People and Partners

Board of Directors
Jeff Seul, Co-Chair.   Jeff Seul is a lawyer and conflict resolution practitioner.

Mr. Seul is Lecturer on the Practice of Peace at Harvard Divinity School and previously taught in the negotiation and conflict resolution fields at Harvard Law School.  Mr. Seul was a senior associate of the Program on International Conflict Analysis and Resolution at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs while studying and teaching full-time at Harvard.  His scholarship focuses on the causes of violent conflict, including conflict with a religious dimension; religion’s role in peacebuilding; reconciliation; transitional justice, including the relationship between conflict resolution and human rights; and legal disputes involving deeply-held moral values.  He has served as a facilitator, mediator, arbitrator or adviser in a broad variety of conflicts.  

Mr. Seul is a partner in the law firm Holland & Knight, where he chairs the Technology & Telecommunications Industry Group.  He previously served as general counsel of Groove Networks, a software company acquired by Microsoft in 2005.  Mr. Seul has served as a director of several other companies in the technology and renewable energy sectors.

Mr. Seul is involved in the Peace Appeal Foundation’s field work, in addition to serving as board co-chair.  Among other activities, he currently co-facilitates an initiative in which Jewish and Muslim leaders in Israel and Palestine are examining the religious dimensions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Shirley Moulder, Co-Chair.  Shirley Moulder is a trustee of the Southern Africa Trust. She serves as a non-executive director of a number of social development organizations in Southern Africa, having been involved in human rights, peacebuilding and development work for more than 30 years.

Based in South Africa, Ms. Moulder’s professional experience includes engagement with governments, the private sector and international aid agencies, as well as serving on a number of commissions for the Anglican Church in Southern Africa and the global Anglican Communion.  She is also non-executive Director of the Amalinda Social Housing Company (SOHCO), a  Section 21 non-profit distributing company committed to the development and management of social housing in the Eastern Cape, Cape Town and Durban Metropolitan areas of South Africa.
Chris Crockett, Treasurer.  Chris Crockett is in the international advisory business. He is active in the sustainable housing market, working on initiatives in the Middle East and Latin America with diverse global partners.  Mr. Crockett is also an advisor to a large South Korean company- AJU Global- where he is involved with various initiatives in the hospitality and energy segments.  Previously, Mr. Crockett was in the private equity business as a founding partner of Bridge East Capital. He commenced his career with Citibank in Saudi Arabia.  Mr. Crockett is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Johns Hopkins University. He lives in Ipswich, Massachusetts.
Derek Brown, Secretary and Co-Director.  Derek Brown serves as Secretary and Co-Director of the Peace Appeal Foundation.  In 2015-2016 he was a Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C..   Prior to joining the Peace Appeal Foundation in 2005 , Derek was Vice President and Associate Chair of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, a global institution investing in leading social entrepreneurs in over 50 countries.  As a member of Ashoka's executive team for nearly a decade, Derek directed several key initiatives and helped lead the expansion of Ashoka's work in over 50 countries worldwide.   A strong internationalist with a deep commitment to social justice, he has worked in both his professional and personal life to nurture social and public innovations across the world by enabling innovators and changemakers in diverse societies. Derek holds an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and a BA in History from Yale College.
Hannes Siebert, Co-Founder and Co-Director.  As an international peace process and negotiations adviser and facilitator, Hannes has worked in many of the world’s most conflict-ridden societies. He is currently facilitating and advising on aspects of the dialogue and peace processes in Lebanon, Myanmar/Burma, and Cyprus, working with national stakeholders in the development and implementation of national peace structures, authentic negotiations processes and local/regional conflict interventions. 

In South Africa he served as director in the National Peace Secretariat, the multi-party body mandated to implement its 1992 National Peace Accord. Post-1994 he assisted the Special Presidential Task Force in key in-tractable conflicts, focusing on de-militarization of youth militia. 

