“The Courage to Achieve Peace Through Just Relationships”

CARL GREEN

   Currently I hold a fitness and sports staff position at the Ashland Family YMCA, the SOU liaison for Relay for Life, a member of the SOU Nonprofit Student Association, and a recently joined board member for PH (Jan. 2007).
I am from Kodiak , Alaska . I came to Ashland about 4 years ago to obtain a higher education, however, the overall deciding factors were because of the SOU wrestling program and there was an Army National Guard Unit near campus. I have been in the ARNG for about 5 years and my military occupational specialty is a human resource specialist.
I will graduate from SOU in the spring of 2008 with a Bachelors of Science in Human Communication and Psychology, a minor in Public Relations and Business Administration, and two certificates Human Resource Management and Nonprofit Management. I am proud to say that I am a member of the 5 year plan. I say this with gratification because I would have never found my niche in life or where I plan to go with my career. What I mean is from a young age I have always volunteered in the community as long as it was for a good cause but I never really understood the bigger picture. Now that I am in college I have continued to be a firm believer in philanthropic and civic attitudes and actions. But the only difference now is I understand the bigger picture and for me that picture is one person can make a difference no matter how small it is.
ACT NOW… Pura Vida (Pure Life).

SASHA KRAFFT
 I moved to Ashland from Southern California in my teens. While attending High School here I was fortunate enough to get involved in the local community straight away- immersing myself in as many clubs and extracurricular as my schedule would allow. I become a certified peer-mediator and active member of Interact, Young Democrats and Mock Trial; these were just some experiences that allowed me to put my ideals into practice. I started volunteering at “Uncle Food’s” in 2000 and worked with all of the organizers there until 2003.
Post-High School Graduation, I had the opportunity to go abroad to the Czech Republic as a rotary exchange student. While there, I lectured at the High school and taught small private groups in the English language. While teaching my own language, I simultaneously studied Czech; of which I am now sufficiently proficient.
After the school year ended I traveled around many other parts of Eastern Europe and former Yugoslavia . It was during these travels that I noticed the bureaucratic mess that dogged the transitioning region; this coupled with the growing tension in the U.S. political climate- I decided that it was through activism and civil disobedience that I may enact positive change in my community and the world around me.
In early 2004, I became involved with a group of anti-war protestors; Hari Krishna’s and expatriates whose activism, best served their country from afar. It was then that I joined the International Peace Movement. It was with the International Peace Movement that I attended the 3rd annual European Social Forum (ESF), in London , October of 04’. I was also an active member of the European Roma rights centre (in conjunction with the league of human rights) until 2005. Currently, I am a member of the transparency project and Southern Oregon ’s chapter of the United Nations. I am a full-time student in the process of completing a degree in sociology and International Studies, with an emphasis in philosophy. I hope to actively pursue the ideals of both acting locally and globally, as well as the Kingian notions that “a threat to justice somewhere, is a threat to justice anywhere”.

SALLY MCKIRGAN
After working in the non-profit industry for seventeen years in domestic violence, homelessness, and the environment, I have found that all human suffering including disregard for the environment can be boiled down to one thing and that one thing if practiced proficiently could end all suffering and degradation. Stated in very simplistic terms it is the attainment of inner peace. To have outer peace, we need to practice inner peace. Peace is possible.
I have held a variety of positions in the non-profit sector. At the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples , FL , I was the Volunteer Program Manager with a force of over 600 highly educated and capable volunteers. The total number of hours volunteered was over 50,000 hours annually. Also at the Conservancy, I was the Membership Specialist in the Development Department with a goal of increasing the 5,500 family memberships through direct mail appeals, special events and membership recruitment.
At the Shelter for Abused Women in Naples , FL , an organization dedicated to helping abused women and children find safe shelter. I assisted with general office administration including newsletters, annual appeals, a promotional video, and as special events coordinator. We held a fundraiser luncheon with Martha Stewart as our presenter.
At Shelter, Inc. in Concord, CA an agency dedicated to helping homeless and low-income people obtain economic self sufficiency I held several positions from Director of Development, executive assistant and office administration. One special event was a dinner fundraiser with jazz great Dave Brubeck. I also helped produce a televised public service announcement with actor Dennis Weaver.
As a community volunteer I helped co-found the Contra Costa Earth Day Festival that began in 1990 as an educational environmental grass roots festival. It grew in attendance to over 20,000 held at the Concord Pavilion. I also volunteered as co-chair of “Soviets Meet Moraga,” a local community event that was part of a nation wide program that brought Soviets and Americans face to face thereby reducing tension between both countries.
As a watercolor artist I have been accepted in national competitions. My paintings are in several private collections. I am a published poet. I am married to Carl McKirgan, have two sons. As a twenty year student of the spiritual book A Course In Miracles, I have come to realize that inner peace is possible and if we will only make the effort the we will live in a peaceful world.

JIM PHILLIPS
Treasurer
   My wife Lucy and I moved to the Rogue Valley ten years ago. Within a month of our arrival, I was involved with Peace House, researching and writing a short history of intolerance in the State of Jefferson . I teach cultural anthropology and Latin American Studies at Southern Oregon University. I came to peace issues through issues of social justice in my working class labor union family. Almost all of my immediate ancestors came from places that had known war and oppression— Poland , Ireland , and the Innu, the native people of Quebec . I was a Jesuit for many years and learned about the connection between peace and justice by working with local development and empowerment organizations in the Caribbean region and Latin America . Later I worked for the American Friends Service Committee in New England , and collaborated with the Quaker United Nations Office in the late 1970s. I was a staff member and then a board member of Oxfam America in the early 1980s, and was director of the Institute for Global Education (similar to Peace House) in western Michigan in 1984-85. My wife and I spent 1985-87 as long-term team members with Witness for Peace in Nicaragua . More recently, my professional and personal involvement has been with concerns of refugee populations, war and conflict, postwar reparations, cultural and indigenous rights, and local development and empowerment in Latin America .

PAM VAVRA
At age 16, out of concern for my friends, and with my father’s help, I started a day center for troubled teenagers, who were experimenting with drugs, running away from home, in trouble with the law, and/or, just wanting a safe place to chill out and talk.
I graduated high school early, with honors; and, following in my father’s footsteps, I began a career in aerospace research, after earning degrees in mathematics and psychology which I applied in combination, to artificial intelligence research in support of projects at NASA, Dept. of Defense, and Dept. of Energy.
I worked as an engineer for 20 years, striving to make the world a better and safer place through the advancement of technology, while sadly realizing that the results of my efforts were largely being used to wage war, rather than peace.
In 1991, recurrent episodes of major depression rendered me unable to work, and exposed me to inequities of social justice that motivated me toward a new career of volunteerism focused on community service and political advocacy.
I have served as President of the Manic-Depressive and Depressive Association of Los Angeles, a Founder of Self-Help And Recover Exchange (SHARE!) where I led/organized workshops on depression and suicide prevention, co-founder of a Legal Aid Center for unfortunate non-residents who federally- funded legal aid foundations could not support, and have led grassroots political campaigns in support of renters’ rights, living wage, and historic preservation, among other issues. Currently, I serve as Co-Chair of the Jackson County Pacific Green Party, and as a member of that party’s state coordinating committee.