John R. Naugle: Founder/Executive Director
Board-Gandhi Foundation USA
Marietta Mayoral Candidate (1993 & 1997)

Dr. H.V. Dr. Shivadas Jaya: Deputy Executive Director
Director of Operations, Gandhi Foundation USA

Lucian I. Livescu: President
Founder, Youth for a Better World

S. Hasan Kamal: Vice-President
Co-Founder, South Asians 4 Unity

Geri Taran: Treasurer
Exec. Director Emerita, GA Writers Association, Inc.

Lakshmi Thadani: Secretary
Founder, Spreading Planetary Hope

Megan Ruth Baxter: Director of Operations
Founder, Clarity Springs

Heather Havey: Director of Education
Research Project Coordinator, Emory University

Honorary Chair, Global Peace Academy Committee
[Invited/Nominated: His Holiness, The Dalai Lama]

Chair, Global Peace Flight Committee
[Invited/Nominated: John Foley]

Duane Marcus: Chair, Global Peace Garden Committee
Founder/Co-Owner: The Urban Gardener (ATL)

Dr. Peter van den Dungen: Chair, Global Peace Museum Committee
General Coordinator- International Network of Museums for Peace

Tom Blue Wolf: Chair, Global Peace-Global Family Committee
Founder/Director- EarthKeepers & Company

Michelle Dawkins: Chair, Humanitarian Committee
Program Manager- Environmental Justice Resource Center

Dr. Yomi Noibi: Chair-Bylaws Committee
Executive Director- EcoAction, Inc.
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BIOS of 39 "Official Founders" are below (more to be added soon): John R. Naugle (ATL), Steve Leeper (Japan), Dr. Joseph E. Lowery (ATL), Kathryn Kelton (FLA), Fumi Johns Stewart (New York), Dr. Peter van den Dungen (England), Axil Kollist (Hawaii), Dr. Giriraj Rao (ATL), Alice Lovelace (ATL), Edward W. Lollis (Tennessee), Deric A. Gilliard (ATL), Tobias Huber (Switzerland), Geri Taran (ATL), Donald P. Edwards (ATL), Lakshmi Thadani (ATL), Tom Blue Wolf (Talking Rock), Edrea Davis (ATL), Jahangir Piara (Pakistan), Andrea Kay Smith (ATL), Willy Siegel Leventhal (Alabama), Dr. Gail Lash (ATL), Linda Grover (Hawaii), Lucian I. Livescu (ATL), Lynn Marshall-Linnemeier (ATL), Michael H. Shuman (Maine), Kevin Wilkinson (ATL), Marguerite S. Rece (ATL), Nita Robinson (ATL), Adam Crane (ATL), Paula Larke (New York City), Dr. Shivadas Jaya (Norcross), Asha (ATL), Roger Daugherty (ATL), Dada Ra (ATL), Nick A. Demos (ATL), Tom Younker (ATL), Misti Freeman (ATL), Dr. Frédéric Simard (France) and Heather Havey (ATL).
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--- John R. Naugle (ATL)---
copyright © Andisheh Nouraee
[At Phoenix Rising Sculpture-Woodruff Park/Atlanta]
John R. Naugle is a Peacemaker, Founder and Executive Director of... Atlanta: City of Peace, Inc. (ACP). Having done contract library tech work for the Centers for Disease Control-Information Center he is well-informed of the numerous health challenges that face our Global Family. In 2007 he was elected to serve on the Board of Directors for: The Gandhi Foundation USA. John has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology and has donated his time and talent to more than 100 metro-Atlanta nonprofits. Concerned about his former hometown, he also campaigned to be Mayor of Marietta, GA in 1993 and 1997. Losing his savings and home in developing his nonprofit service-interests, his current and primary focus is finding key individuals who can assist with professionally packaging, polishing and launching these peace goals. Naugle has a dream to formalize 'The Peace Way' and he states: “Peace is a good character trait to cultivate. When you introduce yourself, follow your name with: 'I am a Peacemaker!' We are all very fortunate that Dr. King has simplified The Peace Way for us by proclaiming: '...stop poverty, racism, and violence... peace is the sweeter music!' None of us are promised tomorrow, so let's peacefully show our love and gratitude for what we have been given on this day; today. Atlanta: City of Peace is our dream, odyssey, and destiny… not where we are, and a wonderful goal to work towards.”
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--- Steve Leeper (Japan) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator for Atlanta: City of Peace, Mr. Steve Leeper is also the United States Representative of the international organization- Mayors for Peace and Chair: Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation. Their organization has registered 2,028 city "mayors for peace" from 127 countries, including Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. Mr. Leeper has lived between Atlanta and Japan for the last eighteen years. He speaks Japanese fluently and also provides contract translation services. In his position as US Rep. of Mayors for Peace he works with the Secretariat, Hiroshima-Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba. Atlanta: City of Peace, Inc. has extended an invitation to them so they will choose Atlanta: The Western Hemisphere Headquarters of Mayors for Peace. Mr. Leeper inspires Gandhi's ideal of: "If it is man's privilege to be independent, it is equally his duty to be inter-dependent." Currently he is focused on organizational goals for The 2020 Vision Campaign of Mayors for Peace. In this following quote he alludes to the birth of the peace & non-violence movement and also the 100th Anniversary of Gandhi's first peace-action September 11, 1906-2006. Mr. Leeper states: "A Japanese television program about September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows touched many hearts in Hiroshima. This group came to express solidarity and support with people they believe to be kindred spirits."
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--- Dr. Joseph E. Lowery (ATL) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator for Atlanta: City of Peace, The Reverend Doctor Joseph E. Lowery (in 1957) co-founded with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He served as vice president (1957-67); chairman of the board (1967-77); and as president and chief executive officer from Feb. 1977 – Jan.15, 1998. Dr. Lowery is also Convenor, Coalition for The Peoples’ Agenda; and Chairman Emeritus, Black Leadership Forum, Inc. When Ebony Magazine named Dr. Lowery one of the nation’s “15 Greatest Black Preachers,” he was described as the “consummate voice of biblical social relevancy.” When the NAACP honored him with their lifetime achievement award at its 1997 convention, he was hailed as “dean of the civil rights movement.” At commencement (2003) the University of Alabama awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. Boston University gave him its first Martin Luther King, Jr. Award, and Wayne University gave him the first Walter Reuther Humanitarian Award. Dr. King named Dr. Lowery chairman of the delegation to take demands of the Selma-to-Montgomery March (1965) to Gov. George Wallace. Wallace had ordered the marchers beaten (“Bloody Sunday”) but apologized to Lowery in 1995 as he led the 30th anniversary re-enactment of the historic march, which led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Dr. Lowery is married to Evelyn Gibson Lowery, an activist in her own right, founder of SCLC/W.O.M.E.N. He is the father of five children. As Convenor of the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda (GCPA), he is active in election reform and voter empowerment, economic justice, criminal justice reform, including alternative sentencing and a moratorium on the death penalty.  In frequent demand as a speaker across the nation and on college campuses, most recently he has delivered addresses at Michigan State, William and Mary College, Clark Atlanta University, Albany State, the College of New Jersey, and the University of Alabama.
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--- Kathryn Kelton (FLA) and "Mother of the World" ---