With 5 Nobel Peace Laureates, he initiated the establishment of an international foundation in 2000 in support of their “Appeal for Peace and Non-Violence”; In 2001, as an associate and fellow at the Center for War, Peace and the News Media at NYU, he coordinated the West-Dar al Islam Media Dialogues program – facilitating dialogue between major media institutions in the U.S. and Middle East; and in 2003 he developed Peace Tools, a comprehensive set of innovative tools for conflict transformation and negotiations processes.
Jayne Seminare Docherty.  Jayne Seminare Docherty is a professor of conflict studies at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University. She has also taught at George Mason University and Columbia College (South Carolina). Professor Docherty earned her Ph.D. at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University and she holds an undergraduate degree in religious studies and political science from Brown University. She also studied theology at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Professor Docherty consults with organizations and communities in transition, working with them to harness the positive energy of conflict and minimize its negative effects. Her current area of focus for research, writing and practice is improving the use of negotiation in unstable situations so that the results yield durable but flexible systems for creating long-term and sustainable peace with justice. She has also conducted research – especially action research projects – for nonprofit organizations; consulted on designing, monitoring and evaluating projects and programs; worked with universities on curriculum development; and conducted trainings on conflict analysis, negotiation, and program design.

In addition to serving on the Board of Directors for the Peace Appeal Foundation, Professor Docherty has served as Chair of the Research Section (2004-2007) of the Association for Conflict Resolution, and on the Council for the International Peace Research Association.  Professor Docherty is the author of two books:

• Learning Lessons from Waco: When the Parties Bring Their Gods to the Negotiation Table (Syracuse University Press)
• The Little Book of Strategic Negotiation: Negotiating During Turbulent Times (Good Books)

She also contributed four chapters to The Negotiator’s Fieldbook: The Desk Reference for the Experienced Negotiator (American Bar Association) and she is the author of numerous articles in journals such as Terrorism and Political Violence, Nova Religio, and the Marquette Law Review. Her work on culture and negotiation has been incorporated into three different textbooks used in law schools around the country.
​Dave Matthews.  Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dave became a naturalized American citizen in 1980. His family moved frequently during his childhood, spending time in the U.S. and England, in addition to South Africa.  Dave and his family moved to Charlottesville, Virginia in 1986 where he formed Dave Matthews Band in 1991. Now celebrating their 25th year, Dave Matthews Band is one of the most influential bands in rock history. Dave Matthews Band’s infectious and distinctive sound garnered lots of early attention and a die-hard loyal fan base, catapulting the band into one of the most successful touring acts of the past two decades. Their latest studio release, Away From The World, bowed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making Dave Matthews Band the first group in chart history to have six consecutive studio albums debut atop the chart.  Matthews’ solo debut, 2003’s Some Devil, was certified Platinum and its lead single, “Gravedigger,” won a GRAMMY® award for “Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.” 

