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Lydia Bulmer is a 2004 Graduate of International Politics and Third World Politics of the University of Aberystwyth, Wales. A particular area of interest for Lydia is the use of sanctions as an alternative to war. Lydia would like to carry on with her research on sanctions whilst at UQ. and do her thesis on whether sanctions are an effective tool to end the conflict in Israel-Palestine. Lydia has been very involved in campaigning on a wide range of issues to do with peace and justice. She would like to use her Masters’ degree to advance peace and justice across the world.

After graduating with a BA in Anthropology, minors in Conflict Resolution, Spanish and Women’s Studies, Kathy began a career with the American Red Cross. In collaboration with others, she created and directed a program to serve refugees, asylees and immigrants. She has facilitation skills in the areas of English as a Second Language, Spanish, economic justice (www.procott.org), intercultural communication and International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Presently she is training for the Master of International Studies in pursuit of her goal to work in the fields of IHL and conflict prevention. 

Virorth started work as program manager for Human Security and Peace Building program with Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI), a leading policy research institute in Cambodia in early 2005.  He has intensive skill and experience in peace building and conflict resolution. He was a program manager for Conflict Transformation Program (CTP) of SILAKA since 2002. He holds a double in English Education and Khmer Literature and has attended many intensive courses on peace building and conflict resolution in Cambodia and abroad. Virorth is familiar with Cambodian law and international law. He has four years of experience as a trainer for peace and conflict resolution and training of trainers.

Veronica was born in Mendoza Argentina in 1973. She obtained a law degree from the University of Mendoza in 1999 and a L.L.M. from the Georgetown University in 2003. Prior to coming to Australia she was a practising Commercial Law in Mendoza. She enjoys reading, hiking and travelling and has travelled extensively through Europe and the Americas. She speaks fluent Spanish, English and German. Her travelling opened her eyes to the many injustices occurring throughout the world and she has sought to gain a better understanding for solving conflict issues through peaceful means, her main reason to undertake the Peace and Conflict Resolution program.

Kevin has spent the last six years as an international development professional and post-conflict transition specialist with experience in project design and development, international conflict management and mitigation throughout the world. He has experience in US government-funded projects, post-conflict economic development, international crisis management, risk analysis and project training, design and implementation. For the past three years in his work with Chemonics International Inc., one of USAID’s largest contractors, Kevin has focused on transitional development projects in conflict areas including Afghanistan, Colombia, West Bank/Gaza, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Sudan. Acting as a team leader for the Crisis Prevention and Recovery technical sector at Chemonics, he has had the opportunity to work with a variety of issues including DDR, community strengthening, and economic development. He is looking to continue his work in transitional development focusing on civil military relations, peacekeeping and community development.

Ryan Moore comes from Co. Antrim in Northern Ireland and is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Ballymoney. After completing his undergraduate degree he worked in South Africa with an NGO for 18 months in community development through sports programmes. He has worked since 2004 for Local Government in Northern Ireland as a Community Relations Officer focusing on building contact, understanding and relationship between divided communities. Ryan spent three months last year with the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Israel / Palestine on a Human Rights project. A keen rugby union enthusiast, he is kindly hosted by the Rotary Club of Toowong and has really enjoyed his first few months so far. 

Mathias Omar is a Tanzania Human Rights Lawyer. He graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Law (LL.B-Hons) at the University of Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania in 2000. For the past 8 years Mathias has been working with UNHCR in Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. Mathias has undergone several other trainings in Human rights and Humanitarian Law in the UK, South Africa, Norway and Ivory Coast.

Emily Todd is originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, and was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Attica-Williamsport. Her host club in Australia is the Rotary Club of Ashgrove-The Gap. She attended The College of Wooster in Ohio for her undergraduate degree, where she majored in International Relations and Spanish. Prior to her arrival in Brisbane, she worked for two and a half years as a community educator with Proyecto Generando Vida, a grassroots NGO in Managua, Nicaragua. She also has experience working with immigrant advocacy groups, refugee resettlement programs and the Peace and Social Justice Institute of Catholic Charities.

Tamara has worked for American Councils for International Education, conducting democratic and educational programs in every region of the country as well as the conflict breakaway region of Transnistria in the eastern region of Moldova. Tamara has also coordinated the “Disability with Ability” campaign aimed at raising disability awareness among Moldovan youth. Her long-term career goal is to become an effective advocate for social interests; undertake reform projects in the public sector, and collaborate with international aid agencies and organizations in order to improve the lives of children around the world.

Since 1997, Janelle Weissman has worked to strengthen programming and operations of an array of non-profit organisations tackling issues from empowering women and supporting people with HIV/AIDS, to promoting youth development. For the past five years, she served as Executive Director of two organisations: Social Venture Partners Boulder County (SVP), and the Rita and Harold Divine Foundation. Through SVP, she facilitated grantmaking, directed capacity building projects, and provided training to nonprofits and donors alike to help increase their impact on communities. At the Rita and Harold Divine Foundation, Ms Weissman worked with three generations of Divine family members to develop and implement a grantmaking strategy directing support to diverse nonprofits around the world, with a focus on building bridges to promote peace and coexistence. Ms Weissman participated in Rotary District 5450’s 2004 Group Study Exchange team to Thailand, and was a 1992-93 Rotary Youth Exchange student in Charleroi, Belgium. She is a founding member and former Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the BlueFlower Project, which raises funds to support progressive women candidates in elected office throughout the state of Colorado. She served on the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado’s Community Funding Panel from 2001-2003, the last year as Chair, making grants to support a wide range of nonprofits while highlighting key contributions gay men and lesbians make to build vibrant and strong communities. She completed her Masters in Nonprofit Management from Regis University in Denver, Colorado USA, as a Colorado Trust Fellow, in 2001. 

Marcos Zunino was born in Buenos Aires. He studied law at the University of Buenos Aires, where he graduated with honours as a lawyer on July 2001. Afterwards he worked in a firm specialized in international insurance law. From 2002 until 2007 he worked for the Judicial Power of Buenos Aires Province as a legal clerk in a civil and commercial court.