A Peacemaker and Co-Creator for Atlanta: City of Peace, Kathryn Kelton is also a Spiritual Visionary Artist. She was discovered by this organization when "Angel Dreams" was placed in the YouTube search-box. Here, one may view a beautiful rolling montage of her angel-art while the musician- Jewel sings her hit-song "Hands." Kathryn says, "I was born an artist, and began drawing at the age of four. As a teenager, I learned to paint with oils and then acrylics. Acrylics were my favorite medium, and I created very realistic paintings with them for over 20 years. I began to yearn to express my heart more freely. And so, I decided to teach myself to paint with watercolors in an impressionistic style." The angel art that you see on her Website (www.AngelSelf.com) is the result of that work, which she describes as meditation. She is a freelance artist living on the gulfcoast of Florida who creates spiritual and visionary fine art paintings for private collectors to purchase. Kathryn's support statement for Atlanta: City of Peace is: "I am one of millions of people around the world who desire the highest life for humanity.  We go through our days and touch each other's lives, and try to do and say what is best for all.  And at night, in the peace of our humble homes, we become silent.  We think and pray....and open ourselves to the love that always surrounds us.  We reach out with our hearts and realize that there are so many hearts combined with ours in the intention for love and peace on earth.  WE are strong, and God and his angels are with us. The peace projects we create for
Atlanta: City of Peace are steps to our full humanhood!"
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--- Fumi Johns Stewart (NY) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator for Atlanta: City of Peace, Fumi Johns Stewart is Executive Director of The World Peace Prayer Society, New York. Fumi was instrumental in bringing the first May Peace Prevail on Earth activities from Japan, her native motherland, to the United States and abroad in the mid 1980’s. She first established The Peace Pole Project and introduced The World Peace Prayer Ceremonies in the U.S. which culminated in the incorporation of The World Peace Prayer Society in the state of New York in 1989. The World Peace Prayer Society is a not-for-profit non-sectarian organization dedicated to uniting the heart of humanity through the universal message and prayer May Peace Prevail On Earth.  The seeds of the Society were first planted in Japan and have matured into projects and activities which span the globe. This message can be found inscribed on Peace Poles which have been planted around the world as visual reminders that peace begins in our hearts and in our minds.  The peace message is used in World Peace Prayer Ceremonies calling for peace in each of the 190+ countries of the world. May Peace Prevail On Earth is a meeting place of the heart – from children to adults, from the religious to the non-religious community of every race and culture – the message and prayer – May Peace Prevail on Earth can be embraced by the heart of our global family.  When the global heart meets in harmony, great shifts take place in the universal consciousness for the awakening of all humanity. Regarding the goals of the Atlanta: City of Peace nonprofit, Fumi states: "Atlanta: City of Peace is an opportunity to magnetize peace consciousness using multifaceted projects and activities to reach directly to the Heart where the seeds of peace are waiting to be activated. May Peace be in Atlanta and

from Atlanta may it spread the world over!"
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--- Dr. Peter van den Dungen (England) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator for Atlanta: City of Peace, Dr. Peter van den Dungen (England) is also General Coordinator of: The International Network of Museums for Peace and Associate Editor of: The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Peace. He is also a professor in the Department of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford, UK. This is currently the largest university peace studies center in the world! It offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral degrees. He was the very first "international" to send an endorsement-statement of support, and also purchase an official Atlanta: City of Peace t-shirt. Dr. van den Dungen states: "In England during the 1980s there was an organization called ‘Architects for Peace’ (they published a wonderful booklet called ‘Places of Peace’, mainly on peace gardens). It would indeed be a challenge - which architects would welcome - to design: The Global Peace Museum (ATL) and what an attraction the building itself would be! And what publicity would be generated for this peace museum when the competition for the design is launched! I am sure the world’s leading architects would want to participate.... I have visited the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain twice, and like the building. Perhaps Frank Gehry will accept the invitation of Atlanta: City of Peace to design: The Global Peace Museum (ATL)." Although Dr. van den Dungen will not be able to fly over to Atlanta for every meeting with the Board of Directors, we wholeheartedly accept his wonderful inspiration from "across the pond" (Atlantic Ocean)! Following is the encouraging support statement sent by Dr. van den Dungen: "Atlanta: City of Peace is a wonderfully creative and inspiring project which has my full support. The organizers and initiators deserve great gratitude for their vision and commitment. The realization of this ambitious and lofty project – even if only in part - would be a most appropriate way of recognizing and celebrating the rich peace heritage of Atlanta. This is a heritage with universal significance and which provides the foundations for a world of peace and justice."
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--- Axil Kollist (Hawaii)---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator for Atlanta: City of Peace, Axil Kollist is a very inspiring singer from Hawaii. He has a servant's heart like Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Axil lives with his Mother, Father and Sister (Jill, Erik and Erika) and states: "I am eight years old and I have a very good life. I have a nice home, a nice school, plenty of food and water, medicine, clothes, toys, and freedom. But it breaks my heart to think that there are millions of people who don’t have what I have. My mom told me that I can help bring World Peace if I help people to want it, to EXPECT it, and to believe it is possible.  She taught me that we can’t just want world peace… We have to work for it.  So I sing my song 'World Peace Before 2021.' People who hear me sing my song start to believe world peace can come! I would love to come sing my song for the Global Peace Concert (ATL) on "I Have A Dream" Anniversary in August 2010!" John Naugle, Executive Director for Atlanta: City of Peace, Inc. states: "Axil represents a quote by Gandhi very well: 'If we are to reach real peace in this world, we shall have to begin with children." --- by Mahatma Gandhi. You will be glad to know that Axil posted his most recent music video on April 4, 2008 (NOTE: this is a VERY important date! Did you know this was the exact 40th anniversary of Dr. King's tragic murder? Axil is honoring Dr. King's peace and non-violence legacy, and Dr. King honored Gandhi with his life. Axil also has bumper stickers available for order on his nice Websites:
www.worldpeacebefore2021.com
www.myspace.com/worldpeacebefore2021
Here is Axil's Personal Statement: "Thank you for inviting me to be an 'Official Founder' for Atlanta: City of Peace. I’m only eight years old. I love to sing my song “World Peace Before 2021” because people tell me I make them believe that World Peace is possible.