In 2000, Matthews co-founded ATO Records, an independent label now home to Alabama Shakes, Brandi Carlile and more.  Matthews owns Blenheim Vineyards, a winery in Charlottesville, VA designed to have minimal impact on the environment.  He is also a partner in The Dreaming Tree Wines, which has raised over $1M for environmental groups since its inception in 2011.  A member of Farm Aid’s Board of Directors since 2001 (along with Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp), and The Wilderness Society’s Governing Council since 2010, Matthews is dedicated to conservation and environmental protection. In 2014, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation honored him with its Chairman’s Award commending his environmental dedication.  Matthews serves as an ambassador for Turnaround Arts, a program of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.  Additionally, Matthews is a Presidential Ambassador for Citizenship and Naturalization. Matthews has played numerous benefit concerts and the band’s Bama Works Fund, along with his own Horton Foundation, have raised more than $45 million dollars for a wide variety of humanitarian and environmental initiatives.  ​
Kristiina Rintakoski. Kristiina is Director for Peacebuilding and Advocacy at the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission, one of the largest Finish civil society organizations working in global development. She has over 15 years of experience in policy analysis and programme planning in mediation support, peacebuilding and national dialogue processes. Regionally much of her work has focused on Myanmar, Syria and Nepal. Before joining FELM, she served as Programme Director at the Crisis Management Initiative for 10 years, leading the development of CMI’s crisis management, conflict resolution and peacebuilding projects and activities. Prior to that, she worked at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. She holds Master’s degrees in International Relations from the University of Tampere, Finland and in Human Rights from the University of Padova, Italy. 
The Very Reverend Michael Weeder. The Very Reverend Michael Weeder is an Anglican priest with over 25 years of service in ordained ministry and the current Dean of St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa. The Very Reverend has served several parishes in the Anglican Diocese of Cape Town, and some of his extra-parochial duties include participation in the Diocesan Post-Ordination Training Program and service as Director of the Board of Social Responsibility where he coordinated a social justice program of the Diocese of Cape Town as part of the staff of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He was the Director of Project Vote, a product of the Anglican Board of Social Responsibility, which developed and coordinated a national voter education program for the 1994 elections. Internationally, The Very Reverend studied the role of religion and revolution in Lebanon and Nicaragua, acted as an election observer to Romania and Pakistan, conducted workshops on democracy in Swaziland, Mozambique, Malawi and Ethiopia, and took part in a Peace and Solidarity tour in North Carolina and Chicago as a guest of the American Friends Service Committee. He is a founding member of the December First Movement, a socio-cultural deliberation on the impact of slavery on consciousness and practice, co-produced a documentary on slavery called Lydia Williams: A Fervent Simplicity, and acted as an organizer, coordinator, and chaplain to the African National Congress. Michael was nominated to the board of the Peace Appeal Foundation by one of our Nobel Laureate mandating members, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.
Associates & Advisers
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Steve Hege. Steve has over a decade and a half of experience working with the UN, international NGOs, think tanks, and governments on issues related to security sector reform, DDR, local governance, human rights, political dialogue, and natural resources. As a part-time senior advisor of the Peace Appeal Foundation since 2007, he has provided technical assistance on security reforms and transitional arrangements in support of peace processes in Nepal, Lebanon, and Myanmar/Burma.  Steve is the Senior Program Officer for Middle East and North Africa for the United States Institute of Peace.
Andre Howson.  Andre devotes his talents at the intersection of peace research and information technology, working to make the latter  a valuable tool in the hands of stakeholders in all the processes which the Peace Appeal supports.  Since first working as a researcher for Sri Lanka’s One Text Initiative, Andre has helped compile, analyze and disseminate vast amounts of data and knowledge resources pertaining to specific conflicts and substantive areas of peacebuilding and conflict transformation.   He received his B.Sc. Degree in Information Systems and Management from the University of London.
Charlotte Kaeppel. Charlotte received her M.A. in International Human Rights Law from the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the American University in Cairo, and her Mag. Phil in Political Science from the Institute of Political Science at the University of Vienna. She has worked extensively at the intersection of human rights and public international law in both the Middle East and Mexico, with a variety of non-governmental and multi-lateral institutions. Presently she works on Practice to Theory and the peaceanddialogue.org initiative focusing on national dialogue processes and peace structures - a joined initiative and platform of the Peace Appeal Foundation, Common Space Initiative, the United Nations Development Program's Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Recovery and the Berghof Foundation.
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Candace Widmer. Candace supports the financial reporting and administrative functions of the Peace Appeal Foundation.  She comes to the organization with a wealth of experience aiding clients in small businesses and nonprofits.  A native New Yorker, she received her BA studying American History at Tufts University.   Along with her years of financial management practice, she has enjoyed raising her family of five children, first in Martha's Vineyard then in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she has resided since 2005.
Sahana Bhagat. Sahana is a 3rd year Echols Scholar at the University of Virginia.  Sahana is pursuing a degree in Global Security and Justice, with a minor in Social Entrepreneurship.  Sahana has a qualitative research background and has most recently returned from conducting ethnographic research for community organizations in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa. She is passionate about humanitarian aid and microfinancing. During her internship, she will be working with Peace Appeal staff on a number of projects related to our support for peacebuilding partners in Zimbabwe and US.   We are excited to have her join us. 
Council
