PROFILES

Holds a master’s degree in international relations from New York University, and an undergraduate degree in business and marketing. With Wagner Graduate School for Public Service, she studied international health policies and prospects at the World Health Organization in Geneva Switzerland, and conflict and development in The Netherlands. She has tenure in the biotechnology industry, as well as extensive non-profit experience. While executive director of Life Through Dance, Inc, she received the New York Foundation for the Arts’ Emerging Leader Award, and spearheaded the documentary film INTO SUNLIGHT, which explores how a non-fiction book about war and protest, inspired a dance-work that profoundly impacted audiences world wide. Her articles have appeared in the African Anthropologist, published by the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, and the World Policy Institute’s Arts-Policy Nexus Publication.

Michelle Rivera holds a graduate degree from New York University’s Center for Global Affairs in Peacebuilding and Gender Studies. She conducted field research in Colombia with rural farmers to learn how they are building peace within their communities, and worked with World Vision International in Amman, Jordan, as a graduate consultant. After receiving her bachelor in Counseling Psychology, she moved to New York to work with students in foster care as a residential case manager. Her interests include the intersection of peace building and mental health and how both sectors work together for the betterment of communities.

Zoë Wild is Executive Director and Founder of One Light Global, an international NGO transforming refugee settlements and indigenous reservations into regenerative communities that align ancient wisdom with modern technology. Her background includes over a decade as a peace builder, ordained interfaith minister and former Buddhist nun coaching individuals and groups to heal from trauma and reclaim inner peace and connection with the earth. She facilitates workshops and individual healing through chaplaincy, grief counseling, spiritual guidance, trauma healing, facilitating groups in cultural and religious conflict, hospice care, counseling veterans, prisoners and bereaved children. Zoë facilitates workshops for healing trauma and PTSD with Healing of Memories founded by Father Michael Lapsley, and intergenerational trauma and peace and reconciliation between cultures in conflict with Healing the Wounds of History founded by Armand Volkas.

After a successful career as a family law attorney and mediator, Lori Rubenstein, JD, PCC chose to follow her own mission – to empower people to heal from their relationship wounds, eventually becoming a professional certified coach. In addition to her private practice and other volunteer work, Lori is a lead facilitator for Healing of Memories North America. You will find she has a unique ability for holding sacred space for people to heal and mend their past, and to transcend their own “stories.” Inner peace, she teaches, starts with self-love, self-acceptance, and self-compassion. She is the author of three transformational books, including the Amazon best seller: Forgiveness: Heal Your Past and Find the Peace YOU Deserve.

Anne Grenn Saldinger, Ph.D. is a consultant and founder of Looking Back for the Future (lookingbackforthefuture.com), helping people to capture their memories and insights for themselves, their families and future generations. Her belief in the power of personal stories grew out of her training as a social worker and clinical psychologist and her experience as executive director of a community-based oral history project working with hundreds of Holocaust survivors. Her warm presence, passion for the transformative power of compassionate listening, and her research on the long-term effects of trauma come together in her work with the Institute for the Healing of Memories.

Pamela Cornwell is a clinically licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She has worked with survivors of abuse and neglect for more than 28 years.  Pamela currently is the Clinical Director for Trauma Practices for Saint Francis Ministries, a private, not-for-profit child welfare organization. Pamela is certified in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, Trauma Systems Therapy and a facilitator for Healing of Memories workshops. She provides trauma-responsive care helping individuals recognize the impact of trauma and facilitates their healing journey.

Kathleen Garast has been a Healing of Memories facilitator in 2013. She began a career as an RN and Head Nurse on the first adolescent unit in Chicago. She specialized in Emergency Care and as a Traveling Nurse in AZ, CA, LA and Fla. She has a MA in Management/Organizational Behavior and is certified as a Spiritual Director and Health Coach since 2005. Her career and volunteer choices in life have been motivated by the belief that each person with a bit of love and support can empower their own healing and recognize their own unique worth. She was a facilitator/board member/ trainer with Beginning Experience and Young Peoples Beginning Experience. BE/YPBE conduct weekend retreats for those who have experienced divorce or death of a spouse or a parent. Kathleen was the first Parish Nurse at the Beatitudes Church in Phoenix. She was Vice President for Catalina Behavioral Health, Health Net’s five mental health clinics in Arizona and Regional VP for Metlife Health Care HMO Plans.

Paul Feuerstein is the President/CEO of Barrier Free Living. Paul was instrumental not only in creating a partnership between Healing of Memories and Barrier Free Living. He was also the founding chair of the board of the Institute for Healing of Memories-NA.

