our team
Peace is a never-ending process … It is an attitude, a way of life, a way of solving problems and resolving conflicts.
— Oscar Arias
Patricia Shafer
Executive Director, NewGen Peacebuilders
Patricia is Senior Fellow for Peace Education at the Alliance for Peacebuilding, a Rotary Peace Fellow, Rotary Positive Peace Activator, and Global Peace Ambassador for Rotary strategic partner Institute for Economics & Peace.
In addition to her official peacebuilding work, Patricia is Chief Catalyst and Executive Director of international nonprofit Mothering Across Continents through which education projects are managed in several countries in East Africa. Previously, Patricia held senior positions in change management, communications and corporate affairs in two global Fortune 100 companies. She holds an MSc in Consulting and Coaching for Change – a joint-venture of Oxford University, UK, and HEC France; an MBA, Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management; and MA, Journalism from The Ohio State University.
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Elizabeth Peacock
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Elizabeth has extensive experience designing, developing, and implementing peace education and action peace projects in the US and international locales. She is also an Institute for Economics & Peace Global Peace Ambassador. Her accomplishments with NewGen Peacebuilders have been recognized by the NC State Institute for Emerging Issues, SEED20 Initiative of Social Venture Partners — Charlotte, and The Pollination Project. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and former high school teacher.
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Deb Semmler
DIRECTOR OF CURRICULUM
Deb Semmler is Director of Curriculum for YPA and NGP. A retired National Board Certified physics teacher, BS in Chemical Engineering, MS in Engineering, Microelectronic Center Of North Carolina Fellow. Developed innovative curriculum as a Yale National Teaching Institute Fellow and Charlotte Institute of Teacher Fellow. School Executive Leadership Academy graduate. She is the lead catalysis for the development of Pivot Academy, which changes the way STEM is taught in East Africa.
Peacebuilder Guides
As students engage in YPA content and experiences, they will have opportunities to hear about and learn from young certified peacebuilders. Their voices and experiences offer guidance, inspiration and education throughout the core My Peacebuilder Foundations course, Leading Peace Project Teams training, and beyond. These inspiring peacebuilder role models have completed peacebuilder training, served as young peace ambassadors, mentored teams, created multiple peace projects and won significant awards.