory healing to all, especially vulnerable communities.
Kai Tomalin
Experienced Facilitator
Kai (he/they) is a professional martial artist with over 15 years of experience across styles. He has studied concepts of nonviolence and martial arts technique all over the world. As a dedicated practitioner of nonviolence and a scholar of martial arts theory and practice, Kai has worked alongside masters of numerous styles to develop a unique form of nonviolent self defense that combines technique and philosophy from a number of schools of East Asian martial arts and philosophy. His system of nonviolent self defense has served as the basis for a number of reforms and has been taught across all ages and skill levels. Throughout his career, he has served on an international panel of peace scholars, written many martial arts curriculums, and taught a number of classes.
Heather Thompson
Experienced Facilitator
Heather is a restorative justice trainer and a dedicated advocate for criminal and social justice reform. With nearly two decades of experience in the legal field, her work has centered on fostering healing and transformation for individuals and communities impacted by harm. Heather holds a Master’s in Legal Studies and is currently pursuing a second Master’s in Victim Services Management at Sam Houston State University. Her personal journey, including participation in victim-offender dialogues, fuels her commitment to creating pathways for accountability, empathy, and restoration.
Amanda Munroe
Experienced Facilitator
Amanda (she/her/any pronouns) is a social justice educator with professional experience as a facilitator, organizer, and consultant in higher education and social change movements. Amanda has been practicing conflict transformation approaches since 2010, and often integrates contemplation and mindfulness techniques into her facilitation. Amanda graduated in May, 2023 with a Master of Divinity degree at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She holds an M.A. with distinction in Conflict Resolution from Georgetown University, and a B.A. magna cum laude in Global Studies & French from North Park University.