I expect to see World Peace before I turn 21.
Won’t that be wonderful?"
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--- Dr. Giriraj Rao (Atlanta) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Giriraj Rao sadly passed away 04/01/08 at the age of 83. As one of the pillars of the Southeastern USA-Indian Community he supported a wide range of Indian organizations and cultural events. Giriraj also served faithfully as co-founder and executive director for the Gandhi Foundation USA (ATL) for over a decade. In this capacity he worked to connect the teachings of Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., two of the Earth's greatest peacemakers. As a tangible sign of his bridge-building ability is that he coordinated the design and installation of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. Giriraj saw he saw many bridge-building opportunities through the King Center and he cultivated a very a supportive ally in Coretta Scott King, whose funeral he attended in February 2006 (Mrs. King died on the same day of the month as Gandhi, January 30). As a college student in the 1930s, in his hometown of Madras in south India, "Giri" (as friends called him) joined his country's struggle to break from British rule. That struggle had begun years before, "but until Mahatma Gandhi started the nonviolent civil disobedience movement, the 'soul force' was missing," Giriraj wrote in a 1995 column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After he moved to the United States, he viewed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as someone who embodied that same history-changing character, "a person with vision and moral courage who could inspire people to have faith in themselves, who could persuade those in power to enact change and to make clear to everyone that to live in harmony is not a dream but an attainable goal." Giriraj is one of the primary Official Founders for Atlanta: City of Peace, Inc. and believed in us with every kind of support even from the very beginning. Additionally, he was a major asset to the Gandhi Foundation USA, and in October 2007, when His Holiness The Dalai Lama visited Atlanta, Giriraj was as one of the primary coordinators that planned the delivery of the GFUSA-Peace Pilgrim Award to the Dalai Lama during a special event at Emory University. In appreciation of receiving this award, the Dalai Lama presented Khatas (Tibetan ceremonial scarves) to Giraj and three other leaders of GFUSA. Giribhai (Brother Giri) was personally blessed by one of the greatest living peacemakers on Earth! At this Weblink you may see Giri standing with His Holiness The Dalai Lama. Of that very special day Giri was quoted as saying: "This was an unique moment in my life... to be so blessed by a person considered by the world at large as
a great human being, winner of a Nobel Peace Prize and
recipient of the USA Congressional Medal of Honor."
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--- Alice Lovelace (ATL)---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator for Atlanta: City of Peace, Alice Lovelace is also National Lead Staff Organizer and Cultural Working Group Chair for the first-ever US Social Forum (2007). This event will bring ~25,000 to ATL next summer! Ms. Lovelace is considered by civic leaders to be "An inspirational Mother of the New Atlanta!" In 2005 she was recipient of the LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD during Georgia Writers Association-41st GEORGIA AUTHOR OF THE YEAR AWARDS CEREMONY. She is a veteran performance poet, award winning playwright, essayist, artist-in-education specialist, arts consultant, also a much sought after speaker and lecturer. She has also served as a panelist, program reviewer, and policy evaluator for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Expansion Arts Program, Inter Arts Program (in it's many reincarnations) and as panelist for the States Program. As administrator and visionary for the New Forms Arts Initiative in the South, she raised much needed and new funds, plus leveraged local support to increase the funds available for artists working to, "conceive and create new traditions of art in unusual places." Alice Lovelace is currently co-editor of the on-line publication In Motion Magazine. She is a contributor to the on-line publication Community Arts Network. Alice has a Master of Arts degree in Conflict Resolution from Antioch University. She has worked with Alternate ROOTS and Arts Extension Services at the University of Massachusetts to design and teach an Arts for Social Change curriculum for artists, arts administrators and social service organizations. She states: "The planning group for the first US Social Forum chose Atlanta because of its significance as the site of past and ongoing struggles
for social and economic justice. The South has been the site of the most
determined and consistent fights for freedom,
indigenous self-determination, and working-class emancipation.
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--- Edward W. (Ted) Lollis (TN.) ---
A Peacemaker, Co-Creator in Atlanta: City of Peace, and Partnerships In Peace, Edward W. (Ted) Lollis has collected information on more than 1,100 peace, international friendship, and freedom/liberty monuments worldwide (including peace museums).  He lectures on peace monuments and has used his knowledge to write the article on peace monuments for the forthcoming four-volume International Encyclopedia of Peace. Lollis has studied at Yale, Princeton, and MIT, and is an expert on the International Friendship Bell in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. On August 9, 2005 he organized an observance at the four-ton Japanese bell of the 60th anniversary of the non-use of nuclear weapons on "Nagasaki Day." Lollis believes that a wider awareness of peace monuments will help promote a culture of peace and thereby inhibit society's recourse to war and violence. He says the Atlanta area already has a rich variety of peace monuments, including three monuments symbolizing North/South reconciliation after the Civil War:  The 1911 "Gate City Guard" Monument in Piedmont Park and the 1910 New York and 1917 Ohio peace monuments on Lookout Mountain. The Martin Luther King, Jr., Historic Site has statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Kunta Kinte, the World Peace Rose Garden, and the Carter-King Peace Walk. He states: “I’m excited about the various "Peace Poles" throughout the city, each proclaiming "May Peace Prevail on Earth" in multiple languages and I fully support the Global Peace Museum and the many other projects for Atlanta. I believe that Atlanta – more than any other city in the United States -- has the potential to create new monuments and institutions which could help bring the message of peace to peoples everywhere in this country and around the world!”
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--- Deric Gilliard (ATL)---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Deric Gilliard is currently employed as an Intergovernmental Affairs Specialist for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (ATL). He is also serves on the Board of Directors for the statewide organization: Georgia Writers Association, Inc., and is the author of: "Living in the Shadows of a Legend: Unsung Heroes and Sheroes Who Marched With Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." His book profiles 20 of the unsung heroes and 'sheroes' who make great contributions to the civil rights movement while working for, or alongside, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the 1950s and 1960s to change America. A journalism graduate, he’s written for Time Magazine and spent a decade as a correspondent for USA Today newspaper, before moving into public relations. Gilliard has also worked as national communications director for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the organization co-founded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1957. While at the SCLC, at that time the nation’s foremost grass-roots civil rights organization, Gilliard was afforded the opportunity to work with and get to know many of the legends in the civil rights community, including Rev. Andy Young, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rosa Parks, Minister Louis Farrakhan, Dick Gregory and many others. Working under the leadership of SCLC President Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, who carved out a reputation as the “Dean” of the civil rights movement, Gilliard was on the front lines of a myriad of issues such as the burning of the black churches, disparities in sentencing, voter registration, economic empowerment, the fight to eradicate gun violence, and many others. Gilliard also served as the first keynote speaker at the Rosa Parks Museum at Troy State University in Montgomery on the King holiday in 2003, and he also served as one of the featured authors at a “teach-in” for junior high and high school students at the Auburn Avenue Research Library (ATL) along with “The Dream” author Drew Henson, in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the March on Washington. Of the challenges he discovered in writing his book, Gilliard states: "I believe my whole life has prepared me for this moment when I have been empowered to share the stories of the unsung heroes and sheroes."
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Tobias Huber (Switzerland)
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Tobias Huber is also Founder of Music 4 Peace / www.music4peace.com. He has launched The Gandhi Tour with special guest Dr. Arun Gandhi (the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi) and the multimedia live act 1001 Ways at the 10th Earthdance Festival in California 2006, celebrating Gandhi's 100 Years of Non-violence Movement. Networking with peace related music events and cultural peace organizations globally, Music 4 Peace presented the 30 Days of Peace together with Dancing City Entertainment at the world s largest music industry fair, at the MIDEM 2007 Cannes/France. Tobias is as well a Producer as a Musician of the World Fusion Band 1001 Ways, who performed for the United Nation's "No Excuse Concert" in New York 2004. 1001 Ways attended Asia's largest "World performing Arts Festival" Pakistan 2003 and 2004 and a lot of other International Festivals around the globe. Born in a prestigious Swiss Musician Family (son of Klaus Huber, avant-garde composer) his teachers were Volker Biesenbender (Master-student of Sir Yehudi Menuhin), Mustapha Tettey Addy, Ali Akbar Khan, Zakir Hussein, the Bauls of Bengal and many others. Tobias Huber achieved several International Awards: Int. Music Festival Sanden Netherlands 1990, Int. Music Festival in Vevey Switzerland 1995, Indie-Tunes Song Contest Finalist 2006, top 40 US / Peace Song-writing Award 2006. Since his early years Tobias was inspired of Gandhi's Non-violence actions and worked with cultural peace projects since the 80's. "It is a honor to be invited to support The Global Peace Concert in Atlanta, the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King. Music 4 Peace / The Gandhi Tour are supporting the realization of this visionary event. It's now more important then ever to unite for Peace!"