Vinya Ariyatne (Sri Lanka). Vinya Ariyaratne, M.D., Ph.D., is the Executive Director of Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya. He holds a Doctorate in Medicine and a Doctorate in Community Medicine from the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine of the University of Colombo, while he has also obtained an M.Sc. in Community Medicine from the University of Colombo and a Masters in Public Health (International Health) from Johns Hopkins University, USA. Ariyaratne has been a Visiting Fellow of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the UK and has contributed to the corpus of medical literature through articles published in medical journals. He also served as a Lecturer in Community Medicine at the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
Daman Nath Dhungana (Nepal). Daman Nath Dhungana, a former Speaker for the Parliament, has played an active role in the Nepali peace and negotiations processes for the past 3 decades. He was a Founder Executive Member of Amnesty International and has been jailed several times for the cause of Human Rights and the restoration of democracy in Nepal. In 1990 he served as member of the Constitution Recommendation Commission, co-drafting Nepal’s first democratic Constitution. During his long and fiercely independent political and legal career, Mr. Dhungana served as member of parliament, was appointed as National Facilitator, Advisor and Observer of Nepal’s negotiations processes from 2003 to 2009, and was the  principle advocate for the establishment of a Constituent Assembly in Nepal since the mid 90’s. The Assembly was finally established in 2008. To add to his credentials, he was President of the Supreme Court Bar Association in 1984, General Secretary of the Nepal Bar Association 1971-73 and 1976-79, and Founder Executive Member of the Nepal Law Society and President of Transparency International (Nepal Chapter) from 1997 to 1998. Mr Dhungana is a founder-member of Nepal Transitions to Peace (NTTP).
Andrea Bartoli (USA). Andrea Bartoli is Dean of the School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University.   Professor Bartoli was previously the first Dean of the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University and holder of the Drucie French Cumbie Chair, where his research efforts have focused  on Peacemaking and Genocide Prevention. The Founding Director of Columbia University’s Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR), a Senior Research Scholar at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), a Teaching Fellow at Georgetown University, and at the University of Siena,  Dr. Bartoli has taught in the US since 1994. He chaired the Columbia University Seminar on Conflict Resolution, is a member of the Dynamical Systems and Conflict Team and is a Board member of Search for Common Ground. He has been involved in many conflict resolution activities as a member of the Community of St. Egidio, and has published books and articles on violence, migrations and conflict resolution. He was co-editor of Somalia, Rwanda and Beyond: The Role of International Media in Wars and International Crisis. Dr. Bartoli served as Associate Director, Italian Academy for Advanced Studies at Columbia University from 1992-99. He was a lecturer at the University of Rome-Tor Vergata, 1987-92, and director of the Center for the Study of Social Programs, 1986-92. He was president of Unita Sanitaria Locale 7, 1983-87 and a consultant to Consiglio Nazionale dell’Economia e del Lavoro, 1980-84. An anthropologist from Rome, Dr. Bartoli completed his Italian dottorato di ricerca (Ph.D. equivalent) at the University of Milan and his laurea (BA-MA equivalent) at the University of Rome.
Donna Hicks (USA). Donna Hicks is an Associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University.  In addition to teaching conflict resolution at Harvard, Clark and Columbia Universities, Dr. Hicks has spent nearly two decades in the field of international conflict resolution facilitating dialogue between communities in conflict in the Middle East, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Cuba, and Northern Ireland. She was a consultant to the BBC where she co-facilitated a television series, "Facing the Truth", with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, which aired in the United Kingdom and on BBC World in 2006.
Jehan Perera (Sri Lanka). Dr. Jehan Perera is executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, an independent advocacy organization. He is also a columnist for the Daily Mirror and the Lanka Monthly Digest in Colombo. He holds a Doctor of Law degree from Harvard Law School and a BA in economics from Harvard College. In April 2007 he received the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti National Award for Peace, Tolerance and Harmony from the Interfaith Harmony Foundation of India.
Dave Steward (South Africa). Dave Steward is Executive Director of the the FW de Klerk Foundation.  A former diplomat and civil servant, he served as Director-General in the Office of President FW de Klerk.  Mr. Steward remained Head of Mr. De Klerk’s office when he served as Deputy President in the Government of National Unity. He retired from the public service in October 1996 and started his own consultancy.  He assisted Mr. de Klerk with the writing of his autobiography “The Last Trek: a New Beginning” and helped Mr. de Klerk establish the FW de Klerk Foundation in 1999.
Joe William (Sri Lanka). Joe William is a Senior Development Officer at the Program Support Unit in Sri Lanka of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). His focus areas include Governance, Human Rights and Humanitarian issues.  He is a Presidium Member of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka (NPC) that promotes non-violent initiatives, and acts as a catalytic body to fcilitate peace and conflict resolution in Sri Lanka.  He holds a Masters Degree in Peace Studies from the University of Bradford.
Padma Ratna Tuladhar (Nepal). The late Mr. Tuladhar was a facilitator and mediator of Nepal’s democratic, peace and negotiations processes since the inception of the country’s transition to democracy for more than two decades. He became a member of the National Assembly (Rashtriya Panchayat) under the party-less Political system in 1986, elected from Kathmandu District. During his decades-long fight from within and outside of the assembly for the restoration of multi-party democracy, he was arrested, detained and jailed several times during the pro-democracy movements from 1981 to 1990, and then again in 2006.
Bishnu Sapkota (Nepal). Bishnu Sapkota is an international peace and conflict specialist who has served with a number of domestic and international NGO’s engaged in supporting Nepal’s national peace process for over a decade.  Since 2005, he has been a key advisor to the Nepal Transition to Peace Initiative (NTTP), managing the Nepal Transition to Peace (NTTP) Forum, comprised of senior politicians from Nepal’s major political parties, the Secretary of the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction and civil society representatives.  He currently serves as Country Director, Nepal for FHI 360.  Previously he was a Program Advisor to the Asia Foundation/Nepal responsible for managing the foundation’s National Peace Support Project, and provides technical advice to the Foundation on program areas related to political processes, transitional justice and strengthening of democratic institutions.

