Felicia Parazaider: Pace e Bene Intern
Contact Information:
Phone: (510) 268-8765City: Berkeley
State/Province: CA
Postal Code: 94709
Country: us
After a health crisis, which threatened her life in her mid-twenties, Felicia developed a greater sensitivity to human suffering and injustice. Always a spiritual seeker and lover of philosophy, she embarked on a deeper exploration of this part of herself. While walking this path, she realized she needed to return to school to further her professional goals in the fields of nonviolence and spirituality.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Felicia Parazaider moved to the Bay Area in the fall of 2006 to begin her undergraduate program in Religious Studies and Peace & Conflict studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Felicia graduated Magna Cum Laude with an A.A. Degree in Liberal Arts from Los Angeles Valley College in 2006 as class valedictorian. While at LAVC she was highly active in many student organizations and important causes, including the Transfer Alliance Program and LAVC speech team. Felicia was founder and president of the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA), a chapter of the Feminist Majority Foundation.
She also conducted an internship with the Anti-Defamation League of Los Angeles while still a student at LAVC. Here she worked in the Anti-Bias Education Program, which works towards training educators and raising consciousness surrounding issues of bias, discrimination, and defamation. In the summer of 2005 she volunteered at the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana and was deeply affected by the abject poverty she witnessed. Returning home she made a deeper commitment to social justice work, realizing she could not sit silent knowing such deprivation exists. In the summer of 2007 she had the good fortune of receiving a scholarship to participate in an intermediate Hindi language study immersion program with the American Institute of Indian Studies in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
Felicia began her musical education in 1979, at the age of five. She studied classical piano under the tutelage of Judith Berman for fifteen years and performed in various piano competitions. At the age of 20 she decided to share her gift with others and began teaching music to children and adults. A published poet and songwriter, Felicia will always have a passion for musical expression and creative literary writing.
Felicia’s goal is to devote her life to working in the fields of nonviolence and social justice. She is thrilled to be given the opportunity to intern at Pace e Bene and is enjoying organizing the Circle of Peace speaking tour for Fr. Louie Vitale. She also looks forward to becoming a nonviolence trainer through the workshops offered by Pace e Bene. Felicia practices and has facilitated many meditation groups and enjoys soaking in the beautiful bay area sunsets.
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