Philip M. Hellmich is a thought leader in creating a new narrative of peace, from inner peace to international peacebuilding. As the Director of Peace at The Shift Network, Philip is the chief architect of the Summer of Peace, Yoga Day Summit and World Peace Library - online global forums that seek to inspire, inform and involve people in the many ways that peace is emerging around the world. He also is the co-lead faculty of the Peace Ambassador Training. These peace programs provide skills training, inspirational stories, and powerful solutions from the world’s top peacebuilders, social change leaders, scientists, Indigenous elders and spiritual mentors. Philip and his colleagues design these peace programs in partnership with a number of organizations while advancing strategic initiatives, including the International Cities of Peace in creating 1,000 Cities of Peace by 2020; Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education in promoting global compassion education; the Alliance for Peacebuilding on countering violent extremism, PeaceJam and 13 Nobel Peace Laureates in promoting global peace education and Parmarth Niketan Ashram in promoting a deeper understanding of yoga.

Philip has dedicated most of his life to global and local peacebuilding initiatives, including 14 years with Search for Common Ground. He also served for four years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leone where he lived and worked in small remote bush villages. A published writer, Philip is author of God and Conflict: A Search for Peace in a Time of Crisis with a Foreword by Lama Surya Das. He also serves as adviser to The Global Peace Initiative of Women.

Philip’s passion is exploring peace along the Peace Continuum, from inner to international levels, and his framing purpose coincides with the key questions: How is inner peace a global responsibility; and, how does the world affect inner peace? A long-time meditation practitioner, Philip enjoys studying and teaching about the parallels between inner and outer peace.

Dorothy J. Maver, PhD, is an educator and peacebuilder whose keynote is inspiring cooperation on behalf of the common good. Dot is a Founding Trustee and board member of the National Peace Academy USA, and is a co-founding board member of the Global Alliance for Ministries and Infrastructures of Peace, and was the founding executive director of the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding. Her work in education, politics and grassroots community organizing is focused on applied peacebuilding utilizing a shared responsibility and shared leadership model.

From 2005–2007 Dot served as Executive Director of The Peace Alliance and Campaign for a US Department of Peace, and prior to that she was the National Campaign Manager for Kucinich for President 2004. In the world of fast-pitch softball, Dr. Dot is known for her revolutionary fast-pitch hitting technique, The Maver Method: Secrets of Hitting Success. She is co-author of the book Conscious Education: The Bridge to Freedom; is a Fellow with the World Business Academy, and serves on the boards of Lifebridge Foundation, River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding and Garden of Light. Dot also serves on the United Nations International Day of Peace NGO Education Peace Team, the International Cities of Peace Advisory Council, the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence Advisory Board, The Shift Network Summer of Peace Wisdom Council, and is an advisor to the Compassion Games.

Rev. Deborah Moldow is an ordained interfaith minister committed to assisting in the transformation of human consciousness that will lead to a culture of peace. She is the Representative to the United Nations of the World Peace Prayer Society, which promotes the universal prayer, “May Peace Prevail on Earth.” At the United Nations, she co-chairs the International Day of Peace NGO Committee and facilitates the United Religions Initiative multi-faith cooperation circle. Deborah is Co-Director with Diane Williams of the Evolutionary Leaders circle, a project of the Source of Synergy Foundation that brings together visionaries committed to the acceleration of the conscious evolution of humanity in these critical times. Rev. Deborah also leads monthly Interfaith Sundays at the Chapel at Croton Falls, NY. Her newest project, the Garden of Light, provides an online platform for the emerging global spirituality. www.revdeborah.com http://worldpeace.org www.gardenoflight.org

Ambassador John W. McDonald is a lawyer, diplomat, former international civil servant, development expert and peacebuilder, concerned about world social, economic and ethnic problems. He spent twenty years of his diplomatic career in Western Europe and the Middle East and worked for sixteen years on United Nations economic and social affairs. He is currently chairman and co-founder (1992) of the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy, in Washington D.C., which focuses on national and international ethnic conflicts, including the Millennium goals of clean drinking water and sanitation. He also is UNEP's North American Representative to the International Environmental Governance Advisory Group.

Ambassador McDonald holds both a B.A. and a J.D. degree from the University of Illinois, and graduated from the National War College in 1967. He has written and co-edited ten books and numerous articles on negotiation and conflict resolution, and makes more than 100 speeches a year. He was appointed Ambassador twice by President Carter and twice by President Reagan to represent the United States at various UN World Conferences.

Monica Willard is the United Religions Initiative Main Representative to the United Nations and Co-Chair of the International Day of Peace NGO Committee. She works with the UN Department of Public Information to organize the annual Student Observance for the UN International Day of Peace. She was a founding member for the Tripartite Forum, a ground breaking initiative with representatives from United Nations Member States, UN Agencies and Religious NGOs working together to recognize the importance of faith communities in peace and development issues. As president of The Committee of Religious NGOs, Monica chaired events at the United Nations for World Interfaith Harmony Week when it was first observed in 2011, followed by two major events in the UN General Assembly Hall with the 66th and 67th Presidents of the UN General Assembly. She has been active as an NGO Representative to the United Nations since 1991 and served as Chair of the 49th Annual DPI NGO Conference at UN Headquarters. In 2009 she received the Spirit of the United Nations Award from the CONGO Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns.