InterChange governs itself through a decentralized international infrastructure that facilitates the sharing of information, resources, and leadership responsibilities among local centres of the organization.
Local centres of InterChange are currently established in Toronto, Canada; Vukovar, Croatia; Nairobi, Kenya; Kisumu, Kenya; and Kampala, Uganda. University affiliation is being sought in each of these regions.
InterChange is currently governed by an international board of directors that is accountable to its members:
CHARLES TAUBER Board Member,
CROATIACharles was born in New York City in 1952 to a refugee family. He studied physics at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, USA, and obtained his qualification as a doctor in Groningen, The Netherlands.
Since 1988, he has been working with the physical and mental health difficulties of asylum seekers, refugees, and the victims of war, first with various organizations in The Netherlands and, since 1995, with the Coalition for Work with Psychotrauma and Peace (CWWPP), which Charles assisted in founding.
Charles and the CWWPP presently work in Vukovar, Croatia giving direct counseling to individuals and groups and giving courses in what the CWWPP calls “pragmatic peacebuilding” designed for people without previous education. Charles has been involved with InterChange since the beginning of its existence. He strongly believes that “everyone can be a peacebuilder”. He believes that InterChange can be a strong force for change when its members work together.
Contact: cwwppsummer@gmail.com
ANTHEA DARYCHUK, Board Member
CANADAAnthea has been involved in health-related research and programming for number of years, and worked with different organizations in Latin America, Canada and the Middle East on themes of reproductive rights and women’s social development. Anthea’s current research looks at the role of grandmothers in newborn health and neonatal mortality, and analyses the inclusion of senior women in national newborn health policies.
Anthea has been a member of InterChange for more than two years. Since taking Community Healing and Peacebuilding with the late Dr. Goodman, Anthea has participated as a Board Member and co-facilitator of a community peacebuilding workshop with InterChange and the LAMP Community Health Centre in Etobicoke, Canada. This project partnered with the South Etobicoke Youth Assembly, and supported training of young people in digital storytelling and mental health promotion.
Contact: anthea.darychuk@gmail.com
CAROLYN WEBB, Secretary
CANADACarolyn came to be involved with InterChange nearly 10 years ago, with the idea of an organization that would bring together community-based peacebuilders. Since that time I have been thrilled to have been able to support InterChange’s development, including facilitating strategic processes, developing and implementing communications approaches, providing coordination at the board level, and supporting members to bring their talents to the effort of building peace within a supportive community.
“What I bring to the organization isn’t so much a background in peacebuilding, but rather a sense of how to help build an organization and a community. At the same time, I recognize that in my life and work, I am a peacebuilder and I have enjoyed applying all of the insights and inspirations that I’ve gained from other InterChange members.”
Contact: carolyn.webb@utoronto.ca
WILSON NDENYELE, Board Member
KENYAWilson is currently a part-time lecturer at the Technical University of Mombasa, Kenya. He teaches conflict resolution and management and community capacity building and empowerment courses to undergraduates. He is also a conflict resolution and project evaluation consultant to civil society groups. Wilson’s expertise includes: community development, conflict resolution, project management, monitoring and evaluation and policy analysis. He also served as a head of Field office in Jaffna, Sri Lanka with Nonviolent Peaceforce at the peak of the conflict between Sri Lankan armed forces and LTTE. Currently is setting on mission fulfillment and audit committees of the International Governance Council of Nonviolent Peaceforce International based in Brussels, Belgium.
Contact: ondenyele@gmail.com
Saeeda Noor
“In the past, I have been involved in various activities and projects of InterChange, and now as a new Board Member. I am strongly committed to promoting community-based peacebuilding, enlightenment and education as well as healing and well-being at the individual level. While working in both the international and Toronto non-profit sector and participating in several community based trainings, I have developed a feminist, anti-racist and anti-oppressive approach to my work. I am particularly interested in issues related to international development, women development, violence against women awareness, disability/accessibility/health education, well-being through spirituality, mindfulness and holistic adult education. I have a Master of Education in Adult Education and Community Development from the University of Toronto as well as extensive experience in working with multi ethnic/cultural women, especially the Muslim population, in Toronto and am interested in promoting interfaith and intercultural dialogue in the community.”
Contact: saeeda.n.noorilahi@gmail.com
UMAR WESWALA, Board Member, UGANDA
Umar Weswala is a Uganda based media practitioner with experience in radio, print and online journalism. He heads the U.S. Press Corps attached at the United States Embassy Kampala – Uganda. He is an Edward R. Murrow Fellow and the Founder and Managing Editor of The Community Agenda, a news blog that can be accessed on www.thecommunityagenda.com. Some people refer to him as a peace journalist because of his community oriented reporting, a culture he developed after joining InterChange in 2007. As one of the InterChange Board Members, he would like to help InterChange improve its social media presence and also help with the Newsletter where necessary since these are his areas of interest/expertise.
Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Weswala
Contact: uweswala@thecommunityagenda.com
Other members of the InterChange Board:
- Malik Rashid, Toronto, Canada
- Michael Wheeler, Toronto, Canada (Treasurer)
- Shareen Ally, Toronto, Canada
- Tor Iorapuu, Jos, Nigeria
Honouring our Past-President and Founder
ANNE GOODMAN, Past-President, Co-Founder, CANADA
Anne passed away on August 1, 2013, still dedicated to peace and to bringing people together. She lives on in our hearts and minds.
As stated in her words: “As one of the founders of InterChange, I’m delighted to see the way our organization has developed. Interests and skills I bring include: education and the desire to promote “peace literacy”; the development of peace theory and practice and the links between them; and creating space, support and opportunity for initiatives to emerge spontaneously. I enjoy building connections between people, including those in the university and in the community, and helping develop our InterChange community around the world.”
Please visit our pages Celebrating Anne Goodman and How has Anne touched your life? for reflections about how much Anne brought to our community.
- Susana Ochi
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