SPEAKERS

Founder, Genocide Watch

Dr. Gregory H. Stanton’s the founding president and chairman of Genocide Watch. Through his research, he discovered the “Ten Stages of Genocide.” From 2010 to 2019, he was a research professor in genocide studies and prevention at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University, Arlington, Virginia, USA. From 2003 to 2009, he was the James Farmer Professor in Human Rights at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Senior Clinician, Solid Minds Counseling Clinic.

Dr. Jean Pierre Ndagijimana is an expert in decolonial and innovative approaches to individual and collective healing in Rwanda post genocide and in Africa in general His current work mainly focuses on supporting the Mastercard Foundation’s Africa-based university partners to strengthen their capacity in mental health and wellness by co-generating homegrown strategies that are contextually, culturally, and linguistically relevant.

Author, “Survivor Café: The Legacy of Trauma and the Labyrinth of Memory”

Survivor Café blends personal story, interviews, and extensive research on the complex subjects of epigenetics and the inter-generational aftermath of war and atrocity. The book offers a comprehensive and intimate portrait of both individual and collective inheritance of history.

Founder, Genocide Survivors Foundation

Jacqueline Murekatete is an internationally recognized genocide survivor and human rights activist. Jacqueline’s story and work has been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Jerusalem Post, Al Jazeera America, UN Africa Renewal Magazine, Newsday, Fast Company, People, Teen Vogue, NPR, Voice of America, CNN, PBS, NBC, ABC, MTV, and other media outlets worldwide.

Director of Education, Global Awakening

Dr. Mike Hutchings conducts “Healing PTSD” training seminars throughout the country, training prayer ministers, clergy, chaplains, and counselors to utilize a healing prayer model to bring restoration to those suffering with PTSD. He travels to churches and conferences near military bases in the United States, equipping churches to minister healing to those who suffer from PTSD. Dr. Hutchings also conducts weekend conferences on Kingdom Transformation and Transforming Revival.

Communication Officer, Peaceful Heart Network in East Africa

Placide completed his study in social worker at the Victoria Universite in Kampara, Uganda. He has played a crucial role in developing a mental health pilot program used in survivors Communities and in the persons.

United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide

Special Adviser Nderitu has been a recognized voice in the field of peacebuilding and violence prevention, having led as mediator and senior adviser in reconciliation processes among communities in her country, Keya, as well as in other African settings.

Author and Advocate

Elizabeth Hankins is a peace worker, author, and human rights advocate committed to peace building, locally-led development, and civilian protection in some of East and Central Africa’s most vulnerable and war-impacted regions. Her second book, I Learned a New Word Today…Genocide, an educational young adult novel exploring major genocides of the twentieth century, is used throughout secondary schools in the United Kingdom as a historical primer introducing genocide.

Head Guide, Kigali Genocide Memorial

In his role as head guide, Serge receives local and international visitors and organizes training sessions for the guiding team. He started working at the Kigali Genocide Memorial as a volunteer in 2006, becoming head guide in 2012. Serge has traveled to the United Kingdom and Denmark to carry out speaking tours on Rwanda’s recovery process, as well as to share his genocide experience as a way of teaching others about genocide prevention. He graduated from Kigali Independent University with a degree in social sciences and international relations.

Professor, Scholar, Author

Professor Zachary D. Kaufman, J.D., Ph.D., is an award-winning professor and practitioner of Transitional Justice. An expert on the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda, he is the author or editor of three books: United States Law and Policy on Transitional Justice; Social Entrepreneurship in the Age of Atrocities; and After Genocide: Transitional Justice, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, and Reconciliation in Rwanda and Beyond. A Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Professor Kaufman has served in all three branches of the U.S. government (including at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he assisted Rwanda’s post-genocide criminal justice development) and at three international criminal tribunals (including the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda). He was the founder, president, and chair of the Board of Directors of the American Friends of the Kigali Public Library, which partnered with the Rotary Club of Kigali-Virunga to build Rwanda’s first-ever public library, the Kigali Public Library.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Rwanda to the United States of America and non-resident Ambassador to Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina

Prior to her appointment, Ambassador Mathilde Mukantabana was a tenured Professor of History at Cosumnes River College (CRC) in Sacramento, California from 1994 to 2013. She is also co-founder and President of Friends of Rwanda Association (F.O.R.A), a non-profit American relief association created in the wake of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda. In addition, under the aegis of United Nations for Development Programs (UNDP), Ambassador Mukantabana started the academic program of Social Work at the National University of Rwanda in 1999. Ambassador Mukantabana is an active Board Member of the Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Sonoma State University in California. She is the acting Chair of the Board of the Organization of African Leaders in Diaspora (OALD) that she co-founded. A featured presenter at several film festivals and an international in- demand speaker, Ambassador Mukantabana has won many awards attesting to her accomplishments.

Mental Health Advocate & Researcher

Lisa, the child of survivors of the Rwandan genocide, is a community leader, researcher and B.Sc. Psychology graduate. She maintains a mission of helping foster healthy and connected communities through mental health promotion. While working towards her Bachelor of Science in psychology at the University of Alberta, Lisa reviewed the intergenerational mental health in post-genocide Rwanda and spent two years as a research assistant exploring mental health experiences and interventions for Black and immigrant communities. Lisa is currently involved in a research study examining culturally relevant mental health literacy programs for immigrants and works closely with her loca Rwandan community as the Media Lead for the Memory Keepers Association.

Poet

Susan Minor has been blessed by her amazing faith-filled family, her husband of 50 years, 3 children and 6 grandchildren and continues to grow in faith as she writes the poetry that the Lord has spoken into her heart. She loves to reflect the beauty of His loving heart and offer it freely to others. Susan has pursued the Lord in her education as well, having gone to seminary for her Masters of Theological Studies as well as a certificate in Spiritual Direction. However, living with family and writing poetry is where she lives right now!

Lecturer and Researcher

Noam Schimmel is a Lecturer at the University of California, Bekley. He researches and teaches in the areas of human rights, humanitarian aid, development, African Studies, post-genocide reparative justice in Rwanda, global governance, global justice, and global ethics.

Espy has established herself as a self-starter and a leader through her involvement with her community and currently serves as the Chairwoman of the Gatumba Refugees Survivors Foundation Inc. One of Espy’s greatest quality is her ability to stay focus despite her past experiences as a Survivor of the Gatumba Massacre and as a Refugee that was resettled in the United States in 2007. One of her visions is to empower youth in leadership skills, creating a platform that is in order to promote a healthy and successful society here in the United States of America.

Clinical psychologist, pioneer traumatologist, victimologist/reparative justicer, psychohistorian, Dr. Yael Danieli is the Founder and Executive Director of the International Center for MultiGenerational Legacies of Trauma and the Group Project for Holocaust Survivors and their Children, and Past-President, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Published/awarded worldwide, she participated in creating all international instruments on behalf of victims’ rights and optimal care and the Danieli Inventory for Multigenerational Legacies of Trauma.