Leadership Team

Micah, an alumni of the first-ever AMENDS Class, seeks to be a musical peacemaker by using music as a tool to bring people from different backgrounds, communities, and walks of life together to understand one another and work together for a better future. Micah is the founder of the Jerusalem Youth Chorus, a choir and dialogue program for Israeli and Palestinian high school students.

Jessica uses strategic communication to advance human rights causes. She currently works with human rights organizations to help them use data, technology, and design to bring advocacy messages to larger audiences. Jessica is part of the 2012 AMENDS class.

Arez Hussen is a team leader at REACH, one of the oldest Iraqi peacebuilding organizations.  Through workshops and awareness sessions, REACH has supported the capacity of community-based organizations across the Kurdish region of Iraq. Arez has also been active in training journalists in Sulaimani, Iraq, Minneapolis, MN, and Lund, Sweden. He has served as a translator and assistant editor with UNESCO and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Arez is part of the 2013 AMENDS class.

Becca Farnum is an environmental peacebuilding researcher and educator. She works at the intersections of environmental activism, conflict resolution, and capacity-building with a particular passion for justice and equity, leveraging academia for public service and policy impact. Her work has included contributing to United Nations and International Law Commission policy on environmental peacebuilding; engaging underrepresented students in university learning through Widening Participation initiatives; and a stint with Michelle Obama’s Correspondence Team at The White House. Becca was part of the 2013 AMENDS class and currently serves as the AMENDS Global Fellows Director of Administration.