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--- Geri Taran (ATL) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Geri Taran is also Co-Founder and Executive Director Emeritus of Georgia Writers Association, Inc. (GWA). Georgia Writers is a statewide nonprofit dedicated to: "supporting all writers; and organizing activities that celebrate the achievements of writers across the state of Georgia." GWA, after twelve-plus years, is now under the administration of Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia, a fact which makes them very proud. Georgia Writers Association was founded in 1994, accepted the mission and responsibilities for the prestigious annual Georgia Author of the Year Awards, established in 1963. Now in its 42nd year, GAYA awards recognize Georgia authors who published the best book in their genre each year. Over 500 books were published by Georgia writers in 2005, both traditionally published and independently published. Posted on GWA’s Website- Ms. Taran's quote:
"Dream of peace, act accordingly, change the world."
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--- Donald P. Edwards (Atlanta) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Don Edwards is also an accomplished personal-injury attorney, plus Host and Producer of ECAPC-TV (Every Church A Peace Church). He conducts ECAPC interviews with noted Peacemakers, and Dr. Peter van den Dungen, one of the other Official Founders for Atlanta: City of Peace, was one of them. The ECAPC organization "Explores How the Church Could Turn the World toward Peace If Every Church Lived and Taught as Jesus Lived And Taught." Don is truly an agent for social change, and has an array of board affiliations with several major community and professional organizations, including Chairman for the Fulton County (GA) Board of Ethics. As a civil litigation specialist, his professional focus is on personal injury cases. His work has earned him the Martindale-Hubbell "AV" rating, the highest rating offered by this nationally recognized law directory. His personal commitment has been recognized with many awards and citations for leadership and service including the NAACP's Thurgood Marshall Award "For Dedicated Service To The NAACP In The Fight For Freedom And Justice". Most recently, the Morehouse College Alumni Association (where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. graduated) recognized Attorney Edwards with its annual award for his achievements in the law. “I am very much a beneficiary of the civil rights struggle of the 1950's and 1960's,” he says. “Not only did I learn the importance of people becoming active in social change, I also saw lawyers leading that change.”
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--- Lakshmi Thadani (Atlanta) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Lakshmi Thadani is also our organization’s new Secretary. Additionally, she is Founder of Spreading Planetary Hope which is a Myspace initiative dedicated to uniting "individuals and organizations worldwide who have defeated apathy and pessimism, and who are currently working each day to 'save the planet' in one way or another, their big or small efforts count towards this purpose." Lakshmi was born in South America and moved to the United States in 2002. She is about to receive her Bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems and is currently working at an IT company. Lakshmi sees her role in society as a gentle but powerful inspiration to others by being authentic, kind, and standing strongly for what she believes in. She believes that by defining herself as a citizen of the world she is encompassing all nationalities, creeds, and goals. Lakshmi’s ultimate goal is to witness unity and amongst people who believe in creating a difference in the world and acting on it day by day to protect and heal the planet, the people, and the creatures. Such unity is what she calls: spreading planetary hope, a hope created by more and more peaceful people of courage and vision. The support statement she offers Atlanta: City of Peace is this: “In joy and celebration I acknowledge the dream and the real possibility for Atlanta to be the official world capital of peace. As a citizen of the world interested in the evolution of Earth's present and future civilization, I would like to inspire our future to be created now for a positive direction and in full power. As an inhabitant of the city of Atlanta, this project directly affects how strongly I feel about a dream of peace come true expanding from Atlanta to the world in a ripple-like effect.”
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--- Tom Blue Wolf (Talking Rock, GA) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Tom Blue Wolf is also Founder/Director of Earth Keepers & Company, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating people of all ages on the importance of relationship with the earth and each other. Tom Blue Wolf is a charter member of the World Council of Elders, The Indigenous Healers Association and travels the world teaching workshops, conducting ceremonies, and inspiring hearts with the message of peace and harmony with “All Our Relations”. He is a board member of several local, regional and national Environmental Organizations and active in many roles with youth Programs around the country. He has appeared on many radio and television programs, written hundreds of articles to present the views of the EarthKeepers Organization and has received numerous awards and acknowledgements for his work with EarthKeepers over the past 34 years. Tom Blue Wolf is a Native American Spiritual Guide, Tribal Ambassador, Peacemaker, and Faithkeeper. He is a musician, artist, herbalist, naturopath, environmentalist, author, and lecturer. He was born in Southern Alabama, raised and taught in the traditional ways by his Creek Grandparents. Tom Blue Wolf has tribal affiliation with the Y’falla Band, Star Clan of the Eastern Lower Muscogee Creek Nation. He sees much potential in our Atlanta: City of Peace Initiative and states:
"Be peaceful, well, and stay Blessed!"
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--- Edrea Davis (ATL) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator for Atlanta: City of Peace (ACP), Edrea Davis is also a Business and Communications Consultant and has worked with a host of luminaries in the entertainment, civic, and political arenas. In a career spanning over two decades debut author, Davis has worked in all areas of communications management and her articles have been published in newspapers across the country. Her latest book is: SnitchCraft; "Hip-hop meets civil rights in this riveting saga exposing the corrupt environment created by the government’s use of snitches." She also produces dogonvillage.com, one of the oldest community sites on the Internet. Mission: "Our mission is simple, we are dedicated to bridging the digital and educational divides in the minority communities. From providing free website development and hosting, to technology consulting and training, we have worked diligently to keep our community up to date with ways to utilize new technology to communicate with the masses. Additionally, we serve as point of contact for a number of organizations, disseminating information to members via email and fax." Previously, Davis served as executive producer at a Los Angeles film company where she was responsible for the production of national commercial campaigns, including Clio Award winning RE/MAX Castle, shot in Canada, Egypt, and Fiji. Her distinguished work enabled her to travel to Ghana, South Africa, The Netherlands, Switzerland and France for several events focused on human rights issues. The New Jersey native was educated at Georgia State University and currently lives in the Atlanta area. She spends her spare time learning new facts from her brilliant grandchildren.
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--- Jahangir Piara  (Pakistan)---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator for Atlanta: City of Peace, Jahangir Piara is Founder & Executive Director of Organization for Peace and Development (OPD) which is based in Lahore, Pakistan (his birthplace). Jahangir has also worked as General Secretary, and is a member board of directors for the Human Friends Organization for 6 Years. Additionally he has worked as a Peace and Human rights coordinator for the Ecumenical Commission for Human Development for 2 years. He also has international memberships with the International Peace Bureau (www.ipb.org), The World Peace Prayer Society (www.worldpeace.org), Peace of the World International (www.peaceowi.org), and United Religions (www.uri.org). “It would be a great honour for me to join the Atlanta City of Peace as an Official Founder. Thanks for your invitation I accept it with open heart, because it all is world peace. God bless you and may peace prevail on Earth.”
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--- Andrea Kay Smith (ATL)---
A Peacemaker, Co-Creator, and Member At Large for... Atlanta: City of Peace (ACP), Andrea Kay Smith is also Global Coordinator of Atlanta-based Partnerships In Peace (PIP) . The favorite quote of Partnerships In Peace is: “MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH!” Planting nine Peace Poles around Atlanta and giving out thousands of Peace Buttons, Partnerships In Peace (PIP) incubated Atlanta: City of Peace to birth, and networks many other peace projects. This all volunteer grassroots organization has been sponsoring peace events since 1985. At this time they coordinated a cultural exchange with our sister-city Tbilisi, Georgia (formerly USSR) and offered Peace Rallies during the Cold War.  In 1996 PIP helped build the 30th section of the World Wall for Peace (80' long x 12' tall) in Little Five Points on Euclid Avenue with 2,000- 6" ceramic tiles showing people's visions of peace for the Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games.  Since moving their Peace Center in 1996 to a revitalized neighborhood formerly called "little Vietnam" in the East Lake area of Decatur, PIP has produced a video called "A Way Out" detailing the resources necessary to change a drug infested neighborhood through Neighborhood Watch, Peace Gardens, Art, Recycling and Community outreach actions. Andrea is an active participant in our Atlanta: City of Peace Initiative because she believes Atlanta is making a difference as it continues on its historical path of peace. She states: “I’m inspired our city supports vision and leadership in developing our global peace legacy. Atlanta: City of Peace is a global destination inspiring peace, love, and justice.”
