Erin Breeze

Wed, 1 Feb 2012 14:38:56 -0700

Erin joined SCG in the spring of 2004 and was appointed as SCG’s new Executive Director in July 2009. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Affairs from the University of Colorado at Boulder, summa cum laude, and a Master of Arts degree in Peace and Development Studies from the University of Limerick, Ireland, where she studied as an inaugural George J. Mitchell scholar. Among her roles at SCG, Erin directed the flagship Building Bridges for Peace (BBfP) program – a yearlong peacebuilding and leadership development initiative for American, Israeli and Palestinian teens. She oversaw the development of SCG’s new international peace education programs for American teens: the International P.E.A.C.E. programs (“participant encounter and community engagement program”), currently serving teens throughout the greater Denver metro area and Badlands National Park region of South Dakota.

In addition, Erin has worked collaboratively with scholars and practitioners to disseminate SCG best practices and strengthen SCG methodology. With SCG’s Founder, Melodye Feldman, she co-directed the Building Bridges for Peace project — a 2-year study funded by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) to design new evaluative tools to measure the impact of intergroup interventions. With Ms. Feldman she co-authored a final report on the project findings and SCG’s best practices titled, Building Bridges for Peace: An Intergroup Intervention for Israeli, Palestinian and American Teens, A Report on Theory, Best Practices and Evaluation after Fifteen Years. Erin has presented on SCG’s best practices and on this project specifically at national and international conferences.

Erin has a deep commitment to community service. Her own experience as an AmeriCorps volunteer furthered this commitment and increased her awareness of the impact young people can have when given the chance to contribute their own ideas and skills. At SCG she has helped to expand service-learning and community service experiences in all programs. SCG programs connect young adults with opportunities to engage in their communities as emerging leaders. Erin also has a special interest in the role women and other traditionally disenfranchised groups play in efforts to resolve conflict. With SCG, she is gratified to be working to empower young women and men with the leadership, communication, and peacebuilding skills they need to become partners in pursuing peace at home and abroad.

Erin lives in Denver with her husband, Daniel Junge, their daughter Harper, and their dog Mabel.

Jacquelyn Eisenberg

Wed, 1 Feb 2012 14:38:48 -0700

Jacquelyn served as a graduate student intern with SCG in 2007/2008 and was humbled to be appointed the Director of Programs in the fall of 2010. She received her Master of Social Work degree in Community Social Work and Global Health from the University of Denver and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the University of Colorado. Jacquelyn was selected as the University of Denver’s Winter Quarter 2008 “One to Watch,” graduated Magna Cum Laude in the Phi Alpha Graduate School Honor Society, and was elected as the President of her United States Peace Corps Peer Support Network.

During her graduate studies with Seeking Common Ground, Jacquelyn designed a research tool to monitor and evaluate new programming, as well as developed and facilitated an inaugural Leadership Curriculum for ongoing programming and retreats. One of the highlights of her internship with SCG included leading the Denver P.E.A.C.E. participants on a Leadership Enhancement trip to South Africa, including pre-departure program development and ongoing follow-up.

Prior to joining the SCG team in 2010, Jacquelyn collaborated with at-risk youth in the United States foster care system, taught English in the Amazonas, coordinated reproductive health initiatives with the United Nations Populations Fund in Sarajevo, developed a microcredit program with the Clinton Foundation’s HIV/AIDS Initiative in Jamaica, and managed life-skills programs during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Most recently, Jacquelyn Co-Founded an international nonprofit to support sustainable public health initiatives for the women and vulnerable children of Swaziland. In addition to her extensive international experience, Jacquelyn has been involved with public relations and social marketing in both the public and private sectors.

A lifelong advocate of youth capacity-building and peacebuilding, Jacquelyn is delighted to continue working to empower the next generation of leaders with the tools they need to be agents of change in their own communities. Jacquelyn presently lives in Denver, CO.

