Leaders from around the globe

International Cities of Peace is a nonprofit, volunteer organization. If you would like to start a City of Peace initiative in your community contact us for more information at: info@InternationalCitiesOfPeace.org

OUR ACTIVE BOARD OF DIRECTORS,

representing five continents, Europe,  Asia, Africa, North America, and South America.

J. Frederick Arment (Chair), Dayton, Ohio

Founder and current Chair and Lead Facilitator of International Cities of Peace. Arment’s novels include the philosophical orphan’s tale, “Backbeat: A Novel of Physics,” and a political thriller, “The Synthesis.” His nonfiction work, “The Elements of Peace: How Nonviolence Works,” was released by McFarland Academic Publishers in 2012. In addition, “The Economics of Peace: Freedom, the Golden Rule, and Broadening Prosperity” was published by McFarland in fall of 2014. After an early career as a teacher, Arment founded a successful writing and marketing firm and began lecturing at Wilberforce College and Wright State University. In 2017 as the result of an International Cities of Peace alliance for Southeast Asia, Arment was engaged as Distinguished Researcher for the Institute for National Memory and International Peace Studies in Nanjing. He has keynoted events in South Korea, United States, Jamaica, China, and Northern Ireland as well as virtually on the continents of Europe, Africa, Asia, South, North and Central Americas.

Inés Palomeque, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Founder and President of Mil Milenios De Paz (MMP, or the Thousand Millennia of Peace), which has over twenty “Cities Committed to Peace” in South America. Inés is also Project Director for the Culture of Peace Art Ecology and Peace Foundation and Founding Member of the Peace Council of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Argentina and the Peace Council of Argentina. In 2021, she was elected President of the Honorable International Council of Peace Ambassadors.

Liu Cheng, Ph.D., Nanjing, China

Liu Cheng, born in 1964, is Professor for History and  holder of the UNESCO Chair of Peace Studies for China. He is Director of Institute for Peace Studies, in School of History, Nanjing University and holds concurrent posts as the following: vice president of Society of World History of Jiangsu Province, member of China British History Association, vice director of The Center for Collaborative Innovation in the South China Sea, director of Peace Studies Center in The Institute of Nanjing Massacre History & International Peace, senior researcher of The Charhar Institute, vice president of Peace Culture Research Association of Hunan Province, member of the executive committee of Northeast Asia Regional Peacebuilding Institute, member of Asia-Pacific Peace Research Association, member of China in Transcend International. He is Coordinator for the Nanjing Peace Forum and editor, publisher and author of many publications, including the first Peace Studies Journal in China and the five-book International Cities of Peace series published in 2023.

Ayo Ayoola-Amale, Ph.D., Lagos, Nigeria

Dr. Ayoola-Amale is the International Cities of Peace liaison for the Lagos State Network, which includes a team of legal practitioners in Lagos, including Judges, Barrister and Mediators. Ayo has been a Mediator for years and will further strengthen the pro bono services in Mediation for the poor in the Ikorodu community to promote peace and non-violence with the support of ICP Lagos Network of Mediators to help in building peace in that community and other communities in Lagos.

Gabriela Pickett, Ph.D., Dayton, Ohio

Born in Mexico with dual citizenships in that country and where she resides in the United States, Gabriela is an artist with exhibitions in Mexico, U.S., Belgium, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Estonia. She is Founder and Curator Missing Peace Art Space, President of the Unitarian Fellowship for World Peace, and a Board Member of the Human Relations Council of Dayton. An advocate for immigrant populations in the United States, Gabriela served as a member of the Dayton, Ohio School Board.

Danielle Henson, Illinois, U.S.A.
Danielle Henson is a Community Engagement Coordinator, Mediation Instructor, a certified Spiritual Director, and has deep experience in Library Science and Information Technology. In 2012, she was Coordinating Chair of the Elgin, Illinois, U.S. based City of Peace initiative, which received Elgin’s 2014 Dr. Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award for community programming and engagement. She was guest speaker at for Illinois Conference on Volunteer Administration (ICOVA), National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM Midwest Region), American Library Association’s Programming Librarian, Illinois Library Association conferences, and Friendship Force conference in Boulder, Colorado representing ICP and Elgin City of Peace. Danielle was awarded the Betty Brown Racial Justice Award from YWCA Elgin in 2017.

Barbara Gaughen-Muller, Santa Barbara, California, U.S.A.

Barbara co-authored Revolutionary Conversations: The Tools You Need for the Success You want. Barbara is the creator and host of the popular Peace Podcast with over 100 interviews of world peace leaders and is the publisher of  Peace Community Magazine. She is the President of the United Nations Association – Southern California Division. Ms. Gaughen-Muller is co-founder and past President of the Rotary E-Club of World Peace as well as past President of the Rotary Action Group for Peace. She received the Spirit of the United Nations Award after her 70th anniversary speech at the U.N headquarters in New York. She will be instrumental in the Board Member Nominating Committee for International Cities of Peace.

Susan Jain, Ashland, Oregon, United States

After co-founding two technology start-ups, Ms. Jain joined IBM Corporation and served as a Vice President.  Her assignments there took her overseas for 11 years, and included responsibility for the company’s marketing, communications and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs in Asia. IBM was awarded the Golden Peacock Award for excellence in CSR in India in 2011, and during her time there the company’s programs were also recognized in Australia and other countries. She serves International Cities of Peace as a co-Facilitator for the ICP Corporate Connect™ program.