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--- Willy Siegel Leventhal (Alabama) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Willy Siegel Leventhal is author of: "The Report to The President and the Congress on the First Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday" (1986) and also two amazing books. He is especially honored to have actually worked with and marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. himself---from 1965-68! In the summer of 1965 Dr. King recruited the late Rev. Hosea L. Williams and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) - along with over 500 summer college student volunteers - to register African Americans to vote in 120 counties in five Southern states. This major voter registration effort came to be known as the Summer Community Organization and Political Education (SCOPE) project.  Willy Siegel Leventhal actually wrote about this ground-breaking civil rights initiative in his book, “The Scope of Freedom: The Leadership of Hosea Williams with Dr. King’s summer ‘65 Student Volunteers.” He has a Masters Degree from UCLA and has appeared on PBS, network TV and NPR discussing his work on Dr. King's staff. He is the recipient of the 2003-SCLC "Unsung Hero" Award, and the 2005 "E.D. Nixon Legacy Award.” He also wrote the 1986: "Report to the President and the Congress on the First Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday." Mr. Leventhal states: “Working with SCLC and Dr. King was a life changing experience. I have written about it in a number of articles and books, including: “A Personal Odyssey” and “The Children Coming On: A Retrospective of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.” Author Deric Gilliard, author of Unsung: Heroes & Sheroes who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." was kind enough to devote a chapter to my SCLC staff & political work & writing for the King Federal Holiday Commission. As the saying goes, "If I am for myself alone, who am I; If I am not for myself who will be; and, if not now, when?"  This applies, I think, to personal peace and global peace.  It is in all our collective interest -- humanity and all living species-- to seek and work for peace!”
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--- Dr. Gail Lash (ATL) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Dr. Gail Lash is also Co-Creator of Partnerships In Peace (PIP) and Founder of Tourism For Peace (TFP), an Atlanta-based organization dedicated to teaching peace principles to Hosts & Guests worldwide thru "Building the Peace Path." She is Coordinator of the Spirituality in Tourism Network of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism, and on the Board of Directors at the HorizonHealingCenter in Atlanta. Dr. Lash is also Founder and Owner of Ursa International, a planning and design firm that creates human and wildlife communities in mutual harmony, through zoos and wildlife sanctuaries worldwide. Her ecotourism consultations have taken her around the world, working with communities of diverse peoples to create unity. Dr. Lash states: "My objectives are peace, harmony, and understanding... I believe that as spiritual beings, having a human experience on this Earth, we are intimately connected both with all of humanity, and with all of nature around us. I believe that it is important to honor that connection, and to help preserve it."
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--- Linda Grover and children (Hawaii) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Linda Grover is also Co-Founder (along with Congressman John Conyers) of GLOBAL FAMILY Day (also called One Day In Peace; both observed on January 1st). Linda has devoted many years of her life to making real her children's idea of creating a universal holiday for all faiths and cultures. Born in New England and raised in a military family during WW2, she developed an early interest in politics and human rights. In 1998 Linda Grover left her writing career to return to Washington and work with schoolchildren and members of Congress to create the unifying holiday of peace and sharing every January 1st that her children had envisioned thirty years before. For her work with schoolchildren to promote what is now called GLOBAL FAMILY Day, Grover was named DC Mother of the Year in 2002 by American Mothers, Inc., the official Mothers Day organization. The US Congress adopted the initiative in 2000, and shortly after 9/11, the United Nations General Assembly also called for the holiday’s observance. The latest Conyers/Inouye initiative passed Congress in 2006; a Congressional Global Family Day Caucus is now being formed. She state:
“Atlanta has great potential for becoming a global capital of peace!”
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--- Lucian I. Livescu (ATL/Romania)---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Lucian I. Livescu is Founder of: Youth for a Better World, President and Founder of the American Romanian Sister Cities Council– Atlanta, and Director of the Romanian-American Trade Chamber and CulturalCenter. Mr. Livescu assists American and Romanian businesses to expand in each other's markets, and provides information on tourism opportunities in both countries. He is a wonderful representative of "international Atlanta" because he is a resident and speaks four languages fluently: Romanian, English, French, and German. He wholeheartedly supports the goals of Sister Cities International and has traveled in 10 countries over the last 40 years: United States, Romania, Austria, Poland, West Indies, Dominican Republic, Peru, France, Spain, and Mexico. Mr. Livescu earned a Master of Science in Civil, Structural, and Industrial Engineering from PolytechnicUniversity in Jasi, Romania and has completed residency work for a PhD in Business Administration. On September 11, 2006 (the 100th Anniversary in the Birth of the Peace Movement/Gandhi's very first peace-action) Mr. Livescu was one of the speakers during our press conference announcing plans for: The Global Peace Museum (ATL). He has graciously offered to lead the research on the proposal that Atlanta: City of Peace is preparing to create an official Sister-City relationship between Atlanta&Pobandar, India (Gandhi's Hometown). John R. Naugle, Executive Director & Founder of Atlanta: City of Peace has notified Mayor Franklin of their organization's goal and has volunteered to be Chair of the Atlanta-Pobandar Sister-City Team when it is developed. During the years of 1996-1999 Mr. Livescu served on the Board of Directors for the International Arts and Cultural Center of Clarkston, GA. During the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games he served as the ACOG-Olympic Envoy Assistant for the Romanian Team and was awarded a Certificate of Recognition for Contribution, signed by Antonio Samaranch, President of the International Olympic Committee. He states: “Congratulations for the efforts and goals of Atlanta: City of Peace. I am ready to get involved so that our common endeavors and our performance meet the standards of a top organization with vision and diplomacy."
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 --- Lynn Marshall-Linnemeier (ATL)---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Lynn Marshall-Linnemeier is an award winning photo based mixed media artist. Her work is a part of the permanent collection at Jackson-Hartsfield International Airport, the High Museum of Art and The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Her work has been featured on CNN, CNN Pipeline, TBS and The Australian Broadcast Corporation. She is a consultant to many arts and community organizations and uses photography along with cross-cultural mythology to examine and define human beings whose presence she finds compelling. Her images are distinguished by a lyrical approach to text  as art and a knowing sense of color as a point of accentuation in altered photographic images. An honors graduate of the Atlanta College  of Art and graduate of the University of Mississippi, Marshall-Linnemeier has received numerous awards including the Lyndhurst Foundation Young Career Prize, an NEA Fellowship, and a Northern Telecom New Works Fellowship.  Her determination to study firsthand the cultures of people of color throughout the world has resulted in her securing fellowships from Lila Wallace/Reader’s Digest-Arts International that took her to Adelaide, South Australia and the first Fulton County (Georgia) International Residency in Balgowan, South Africa.  Her work is held in numerous collections including the High Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and Jackson-Hartsfield International Airport.  A solo exhibition of her work was presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia in 2006.
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---Michael H. Shuman (Maine) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator in Atlanta: City of Peace, Michael Shuman is vice president for Enterprise Development for the Training and Development Corporation (TDC) of Bucksport, Maine. A noted economist, attorney, author, and entrepreneur, Shuman is widely recognized for his research into the economic advantages of small-scale businesses in an era of globalization as well as the often over-looked benefits of building local economies in an era of big-box retail chains. He has authored, coauthored, and edited seven books, including The Small Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses are Beating the Global Competition (Berrett-Koehler, 2006) and Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in the Global Age (Free Press, 1998). In recent years Shuman has overseen a variety of projects, including the design of a small-business, venture-capital fund in New Mexico and the development of CommunityFood.com, a Web site that provides marketing support for small-scale family farmers. He also organized university-government-business collaborations in both St. Lawrence County, New York, and the Katahdin Region of Maine to study opportunities for import replacement. Shuman serves as a senior editor for the recently published Encyclopedia of Community. He is a cofounder and active participant in the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) and a founder of Bay Friendly Chicken, a community-owned company located in Salisbury, Maryland. Shuman received an A.B. with distinction in economics and international relations from StanfordUniversity and a J.D. from StanfordLawSchool. A prolific speaker, Shuman has averaged a talk a week for the past 20 years, including invited lectures and paid consultancies in eight countries, 26 cities, and at 27 universities.