Josè Olagues has been an educator throughout his adult life. He was an education major in college, and is a Vietnam war veteran. He served his time as instructor/administrator at the Basic Army Administration group at Ft Ord CA. He taught his first 2 languages (Spanish/French) at a boy’s prep school, prior to joining the corporate world. There he had various positions which included training responsibilities; at one point he was responsible for training the corporations’ trainers. He designed, and implemented a full human resources plan for a company abroad. Training at many levels was essential. He took early retirement to attend seminary, where he turned half-century old. After being ordained as minister of word and sacrament for The Presbyterian Church – USA, he spent most of his time training leaders. In addition to lay leadership training, additional training included (but not limited) Christian Education, mission, Stewardship and Social Justice. After his second retirement, he attended a weekend Healing of Memories (HOM) workshop. Afterwards he pursued the necessary training to become a facilitator in the program.

Cathy Harrington has a rich and varied background as a single mother, hairdresser, bakery/café owner in Seward, Alaska, working with the homeless in San Francisco, spending time with the poor in the barrios of Nicaragua; all of which have informed her work as a parish minister. Cathy specializes in Interim Ministry helping congregations navigate the uncertainties and challenges of searching for a new settled minister. She currently serves a Unitarian Universalist congregation in Traverse City, Michigan. It was after the tragic murder of her youngest child in 2004 and the difficult journey of grief and healing, that Cathy sought to honor her daughter’s memory by earning a Doctor of Ministry degree with a focus on Restorative Justice in 2012. She has worked as a Victim Outreach Specialist, earned a Professional Certificate in Conflict Analysis and Engagement and has served as a volunteer police chaplain. But it was Cathy’s personal transformative experience at a Healing of Memories workshop with Father Michael Lapsley in 2013 that led her to become trained as a facilitator. “To share our stories in a safe and loving space, to be heard and affirmed is an immeasurable gift. I am humbled by the stories shared and the healing I’ve witnessed.” ~ Cathy Harrington

Graciela Marroquin served 14 years, in the military, beginning in 1992, as an aircraft plane captain in the U.S. Navy. She then transferred into the Army National Guard, & in 2004 served in Baghdad, Iraq, as a combat-medic. As a post-traumatic-stress “Victor,” she is pursuing her doctoral degree, in clinical psychology, with an emphasis on trauma, stress, resiliency, & moral conflict/injury, to better serve her community, military, and veteran population. She has been a Healing of Memories facilitator for 2 years.

As an Episcopal priest, Joanie Delamater, feels called to teach and preach and heal. As a healer she is a compassionate companion on the journey, who holds the stories of others with an open heart and no judgment. Joanie invites folks to let go of what they no longer need to carry as a step toward healing in body, mind and spirit.

Linda Rich, DCSW, LSW, CSAC makes her home in Honolulu, has been on the board for four years, is a HOM facilitator, and coordinates IHOM-NA’s work in Hawaii. Her social work career of 35 years has included clinical and administrative roles in mental health and substance abuse treatment. Linda is a member of a Just Peace, Open and Affirming United Church of Christ congregation, Church of the Crossroads.

Michael Lapsley, born in New Zealand, joined the Society of the Sacred Mission and was sent to South Africa in 1973. There he became active in the anti-apartheid movement, ultimately joining the African National Congress. After surviving an assassination attempt, he returned from exile to found the Institute for Healing of Memories in Cape Town.

Linda Rich, DCSW, LSW, CSAC makes her home in Honolulu, has been on the board for four years, is a HOM facilitator, and coordinates IHOM-NA’s work in Hawaii. Her social work career of 35 years has included clinical and administrative roles in mental health and substance abuse treatment. Linda is a member of a Just Peace, Open and Affirming United Church of Christ congregation, Church of the Crossroads.

Is the President/CEO of Barrier Free Living. Paul was instrumental not only in creating a partnership between Healing of Memories and Barrier Free Living. He was also the founding chair of the board of the Institute for Healing of Memories-NA.

Is an award-winning filmmaker and journalist who has spent more than 30 years bringing attention to the global struggles for social justice. Growing up in Zimbabwe he began documenting the post-colonial and anti-apartheid struggles of southern Africa and went on to become CNN’s roaming Africa correspondent for more than a decade, covering conflicts across the continent. In 1997 he was awarded the Prix Bayeux for best television war correspondent for his coverage of the Liberian civil war. Since 2001 he has concentrated on investigative documentaries focusing on the geo-politics of the 21st Century which have been screened internationally by the world’s leading broadcasters and recognized with several awards. Bob also works as a communications consultant and media advisor for UNICEF and other UN agencies in their humanitarian and emergency efforts around the world.

