What Can We Do for Peace – A Virtual Program for the International Day of Peace
Featured Speakers:
Dot Maver
Dot will share thoughts on Peace in Action and how groups are connecting, and building community in ways unprecedented as we experience a simultaneous all-systems breakdown; all systems breakthrough!
Dorothy J Maver, PhD is a global educator and peacebuilder. She is a co-founder of the Global Silent Minute, the National Peace Academy USA, Global Alliance for Ministries and Infrastructures for Peace, and the Seven Ray Institute. Dot also served as founding executive director of the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding (RPCP). She is co-author of the book Conscious Education: The Bridge to Freedom; a Fellow with the World Business Academy; a board member with Garden of Light; and serves on the International Cities of Peace Advisory Council, the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence Advisory Board, and is an advisor for the Compassion Games. From 2005–2007 Dot served as founding Executive Director of The Peace Alliance and Campaign for a US Department of Peace.
Jennifer Kim
Jennifer will share key highlights and reflections of her decades of experience organizing Peace Day Chicago through the Chicago Build the Peace Committee.
Jennifer Kim is Director of The Peace School, a Chicago non-profit teaching practices for a peaceful life and world since 1972. She joined the organization in 1978, the same year The Peace School founded Peace Day in Chicago. The Peace School has organized annual Peace Day celebrations each year with the support of the city’s Mayor and has worked in cooperation with the U.N. International Day of Peace since it was first celebrated in 1982. Jennifer chairs the Chicago Build the Peace Committee, formed by The Peace School in 2008 to expand Peace Day activities including peacebuilding materials it provides annually to every Chicago Public School.
https://www.peaceschool.org/peace-day
Samuel Chawla-Rios
Through an inspiring exploration of nonviolence, Samuel will encourage participants to discover practical ways to cultivate peace in their own lives, strengthen their communities, and contribute to a more peaceful world.
Samuel Chawla-Rios (he/him) is a nonviolence strategist, trainer, and community organizer dedicated to developing the human and civic capacities necessary for lasting peace. With a background in engineering, Sam brings a systems-oriented approach to social change, focused on cultural transformation, embodying nonviolence, and empowering communities. Sam has helped establish peacekeeping teams across New Jersey and facilitates trainings that equip communities to handle conflict without resorting to violence. As co-founder of Modern Peacenik, Sam works to cultivate a new generation of changemakers grounded in principled and strategic nonviolence.
Short Meditation Leaders
Mindfulness – Rev. Mike Travisano, Oshō
A mindfulness practitioner for nearly forty years, the Rev. Mike Travisano, Oshō, graduated from the seminary and was officially ordained to teach in 2021 as part of the Dragonfly Sangha, a modern Buddhist community in central Pennsylvania. Since then, Mike has taught mindfulness to individuals and organizations through his firm, The Art of Monday Morning, and facilitates group treatment sessions for Charlie Health, a virtual Intensive Outpatient Program for adolescents, young adults, and adults. His book, Refuge in Small Things, was released in 2024 and explores everyday practices for living with intention and presence. Mike’s writing has also been featured in Psychology Today, Tricycle Magazine, and other publications.
Compassion – Devon Patel, Ph.D
Deven Patel is Associate Professor of South Asia Studies and Comparative Literature at the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches courses in Literature and Literary Theory, Philosophy, and Mythology. He has served as both Chair and Undergraduate Chair of South Asia Studies at Penn. He is also the National Advisory Council Representative of the Yale National Initiative to strengthen teaching in public schools. He works with faculty across Penn’s various schools to foster a more expansive and inclusive global perspective to the study of Humanities. His published research focuses on Sanskrit literature, linguistics, philosophy and other aspects of Indian humanities and intellectual culture.