Founding Laureates

Nelson Mandela
Nobel Peace Prize for his work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa
1993
The Nelson Mandela Foundation
Frederik Willem de Klerk
​Nobel Peace Prize for his work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa
1993
FW de Klerk Foundation
​​Mairead Maguire
Nobel Peace Prize for being the Founder of the Northern Ireland Peace Movement
1977
Peace People​
​​Adolfo Pérez Esquivel
​Nobel Peace Prize for working for social development by means of nonviolent liberation.
1980
Adolfo Perez Esquivel
​Desmond Tutu
Nobel Peace Prize for his opposition to South Africa's brutal apartheid regime.
1984
Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation

Partners & Allies

Alliance for Peacebuilding

Ashoka: Innovators for the Public

Center for Civil Society and Governance, FHI360, Inc. (USA)

Charity and Security Network

The Common Space Initiative for Shared Knowledge and Consensus Building (Lebanon)

Cyprus Dialogue Forum (Cyprus)

Dream of the Good (Sweden)

Euro-Burma Office (EBO)

The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (FELM)  

Nepal Transition to Peace Institute

One Text Initiative (Sri Lanka)

The Pyidaungsu Institute (Myanmar)

United Nations Development Programme

United States Institute for Peace

University of Virginia Humanitarian Collaborative 

Legal
Steptoe and Johnson, LLP (Global)

Accounting and Audit
Turner, Leins & Gold, LLC (USA)