Is a fund and grant development professional for non-profit organizations and higher education institutions. He served as the first Executive Director of the Minnesota 4-H Foundation.

Is a trauma and healing focused, clinical and community psychologist, trainer, and educator who was born in Nigeria and currently lives in NYC. She works as an Assistant Adjunct Faculty member at John Jay School of Criminal Justice and serves a supervisor at Wediko Children’s Services-NY Based programs. Mayowa works with community based organizations to integrate spirituality with healing from various forms and levels of trauma, develop programs and curriculum, name and oppose intersectional oppression, and to develop anti-oppressive, social justice oriented interventions, centering the lived experiences of woman of color.

ANDREW MONROE RICE graduated from Colby College in 1996 and earned a Masters of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School in 1999. He was a State Senator in Oklahoma City, from 2006-2012, and has worked in a variety of capacities in the non-profit sector, focusing on healthcare, human rights, reconciliation, and addiction recovery. Rice leads contemplative prayer sessions for incarcerated men in Oklahoma and is the convener of a men’s contemplative group at the St. Francis of the Woods Spiritual Renewal Center in Coyle, OK. He lives in Oklahoma City with his wife and two sons. Rice recently published his first novel, GHOSTS OF URSINO.

Dr. Hakim Mohandas Amani Williams, a native of Laventille, Trinidad & Tobago, is an Associate Professor of Africana Studies, Director of Peace and Justice Studies and an affiliate of the Education Department at Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania; he also serves as an advisory council member for the programs in International & Global Studies, Public Policy, and Civil War Era Studies. At Gettysburg, he teaches on human rights; postcolonialism, race, gender and identity; education for social change; Caribbean studies; and globalization. He adjuncts in the conflict resolution/mediation program at the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Teachers College, Columbia University. He completed his Bachelor of Arts (Honors) in Psychology at St. Francis College, Brooklyn, and his Master of Arts, Master of Education and Doctor of Education in Comparative and International Education/ International Development, with foci in philosophy of education and peace education at Teachers College, Columbia University. His research centers on school/structural violence, educational inequities, and youth and community empowerment. He has given over fifty academic conference presentations and other talks, and was a 2016 Visiting Scholar at AC4, Earth Institute. He has conducted many workshops and trainings in restorative circles in diverse settings.

Laju Obasaju currently lives in Philadelphia, PA where she serves as the Director of Research, Data & Analytics for Corporate Communications at Comcast NBCUniversal. Outside of work, she has a passion for working in her communities on mental health awareness and support. She holds an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California and both a J.D. and her B.A. from New York University.

Laju Obasaju currently lives in Philadelphia, PA where she serves as the Director of Research, Data & Analytics for Corporate Communications at Comcast NBCUniversal. Outside of work, she has a passion for working in her communities on mental health awareness and support. She holds an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California and both a J.D. and her B.A. from New York University.

Is a founding member of our Board of Directors. She is President of ML&G Associates, a lobbying and government relations firm, and is a regulatory consultant and compliance advisor in the U.S. commercial insurance and financial sectors. She is Vice-Chair of Boys Hope Girls Hope New York and President of YES!Solutions, Inc., a grassroots community-building charity based in Harlem.

Is the Regional Coordinator for the Institute for Healing of Memories in Minnesota. She has worked with Fr. Michael Lapsley and the Institute for Healing of Memories since 2007. She was one of the founding members of a working group of the Minnesota’s Warrior to Citizen Campaign, which has offered Healing of Memories workshops for veterans since 2009. She served as Chair of the Institute for Healing of Memories-North America from 2011- 2014 and has been a Healing of Memories workshop facilitator since 2011, and Lead Facilitator since 2014. Margaret is an Episcopal priest. She holds a BA degree from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Divinity degree from United Theological Seminary/Seabury Western Theological Seminary. The focus of her ministry is working with Healing of Memories workshops.

After her son, Greg, died in the attacks on the World Trade Center, Phyllis Rodriguez and her husband wrote an open letter, “Not In Our Son’s Name,” opposing military retaliation. They became founders of September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. A documentary about the Rodríguezes, “In Our Son’s Name,” has screened nationally. After attending a workshop in 2006, Phyllis became a Healing of Memories coordinator.