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--- Kevin Wilkinson (ATL) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Kevin Wilkinson is also President and CEO of Uplifting People. He has planned, designed developed and implemented successful community safety programs. Kevin received training through the US Department of Justice, National Institution of Correction Academy, and Georgia Department of Corrections. He has read the research and books of various scholars who have written, What Works in prisons and jails to reduce the risk of prisoners’ recidivating. Kevin has implemented, developed and coordinated community safety programs at Atlanta detention center, Fulton County Jail, DeKalbCounty jail, Metro youth detention center and Hancock State Prison.  Hundreds of individuals who were incarcerated received reentry services that assisted them in obtaining jobs, housing, substance abuse treatment, identification, food and educational services. Because of the services provided to individuals released from incarceration the programs implemented and directed by Kevin has reduced the risks of individuals being victimized, crimes committed and reduce the number of individuals returning to incarceration.  By and large our whole community benefited from each individual who successfully reentered our community and did not commit a crime. This work has been accomplished by many people, through the leadership of Kevin.  Kevin is a minister, entrepreneur and a licensed public safety officer, who served at the DeKalb County Sheriff Office.
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--- Marguerite S. Rece (ATL) ---
[photo unavailable/enjoy Peace-Rose]
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Marguerite S. Rece is a mother and grandmother who trusts God's Leadings “for what is mine to do this day!” She presently is a semi-retired psych/mental health, and Process Facilitator, volunteering full time with www.healthcare-now.org, a single payer, universal healthcare for all (a civil right) residing in this country, Margie has been involved in Civil Rights and Peace actively since 1958 in Warm Springs, GA, when she first moved south. As for her support statement she says: “Peace is living in tune with the One Spirit within us all. My job is to live my life, some of it I get paid for, some not. It's the same life.  The lives of Mahatma Gandhi, Jimmy Carter and Martin Luther King have long epitomized for me what living a life of peace means.  On whatever issue. Wherever they found themselves, their voices and their lives spoke the Oneness of their belief.  Our challenge in declaring Atlanta City of Peace is to become what we believe and profess.  We are a creation in process. As you well know I am working very hard on healthcare for all and I recently ran across this statement by M.L. King that speaks my mind.  "Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane. We have a long way to go in Atlanta and elsewhere on this and we have made a beginning Peace to you and all!”
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--- Nita Robinson (ATL) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Nita Robinson says: "My childhood was spent in the 1960's Mississippi. The one with Jim Crow laws and homegrown terrorists and a gathering of the most sincere and courageous people on Earth who were determined to change the state through peaceful protest. Impossible, to me, means it's just going to take a little more time and a lot more effort. Flight was impossible when my great aunt was a young girl, yet within her lifetime, we put a man on the moon! Global Peace is within our reach. It's a lot closer than the moon. The same spirit of unity, determination and brotherhood can heal the ills of the whole world. As the light continues to shine in this third generation freedom fighter, I am pleased to be identified as an Official Founder with Atlanta: City of Peace, Inc. which seeks and pursues peace globally." 
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--- Adam Crane (ATL) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Adam Crane is also artistic director of CraneClassical Music Society (ATL). He was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and has a Master of Music degree in viola performance, and a post-graduate Professional Studies Certificate, from the Mannes College of Music. With the International Music Program Quintet, he performed extensively throughout Europe, including in Leipzig’s famed Gewandhaus. Mr. Crane was a founding member of the Boneyfiddle Chamber Players, in residence at the Southern Ohio Museum and CulturalArtsCenter. While a member of the Roanoke String Quartet, he was integral to the development of a PBS documentary featuring music written by Thomas Jefferson and now in the holdings of Mr. Jefferson’s library in Monticello. In addition Mr. Crane has collaborated with Maya Angelou in “Artemis” - an innovative concert combining her poetry with chamber music. He performs frequently with Chamber Music Atlanta, and regional orchestras, including the Alabama Symphony, and as principal viola with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Tennessee. Various musical organizations seek out Mr. Crane as a consultant; in addition he has authored an “Audition Mastery Guide”, and created the Professional Music Educator's Network. Adam's main goal is to develop the audience of tomorrow through efforts to further “Music for the Masses,” a project of CraneClassical Music Society. Mr. Crane is proud of and blessed to be the father of Zoe, 13 and Max, 11. Adam is married to Key and is excited to include her children, - Brandon, 11 and Corrie, 15 to the family.
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--- Paula Larke (New York City) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Paula Larke is one of our national representatives and is a resident of New York City. She is a writer, and social activist, plus Founder, Executive and Artistic Director of Voices in the Treetops, an organization that collects the stories and connects the experiences of audiences of all ages, fostering individual development and community accountability. She is great at motivating the young and old alike in discovering and embracing their true gifts. According to Leadership America she has been called “an absolutely miraculous... a group leader, motivator, spirit-uplifter, singer, storyteller, artist extraordinaire....” by telling West and East African tales and personal tales of celebration and loss, as well as making music on bass, djembe, guitar, and banjo. Paula Larke performs art for social change with humor, lyrical percussion, traditional wit and wisdom, and contemporary irreverence.  Conferences and Workshops that have featured her have included The Kellogg Foundation's MIRA Project, The Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation's Annual Gathering, The Bell Foundation's After School Program, The United Methodists Women's National Seminars, Carpet Bag Theatre's Summer Institute for Adult Learners, The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Annual Conferences, and Leadership America's National Seminars. Ms. Larke also regularly promotes Mrs. Ellen Byrd’s wonderful educational institution: Black Freedmen's Living Historical Farm For Children, located in Furman, Alabama. She states: "Sign me up for Atlanta: City of Peace! I am honored to be a part, even from the distance of residing in New York City. Whenever I'm in ATL, I will let you know! If you know of any organizations that need my services, have them contact me. Stay as good hearted and rich-spirited as you are. Peace!"
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--- Dr. Shivadas Jaya, D.D. (ATL) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Dr. Shivadas Jaya is also Asst. Executive Director for the Gandhi Foundation USA and Managing Editor/Administrator for Dharm America & Hindu America, Dr. Shivadas Jaya was born and raised in Tampa, Florida of 'world' heritage; Rrom (gypsy), Rajasthani (North India) and Scots-Irish ancestry. Orphaned by his mother’s death in giving birth, he was adopted by an American family of Cuban and Italian heritage. He served in the Chaplaincy of the United States Air Force from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, where he spent most of his time based out of Ankara, Turkey and the Middle East. After his military service in 1983, Dr. S. Jaya traveled to India to study the spiritual heritage of his maternal ancestors. Since the 1985, he has been active in many areas to establish opportunities and cohesion for minority diverse spiritual and cultural groups. As an author and journalist, Dr. S. Jaya has written on civil rights, both from a social and religious point of view. Dr. S. Jaya arrived in Georgia in 2002, when he took the position of Managing Editor of the weekly “Atlanta Samachar.” The following year he was voted to the Board of Directors of the Gandhi Foundation USA, which he currently serves as Director of Operations. He states: "On 9/11, 1906- one hundred years ago- Mahatma Gandhi founded a movement known as "Satyagraha", literally meaning "holding on to truth."  It was the movement that eventually brought about the independence of India through non-violent means, making it the largest democratic republic in the world today."
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--- Asha (ATL) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Asha is also Founder of Ashadance.com, a dance company committed to supporting Sacred Dance Traditions, such as Middle Eastern Belly Dancing, Gypsy and Folk Dances of Turkey, and Rajasthan; Indian Classical Dance, and Goddess-centered Spirituality and Art forms. Headquartered in metro-Atlanta, she performs and teaches internationally. As a child Asha suffered with chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic lower-back pain, and at 20 was diagnosed with endometriosis. Instead of surgery she opted for the natural path, embarking on a journey of self-healing and turning to Acupuncture, Massage, Hypnosis, Psychotherapy, Reiki, Cranio-Sacral therapy, and Feldenkrais therapies. A strong, daily commitment to study, practice, and getting to know her body brought her mental peace and a return to the natural rhythms of the cycle of life, the basis of all natural techniques for healing. Asha has studied Tai'Chi, Kundalini Yoga and Belly Dancing as well as Meditation from genuine and certified teachers. She has also trained with Turkish musicians, studied Indian Folk Dance, the art of Belly Dance, Indian Classical Dance, and Sacred Dance. She has discovered that the central force animating ancient dance was the expression of love for the Divine and that it is this expression which made dance an essential part of the great ancient cultures. Sacred Dance corresponds with Sacred Geometry, mimicking the arrangements of planets, stars, to the Earth. Asha learned that one needs a teacher to correct angles, and timing - and it's critical to have a qualified guru - because the Baraka, "life-force energy from God" - can only be transmitted from teacher to student. Dance, she says, "...is to remind us of how to live our daily life. With God in mind, and love for our neighbors, hardships can be minimized and a general wellbeing for all increased. For through the dancer, the love and blessings can be conveyed to the observers. It's the dancer's job to portray this upliftment and happiness to others and help erase the collective karmas of the community.”
