Scilla Wahrhaftig has a long history of Quaker activism, in England, Zimbabwe and the US. In November 2001 she spent nine months as staff for the Quaker United Nations Office in New York working on the issues arising from 9/11. Since 2003 she has been working as staff Program Director for the American Friends Service Committee Pennsylvania Office. Scilla is a member of Pittsburgh Friends Meeting in Pennsylvania.
Lauren Ballester is a junior studying Materials Science Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. She grew up in Philadelphia attending Quaker school for most of her life. She is involved in student activism on campus as a member of Penn for Palestine, Penn BDS and the Penn Haven Housing Cooperative. She recently spent two weeks in Israel/Palestine with Interfaith Peace Builders, connecting with peace activists, families, and communities working to end the occupation and learning how to bring the movement home.
Sandra Tamari is a Palestinian-American and member of the St. Louis Religious Society of Friends. She spends her free time as an organizer with the St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee and a member of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation Steering Committee. She holds a Master’s degree in Arab Studies from Georgetown University.
Jill Anderson was born in Utah, raised in Texas, and lives in Mexico City. She is one of the 213.9 million international immigrants in the world today. Since 2005, she has collaborated with immigrants and refugees in the United States and in Mexico. Her postdoctoral research and writing focus on immigration, globalization, and culture via the stories we tell each other.
I grew up in a household full of music: Spiritual, Religious, Rock and Roll, Gospel, R&B, Soul… I enjoy athletics and have competitively played Soccer for at least 12 years. I’ve run Varsity Track in undergrad for the past 3 years, and I always enjoy a good round of paintball with friends. Along with a double major in Human Development & Social Relations and Spanish & Hispanic Studies, I strive to continue challenging myself academically as I encounter more opportunities to do so—and my time at Earlham College has proven to grant me those.
Peter Lems served as the Program Director for Education and Advocacy on Iraq and Afghanistan for the American Friends Service Committee and the co-coordinator of the Wage Peace campaign. He coordinates and implements educational and advocacy initiatives around Iraq, Afghanistan and U.S. foreign policy. Since 1988, he has worked for a variety of organizations focused on the Arab world, including the Palestine Human Rights Campaign, the Palestine Human Rights Information Center - International, and the Association of Arab-American University Graduates.
Dereje Wordofa serves as AFSC's Regional Director for Africa.
Bilal Taylor is a program officer for AFSC. He works with many program staff across the organization. Before joining AFSC, Bilal spent over 14 years working with and for youth in the greater Philadelphia region in various capacities. Bilal is a student of Public Policy, Political Science, and Political Philosophy. In his free time, he can usually be found spending time with his 90-year old grandmother on Long Island, or engaging in his passion for reading 19th century literature (particularly the works of Melville and Dostoyevsky).
Paul Ricketts is an avid reader and educator. He has worked for thirty five years in education and with adults with disabilities. Friend Paul is a member of Fort Wayne Friends Meeting of Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting and currently serves on AFSC's Community, Equality, and Justice Board Committee and AFSC's Midwest Executive committee. He also serves on Friends General Conference's Committee for Nurturing Ministries.
Philip Lord is the incoming clerk of the Board of AFSC. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania who has concentrated his practice by representing community development corporations with local ownership in complex real estate transactions for many years. A long time member of the Society of Friends, Phil is currently a member of Chestnut Hill Meeting in Philadelphia.