Our Team
“Nonviolence is the first article of my faith. It is also the last article of my creed.”
Veronica Pelicaric, Presente! 1946-2022
Former Director of Educational Programs. Watch the Zoom Celebration here.
Friar Louie Vitale, Presente! 1932-2023
Co-founder of Pace e Bene. Read more.
Dr. Ken Butigan
Strategist
Butigan is a leading teacher, advocate and strategist of nonviolence. He has worked for decades with many social change movements and currently is Pace e Bene’s chief strategist. He teaches in the Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies Program at DePaul University in Chicago, and has published several books, including most recently Nonviolent Lives.
Rosie Davila
Art & Media Coordinator
Rosie Davila is a sophomore at the University of Kentucky, majoring in Anthropology and Peace Studies. She has illustrated several books on nonviolence and lives on a farm in Kentucky with her family
Mili Roson
Educational Programs Coordinator
Hailing from Argentina, Milagros holds a bachelor's degree in Communication Sciences with a specialization in leadership. She has a strong background in working with children and youth in vulnerable contexts, including experience with refugee children. Recently, she completed her Master's degree in Peace Education from the University for Peace in Costa Rica. Now back in Buenos Aires, Milagros is committed to utilizing her expertise in educational coordination and her passion for peace to make a positive impact.
Rivera Sun
Advancing Nonviolence Coordinator
Author/Activist Rivera Sun is the Editor of Nonviolence News, a nationwide trainer in strategy for nonviolent movements, and the author of many books and novels, including The Dandelion Insurrection and The Way Between. She serves on the Advisory Board of World Beyond War and Backbone Campaign. Rivera helps coordinate Action Week and our Nonviolent Cities Project. www.riverasun.com
Shaina Jones
Campaign Nonviolence Outreach Coordinator
Chicago native Shaina Jones is an innovative professional with years of experience in administrative support, peace education, and a background in Performing Arts. Some of Shaina’s achievements include speaking on WGN-TV, performing internationally, and instructing over 1000 youth in conflict resolution skills. From performing to instructing, Shaina loves exercising her crafts in every way possible to touch lives.
Ryan Hall
Executive Director
A former member of the Las Vegas Catholic Worker community, Hall has a BA in Sociology and two Masters degrees, including in Theology and Ministry for a Multicultural Church. He lives in Corvallis, Oregon with his spouse Dr. Erandhi Hall, their son Elijah and their dog Yogi.
Dr. Kit Evans-Ford
Nonviolence Trainer
Evans-Ford has led many Pace e Bene workshops and directed the outreach for Campaign Nonviolence Action Week for many years. She earned a Doctor of Ministry degree and has served in the Peace Corp and Teach for America. A founder of Testimonies of Hope, and Argrows House of Healing and Hope she lives in Davenport, Iowa with her family.
Erin Bechtol Laster
Executive Assistant
With a background in editorial work and a degree including peace studies, Bechtol came to nonviolence education in college. She lives in Corvallis, Oregon where she has been working with Pace e Bene since 2017. She considers working to promote and support nonviolence the most worthwhile use of her efforts.
Alisha Foster
Environmental Healing Project Coordinator
Alisha graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in Environmental Studies. They bring this perspective to labor solidarity and anti-war movements through art, research, and strategy.
Our Board
Dr. Michele Dunne
Michele Dunne is the Executive Director of the Franciscan Action Network (FAN). Before joining FAN her career focused on the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy. From 2006 until 2021, she headed programs focused on peace, human rights, and democracy in the Middle East at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Atlantic Council. Before that, she served for nearly 20 years in the U.S. Department of State, including assignments in Jerusalem and Cairo. She holds a Ph.D. from Georgetown University and lives in Washington DC with her husband.
Julia Occhiogrosso
Julia Occhiogrosso founded, in 1986, the Las Vegas Catholic Worker. In 1989 she joined the circle of activists who aspired to explore more deeply the transformative implications of nonviolence and became one of the founding members of Pace e Bene. Today she continues to live in community with her partner Gary Cavalier at the Las Vegas Catholic Worker. There, she prepares soup for street people, gardens and strives to integrate contemplation with her daily experiments in nonviolence. She is also currently the Chair of the Pace e Bene Board.
Br. John Eustice
Br. John Eustice is a Catholic religious brother with the Viatorians (Clerics of St. Viator) located in Chicago, IL. He has worked with young people and people on the margins for many years including as a Vice President of St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights, IL. He is currently a seminarian and serving as the vocation director for the Viatorians.
Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr.
President and CEO of Hip Hop Caucus—a national, award-winning organization that engages young people in elections, policymaking, and service—Rev. Yearwood is a minister, community activist and organizer. One of the most influential people in Hip Hop political life - he was named one of Utne Magazine’s “50 Visionaries” - he lives in Washington, DC with his family.
Sr. Andrea Koverman
Formerly, on the staff of the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, now currently working on the border near El Paso, TX. Sr. Koverman is a member of the Sisters of Charity community whose mission is to strive to live Gospel values by acting justly, building loving relationships, sharing resources with those in need and caring for all creation. She has Masters' degrees in curriculum and administration.
Vera Anderson
Vera Anderson is a teaching artist and youth development educator from Las Vegas, NV. Vera has worked with Nevada Desert Experience, Las Vegas Catholic Worker, Food Not Bombs, and the LGBTQ Center to support actions of nonviolence in her community. As a singer/songwriter, she enjoys writing music and protest songs about the journey to self-love.
Fr. Chris Ponnet
Fr. Ponnet is a priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and serves as the pastor of of St. Camillus Center for Spiritual Care in Pasadena, California. He also serves as Director of the Department of Pastoral Interfaith Chaplains at LACUSC Medical Center. He hosts Pax Christi LA, and the Gay and Lesbian Ministry of the Archdiocese, at St. Camillus. He has spoken nationally on HIV/AIDS, the death penalty and social justice. Linking the lives of his patients to justice and peace issues is fulfilling to him and fuels his preaching and activism.
Jim Crosby
Jim Crosby is an Episcopal Third Order Franciscan living in Austin, TX. He retired in 2020 after 27 years of teaching Theology to high school seniors. He is married to Tara, a retired registered nurse. Together they have three grown children, Justin, Andrew, and Clare, two Salvadoran foster sons, Carlos and Juan, and a growing collection of beautiful grandchildren. Active nonviolence has become increasingly central to his understanding of how we grow into our full humanity.