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--- Roger Daugherty (ATL) ---
Peacemaker, Co-Creator in Atlanta: City of Peace and Partnerships In Peace, Roger Daugherty has more than twenty years of sales leadership experience building brands and guiding developing companies to success. A corporate strategist and marketer, his vision and expertise in business performance have driven notable growth in the medical/OR goods sector. Offering a blend of creative and operational strengths, Roger is recognized for his success in growing sales and profits. His strategic approach to building a business is reflected in his work as founder of Scientific Design, Inc. where his development of a unique, patented anesthesia product line has led to new innovation in patient care. Roger’s track record of business success is based on his philosophy of total engagement in change. The Support Statement/Quote/Commitment he offers for Atlanta: City of Peace is: “I believe that in the hearts of most people is the desire and longing to love and live in peace. When the spirit in mankind realizes this, only then can we live together in respectful harmony.”
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--- Dada Ra (ATL) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Dada Ra is the Founding Executive Director of The Creators Gift 137, Inc; a non-profit organization designed to provide access to tools for global unity, peace and non-violence.  Dada facilitates Focus: Peace meditations, first of The Keys To Change Our Future initiative. She offers Peace Path Preparation Certification and Focus: Peace Meditation Facilitation Training.  Pho~Poe™, founded by Dada, is a company which combines photography and poetry to promote peace. Dada has over 20 years experience using spiritual principles empowering various populations and effectively building bridges in diverse communities, ranging from gang violence prevention Consultation; Prevention/Intervention Specialist for the Board of Education (NY) and she’s implemented a Peace Poetry project (CA). Utilizing peace philosophy, Dada intends to shift the world with a strategy stimulating knowing thyself that provides spiritual principles to increase one’s worthiness, activates self responsibility and aligns through awakening community consciousness. Her support statement is: "Atlanta City of Peace is a trailblazing vibration in tune with the current rhythm of the Universe. All is Divine; as tables are shifting mentally all over the world there are many opportunities to create anew. Our desires seemingly collectively contaminated have shown the contrary, a sprout of what is to come. Atlanta: City of Peace is an opportunity to magnetize peace consciousness."
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--- Nick A. Demos (ATL) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Nick A. Demos is also a very talented artistL www.Neosymbolism.com. He started art at a very early age, in 1954, at the High Museum School for Art when it was a house, later to become the High Museum of Art. He then attended Georgia State University where he first met Joseph Perrin head of the Art Department, and began collecting art shown at the university gallery. Nick received a B.S. in Psychology. Nick then received a graduate degree in SW from the Graduate School of University of Georgia, working as a director of a hospital in California. Nick was mentored under Professor Emeritus Joseph Perrin from Georgia State University School of Art and Design from 1990 to 2002, where he developed the concept of word painting from 1988 into Neosymbolism. Where words are the new symbols, the World was spoken into existence by the Lord with words, neosymbolism is where words juxtaposed to other words and letters within words create and reveal a powerful insight though visual arts into our World. Nick is creator of Neosymbolism and Founder and Director of The Museum of Neosymbolic Art: www.themona.com. He states: "Peace is a seed planted in every heart and it must be watered and given good light to take root and grow. One day the question, 'How can we achieve Peace?' will no longer exist."
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--- Tom Younker (ATL) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Tom Younker has been on the Board of Directors of Partnerships in Peace for a decade. He also maintains and upgrades their computers, and adds content to their website. Daytimes he runs his IT maintenance company Dare Computer, LLC where he solves tech problems for small businesses across metro Atlanta. After hours he refurbishes computers, using older technology donated to PIP or acquired as trade-ins, to make technology affordable to those who otherwise couldn't get online. Through a long-term business relationship with Zentech, a local computer recycler, Tom knows the high environmental cost of manufacturing new computers, and the environmental burden of end-of-lifecycle electronics. Zentech, PIP and Dare Computer collaboratively extend the useful life of PCs and make technology affordable to all. Tom Younker and Dare Computer supports the vision of Atlanta: City of Peace, Inc. and offers their expertise and resources to guide Atlanta into the next millennium, claiming its' place as an international city. As Jimmy Carter said about our fair country: "We cannot be both the world's leading champion of peace and the world's leading supplier of the weapons of war."
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--- Misti Freeman (ATL) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Misti Freeman is a very talented Atlanta-based artist, peacemaker. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Fine Art with a Business Administration Minor. She enjoys organic gardening, vegetarian cooking, recycling other's trash into something useful, and sewing and creating clothes from scrap fabrics. Ten Percent of profits from pet portraits painted by Misti Freeman and ordered through Atlanta: City of Peace projects will be donated in support of their development. Please visit her website www.AFistFullofArt.com to view examples of her pet portraits and other work. Ms. Freeman states:
"If dogs and cats can adapt to living together in peace,
then why is it so hard for us?"
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--- Dr. Frédéric Simard (France) ---
A Peacemaker and Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Dr. Frédéric Simard (France) is now living and working in Yaoundé, Cameroon. He is a research scientist for the Paris-based Institute for Research and Development (IRD) and the Organisation de Coordination et de Coopération pour la lutte contre les Endémies en Afrique Centrale (OCEAC). Between 1999 and 2000 he worked in Atlanta’s CDC thru L’Institut Pasteur investigating into the habitat and distribution of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. While working at the CDC in Atlanta, Frédéric befriended John R. Naugle, Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Inc. Their son, Cyrian Simard, was born on 05/05/00; the exact day there was a planetary alignment of seven planets! Cyrian, on his 5th birthday… (which was 05/05/05) turned 5 years old. The organization that Frédéric is employed by, Institute for Research and Development (IRD), is a French public science and technology research institute under the joint authority of the French ministries in charge of research and overseas development. The IRD has three main missions: research, consultancy and training. Frédéric stated.. "Remember this quote by Voltaire if you want more from your leaders... 'The pleasure of governing must certainly be exquisite, if we may judge from the vast numbers who are eager to be concerned with it'."
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--- Heather Havey (ATL) ---
A Peacemaker & Co-Creator of Atlanta: City of Peace, Heather Havey is a research scientist at Emory University School of Medicine.  She studies Mind-Body preventive health with diverse issues.  Through understanding these better,she hopes to develop improved preventive measures & enhance people's mind-body health, joy, wellness, & peace.  Heather also teaches yoga/meditation, has written several books, works as a peace & nature activist, & taught for 5 years about the Civil Rights Movement & Dr. King's legacy of peace. She has taught workshops on nonviolent communication, as well as techniques for how to begin to heal one's own heart in order to center deeply into peace/joy within.  From the heart, love & peace spread outward through the world. Peace begins within.  She also volunteers in an AIDS hospice, a women's prison, women's shelters, & at Kashi Ashram. Heather can be reached @: www.yourlifeisadream.com, www.myspace.com/heatherhavey, or www.clintkilts.com. Heather's quote: "In a time when we face population explosion; billions starving and living in horrific conditions; rapid & total devastation of the biosphere (120 species a month go extinct); rise of fundamentalism & rigid, separatist dogma; separation from nature via concrete, metal, computers, technology , & a worldview that mistakenly divides "sacred" from "profane" (when all is in fact sacred); unprecedented spread of weapons of mass destruction; and worldviews that encourage division, use of force, power struggles, hoarding, terror, and competition...we need peace. Peace begins within your own heart, by letting it fill up with love. Otto Rank says: 'Pessimism is the absence of creativity.'   So...begin now...and remember:
"Let's create peace through kindness & creativity!"
Namaste, Friends.
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Everyone's help is needed on our 5 HUGE Peace-Projects. We look forward to having YOU as "Co-Creator" and seeing YOUR name, and Bio listed on this "Peace-People" Page. Mayor Shirley Franklin, in her recent campaign re-election acceptance speech, invited citizens of every level of experience to find ways to build up our great city. This Website (www.ATLpeace.org: the Atlanta-Peace site, or better known as... the "Atlanta: City of Peace") is our response. IF you agree with some (or ALL) of the goals herein, then please contact us to assist with fulfilling these goals of service together. Let’s be courageous and work together to build up the health of our local home & family (ATL). We're NOT promised tomorrow, so let's be grateful today. We seriously need the assistance of anyone that knows about nonprofit professional development (all areas).Cultivating global peace is very important. Even today there are millions of 'cousins' from our global family that are in a considerable state of suffering. Reason? Gandhi's lesson of "Peace Is The Way" is not being taught, and Dr. King's defined "3-Evils" are not being adequately addressed. Did you realize that: 1) Poverty, 2) Racism, and 3) Violence are at the root of ALL the suffering going on in the 200+ countries of the Earth? Do you need specifics of how our global family suffers today?

