JOHN NOLTNER A peace of Mind
John Noltner is an American photographer and peace activist. His work and subject matter is varied, ranging from small town America to projects overseas. His photographs have been published in national magazines including National Geographic Traveler, AARP, Health, Smithsonian, and Business Week.
Since 2009, Noltner has been asking people the simple (or not so simple) question, “What does peace mean to you?” for his multimedia art project, A Peace of My Mind. The project combines photographs of diverse subjects and their personal stories exploring the meaning of peace. He has included the voices of Holocaust survivors, homeless individuals, political refugees and others.
The project has been presented at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, the National Civil Rights Museum, and the Sojourners Summit for Change.
A Peace of My Mind represents John’s belief that art and storytelling have the power to transform our hearts as well as our communities and that we each have the power to create positive change in the world.
DR. CARY FOWLER Office of Global Food Security
Dr. Fowler is perhaps best known as the “father” of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, described by former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as an “inspirational symbol of peace and food security for the entire humanity.” The Seed Vault provides ultimate security for more than 1,400,000 unique crop varieties, the raw material for all future plant breeding and crop improvement efforts. He proposed the creation of this Arctic facility to Norway, headed the international committee that developed the plan for its establishment, and now chairs the international council that oversees its operations.
In 2015, US President Barack Obama appointed Dr. Fowler to the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development.
Dr. Fowler is Chair of the Board of Trustees of Rhodes College. He serves on the boards of the NY Botanical Garden Corporation, the Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust and the Amy Goldman Charitable Trust. He is a former member of the National Plant Genetic Resources Board (appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture) and former board and executive committee member of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico. He is past chair of the board of The Livestock Conservancy.
PATRICIA SCHAFER NewGen Peacebuilders
Patricia is Senior Fellow for Peace Education at the Alliance for Peacebuilding, a Rotary Peace Fellow, Rotary Positive Peace Activator, and Global Peace Ambassador for Rotary strategic partner Institute for Economics & Peace.
In addition to her official peacebuilding work, Patricia is Chief Catalyst and Executive Director of international nonprofit Mothering Across Continents through which education projects are managed in several countries in East Africa. Previously, Patricia held senior positions in change management, communications and corporate affairs in two global Fortune 100 companies. She holds an MSc in Consulting and Coaching for Change – a joint-venture of Oxford University, UK, and HEC France; an MBA, Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management; and MA, Journalism from The Ohio State University.