Marisa Ellman

Wed, 1 Feb 2012 14:38:40 -0700

Marisa was honored to join Seeking Common Ground as Development Associate in spring 2011. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Oregon with Honors in Political Science and International Studies, with a focus on Diplomacy, Law, and International Relations. She completed her Master of Arts degree from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Government, Diplomacy and Conflict Studies. Her coursework explored causes of global conflict, systems of governance, and she particularly focused on the role of the third sector in conflict resolution and promoting social justice. Marisa has always been drawn to international issues, and most recently lived in Israel for 4 years.

Prior to joining Seeking Common Ground, Marisa was involved with a variety of non-profits and had the opportunity to teach English to refugees from Darfur, advocate for people with disabilities, and strengthen LGBTQ refugee protection. Her previous development experience includes working for a non-profit in Israel that teaches low-income Arab and Jewish women vocational skills and financial independence.

In conjunction with her deep commitment to promoting a more equitable global community, Marisa is thrilled to be part of Seeking Common Ground’s peacebuilding work that empowers youth and adults to create peace in their communities. Marisa currently lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, Yaniv and their dog, Stella.

Melodye Feldman

Wed, 1 Feb 2012 14:38:28 -0700

Melodye Feldman is the founder and former executive director of Seeking Common Ground. She has over 25 years of non-profit experience primarily working with women and children. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Philosophy of Education and Human Services from Northeastern University and an MSW from the University of Denver, Graduate School of Social Work.

Melodye has spent extensive time in Israel beginning in the late 1960’s. In 1987 she witnessed the beginning of the first Palestinian Intifada (uprising) and although well versed in the Israeli/Jewish perspective of the conflict began to explore the Palestinian perspective. This led her to meet with both Israeli and Palestinian women working for peace and reconciliation of the conflict.

She continued to travel throughout the West Bank and Gaza meeting with government officials from both sides as well as meeting and interviewing many private Palestinian and Israeli families, peace activists, and human rights organizations. In 1993 after the historic Oslo peace agreement Melodye founded Seeking Common Ground.

Prior to her founding of SCG she worked as a rape crisis counselor for the Cambridge Women’s Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This was a cooperative feminist center run by volunteers. In the early 80’s Melodye moved to Colorado and became the executive director of the Longmont Coalition Against Domestic Violence and was a board member of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV). During her board tenure NCADV was instrumental in lobbying the U.S. Congress to draft laws that acknowledged domestic abuse as a crime and in training law enforcement officers including the Department of Justice, to respond to domestic violence calls appropriately.

In 2009 Melodye stepped down as SCG’s Founding Executive Director and remains involved with the organization as a consultant. She continues to speak about her experiences in peacemaking and remains committed to mentoring young people in building peaceful communities.

Melodye lives in Denver with her husband, Josh Gould, their son Coby, and dogs, Bizkit and Chaco and a cat named Bella.

Jennifer Sarché

Wed, 1 Feb 2012 14:38:14 -0700

Jen Sarché is thrilled to re-join Building Bridges as the Deputy Executive Director. Previously, she became a Building Bridges staff member in 1995, and acted as Program Director from 1997-2000.
In the intervening years, Jen worked in community engagement for HIV research as Director of Community Programs for the HIV Research Section of the San Francisco Department of Public Health. She received national recognition for her work communicating the science of HIV research in a way that invited diverse communities to not only volunteer for studies, but to actively engage with the way studies were conducted.
Jen also served as a Program Officer with the Kaiser Family Foundation and as a Senior Strategist for Mission Minded, where she focused on communicating powerful messages for social change organizations. Jen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from CU Boulder, and a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley.
Jen believes that ignorance and apathy drive conflict around the world, and that bringing people together to build relationships and empathy is the first step towards creating change. When not obsessively finding the right words to communicate complex messages and design, Jen has been known to read a lot, sing Brazilian songs, dance a little salsa, play tetris, and chase her two little boys on their daily adventures.

Rawan Zaitoun

Wed, 1 Feb 2012 14:18:00 -0700

Born and raised in Jerusalem, Rawan joined the SCG community in 2000 as a BBFP participant and has been involved with SCG since then. Currently, Rawan is teaching at Al-Quds University in the department of social work and working with SCG on alumni programming development and networking. In addition to working with SCG in various roles, Rawan worked with youth and women in the old city of Jerusalem in fields of empowerment and leadership.