--200+ Million children are malnourished and 175+ Million do not attend school
-- 1.5 Billion people are without clean drinking water
-- 40% of the world's population suffers serious water shortages
-- 1 Billion people are unemployed; another 750 million underemployed
-- 800 Million have no access to health services
-- Each successive 24-hour period - over 30,000 children in various parts of the world die of hunger and disease
-- Nearly 1.5 Billion people live in poverty on less than $1 a day
-- There are currently over 35 different theaters of conflict & war in various parts of the globe where our extended 'family members' or 'cousins' are intentionally or unavoidably involved in religious, political, resource, economic and/or territorial disputes
-- In the United States alone, national statistics report that there are over 2 Million homeless children. Over 500 thousand are under the age of 15, some as young as nine years old
---This following quote is from: "The UN Intl. Decade for a Culture of Peace" (2001-2010) which is supported by 700+ peace-cultivating organizations world-wide:

“…the advance of the culture of peace has come despite almost total neglect from the mass media, according to most accounts from all regions. Therefore, it is important that during the second half of the decade, we can ensure that news of the global movement for a culture of peace is recognized, and documented by both the mass media, and alternative media.”
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"Atlanta... what will happen
to the legacy of Coretta Scott King?"
---President William J. Clinton- 02/07/06

"We have not woven the Web of Life.
Our Great Spirit and Mother Earth have done it all!
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
Therefore do good things.
All things are bound together.
All things connect."
----Chief Seattle
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"Mother Earth... our Home.
Her people... our Family."
--- Johnny D'Farmer

"A plant will not spring up where no seed has been,
Although I have great faith in a seed.
Convince me that you have a seed there,
and I am prepared to expect wonders."
--- Henry David Thoreau

"There is a spirit, a need,
and a servant at the beginning of every great human advance.
Every one of these must be right
for that particular moment of history,
or nothing happens."
--- Coretta Scott King

"We remain a land of great promise,
but I think we need to move America toward
the fulfillment of the promise that
she has made for her citizens.
Economic justice. Civil rights.
The protection of the environment.
A living wage. Respect for others;
Humility in exercising our power at home,
and around the world.