Jennifer Brady, Patchogue, New York, United States

Ms. Brady has been actively engaged in violence prevention, community building, and other peacemaking efforts for the past 25 years. In 2001, she cofounded National Youth Violence Prevention Week, a campaign now adopted by Sandy Hook Promise, that engages all sectors from the community to work hand-in-hand with youth to raise awareness and collaboratively develop violence prevention programs and solutions.  Among other contributions, she serves International Cities of Peace as Representative to the New York headquarter of the United Nations.

John Tilji Menjo, Kabarnet, Kenya

Founding Director of Educare (to bring out), and Liaison for Kabarnet, Kenya, John has studied at Bhopal and Goa Universities in India. He holds a Bachelor of Art, post graduate diploma in Publishing, and a Master of Arts at the College of Preceptors, England. He has been recognized by the Argentina Academy, Latin America, with the WINGS for Children and Young Writers Chaco Affiliate Award. Among other projects, his vision of the first Peace School in Kenya focused on trauma informed education with art, play and cultural activities for children. John’s activities in Africa, Japan, and other countries focuses on the connections of culture and peacebuilding in the development of the next generation of peacemakers as well as mediation efforts for Africa’s Rift Valley. He serves as Outreach Facilitator for International Cities of Peace.

 

For information on Cities of Peace, inc. Nonprofit Governance, click here:

SPECIAL DISTINGUISHED ADVISORS

Peter vanden Dungen, Ph.D, Bradford, England

Foremost scholar and author of the definitive paper on cities of peace, “Idee und Geschichte der neuzeitlichen, Friedensstadt”. Peter is General Coordinator of the International Network of Museums for Peace and author of many books including “Pacifism,” “Peace Movements and Political Cultures, Vol. I (co-edited),” and “Twentieth Century Peace Movement.”

Lonnie Franks, Dayton, Ohio
After serving in the U.S. Air Force and receiving his B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Northern Iowa, Lonnie Franks rose to Director of Engineering, General Manager, and Vice President for NCR Corporation. Lonnie has decades of experience in software development, process improvement and accounting. Currently, Lonnie is a Consulting Software Program Manager. He served on the Board for the Dayton International Peace Museum and on the Board for the International Network of Museums for Peace.

 

ICP Central Facilitators

Cities of Peace, Inc., is currently looking for professional partners to provide pro bono support for accounting, bookkeeping, grant writing, and other professional capabilities. If you are interested in working with a successful peace organization, please contact: arment@internationalcitiesofpeace.org

Official Facilitators

  • Lead Facilitator: J. Frederick Arment, Space Coast, Florida
  • Skills Development Program: Dr. Katherine Li, Honolulu, Hawaii
  • Human Resources: Dr. Ayo Ayoola-Amale, Lagos, Nigeria
  • Rotarianism for Cities of Peace™: Dr. Gail Hoffman
  • Development: Looking for experiened volunteer
  • Corporate Social Responsibility Program: David Wick, Ashland, Oregon
  • Online Opportunities: John Menjo Tilji, Kabernet, Kenya
  • Tool Box Resources: Danielle Henson, Elgin, Illinois
  • U.N. Representative, New York: Jennifer Brady
  • U.N. Representatives, Geneva: Kjeld Lanng and Finn Reske-Nielsen
  • SustainChain™ Communications EcoSystem: Jennifer Brady
  • Systems: WordPress Consultant, Hafiz Uzzaman Tuhin, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • Continent Facilitators:
    • South/Central America: Inés Palomeque, Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Asia: Dr. Liu Cheng, Nanjing, China
    • Europe: Miomir Rajcevic, Belgrade, Serbia
  • Compliance: Open
  • Communications: Open

Special Advisory Council

  • Dot Maver, National Peace Academy; River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding
  • Rita Marie Johnson, Founder, Rasur Fondation, creator of the BePeace Practice
  • Glenn D. Paige, Ph.D., Founder of Center for Global Nonkilling (in Memoriam)
  • Anoop Swarup, Ph.D., Vice Chancellor of Jagran Lakecity University, Chair of Center for Global Nonkilling
  • Carol Rank, Ph.D., Coventry, England, City of Peace and Reconciliation
  • Kazuyo Yamane, Ph.D., Kochi University, Japan
  • Hend Farouh, Ph.D., Cairo University, Egypt
  • Balkrishna Kurvey of Nagpur, Ph.D., India, President, India Institute for Peace
  • Mitra Sen, Toronto, Canada, Founder of International Peace Tree Day
  • Patrick Hiller, Hood River, Oregon, War Prevention Initiative
  • David Adams, PhD, Coordinator, Culture of Peace Initiative
  • Avon Mattison, Pathways to Peace
  • Dennis Wong, Rotarians for International Cities of Peace

VOLUNTEERS FOR INTERNATIONAL CITIES OF PEACE:

There are many dedicated volunteers that have been working with International Cities of Peace for years, even decades. A new Strategic Plan for the future of the organization is available in the Documents section of the website. Positions, position descriptions, titles, etc. are detailed.

Above all, thanks to all the volunteers, facilitators, donors, mentors, and advocates for the Cities of Peace movement at the core of our vision.