Board of Directors

	Tom Manley Board Chair Senior Counsel, Hunton & Williams

Thomas J. Manley has served on the Board of Directors of Search for Common Ground since 1991, and is in his second stint as Board Chair; a post he previously held from 1994-1998. He was a partner in the U.S.-based international law firm of Hunton & Williams for 27 years, where he now continues as Senior Counsel. He was lead trial counsel in matters involving labor relations, municipal governments, voting rights and intellectual property. Tom designs innovative labor-management systems; and he has served as chief spokesman and facilitator in major labor negotiations in various industries, including electric utilities, airlines, public education, telecommunications, building supply and waste disposal. In 2003 he served as Business Advisor to the U.S. delegation to the International Labor Organization. He is a mediator of labor-management and litigation matters. Tom was educated at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (B.A. Diplomatic History, summa cum laude 1969) and the Harvard Law School (J.D. 1972).

	Gary DiBianco Board Vice Chair Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Gary DiBianco is a partner in Skadden's London office and heads the London-based Corporate Investigations practice. Mr. DiBianco has extensive experience defending criminal and civil investigations; conducting internal investigations; and defending civil litigation in anti-corruption, fraud, securities and related matters. He has been involved in a number of significant matters representing U.S. and non-U.S. entities in a variety of industries and business sectors. He has performed investigations relating to anti-corruption issues in dozens of countries, including in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. In addition to the representation of clients in investigations and contested proceedings, Mr. DiBianco regularly works with corporations and their boards to provide guidance on compliance and corporate governance issues. He has conducted numerous reviews of corporate compliance provisions and structures, and has advised on improvement of these structures and related policies and procedures designed to prevent and detect potential violations of law. Until December 2008, Mr. DiBianco was based in the Government Enforcement and Litigation Group in Skadden's Washington, D.C. office. Prior to joining Skadden, Mr. DiBianco was a trial attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and was detailed as a special assistant U.S. attorney to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Gary DiBianco is a magna cum laude graduate from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A, from Yale University.

	Roger Berliner Councilmember, Montgomery County/ President, Berliner Law PLLC

Roger Berliner is Vice President of the Montgomery County Council in Maryland, home to approximately one million residents with a budget in excess of $4 billion annually. He is serving his second term and Chairs the Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy & Environment Committee. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Washington Region Council of Governments. Prior to serving on the County Council, Mr. Berliner served at practically every level of government -- including city hall, county government, the state legislature, the House of Representatives, the United States Senate and the Executive Branch. Most notably, Mr. Berliner served in the late 1970's as Director of the Office of Congressional Liaison for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; as Legislative Director for U.S. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum; and as Policy Advisor to U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, who chaired the Health and Environment Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. During the early 1980's he was Principal Consultant to the California State Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee and Chief Consultant to the Subcommittee on Energy. Mr Berliner is also a nationally recognized energy lawyer and President of Berliner Law PLLC. He has a degree in law from the McGeorge School of Law and received his BA from Dartmouth College.

	Eric Berman Managing Director, Kekst and Company Incorporated

Eric Berman has worked as communications and investor relations counsel to companies in a wide variety of industries. Mr. Berman joined Kekst and Company in 1997 after nearly ten years in the worlds of political communications and research. He serves on the Firm's Operating Committee and chairs its Public Affairs Practice. At Kekst and Company, he is responsible for working with a variety of clients to help develop and execute programs on a broad range of strategic and financial communications issues. His issues management and public policy work includes some of the highest profile situations involving the nexus of financial public relations and public policy. Prior to his time at Kekst, Berman worked in the White House Office of Communications/Research during the Clinton Administration and served as Director of Research for the Democratic National Committee. In addition to serving on President Clinton's 1992 campaign staff, Berman also managed a congressional campaign and served on several political campaigns at the federal and local levels (including in New Jersey, Texas and Pennsylvania). Mr. Berman earned an A.B. in Government (specializing in International Relations) cum laude from Harvard College in 1988. He resides in New York City with his wife and family.

	Ahmed Charai Chairman, Maroc Telematique

Ahmed Charai is publisher of the Moroccan weekly magazine L'observateur as well as the French edition of the magazine Foreign Policy, CEO of the Arabic Daily Newspaper (Al Ahdate), and Chairman of Med Radio, a national broadcast network, and of Maroc Telematique, a communication agency. As an expert on Morocco and North Africa, he sits on the board of trustees of the Foreign Policy Research Institute and the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

	Ambassador (Ret.) Elinor Constable Former US Assistant Secretary of State

Ambassador Elinor G. Constable served for many years as a career diplomat. As Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, International Scientific and Environmental Affairs in the Clinton Administration she was responsible for overseeing US international policy in this area, including climate change. Appointed Ambassador to Kenya in 1986, Ms. Constable was responsible for managing one of the largest W.S. missions in Sub-Saharan Africa. During her three-year tenure, she also oversaw U.S. interaction with the United Nations Environment Programme. A career economic officer, Ambassador Constable served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs from 1983 to 1986. Her portfolio included serving as chief U.S. representative to the Paris Club, charged with negotiating debt rescheduling with third world nations. She was the ranking career economic official in the Department throughout her tour. Ambassador Constable has extensive experience outside the State Department. She was a part of the team that designed the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program in 1964, and supervised VISTA field projects through 1968.. She also spent a year in the private sector, providing consulting services to the Peace Corps and taught at Georgetown University. Ambassador Constable is a graduate of Wellesley.

	Ambassador (Ret.) André de Schutter President, Federation of International Associations in Belgium

Ambassador André J. De Schutter has been a Belgian diplomat from 1963 to 1993. He started his professional life as a legal adviser in the Congo, in 1960s. As a diplomat he was posted to Washington D.C., The Hague, Mumbai, Jiddah, Kigali, Paris and Luxemburg. Economics has been his main interest, beginning with his post as an economic and labor attaché in Washington D.C.  From 1993 onwards, Amb. De Schutter has a very active life as President of the Federation of European and International associations with its seat in Brussels, where he currently serves as honorary President of the Federation. Amb. De Schutter received his degree in law and political science from the University of Louvain, in Belgium.

	Patrick DeWolf Partner, DeWolf & Partners

Patrick De Wolf is an expert in corporate law, deals with arbitration matters at the national and international levels and acts both as an arbitrator and an attorney. As a member of the Brussels Bar since 1986, Mr. De Wolf is one of the founding partners of De Wolf & Partners, an independent Belgian law firm, of which he was the Managing Partner from 2000 to 2010. He is now the Senior Partner of the firm. He has significant experience in working with foreign investors in Rwanda and the wider region. He is a lecturer at the Catholic University of Louvain-La-Neuve where he teaches corporate law and the principles of commercial law. He is a member of the Brussels Bar Council, member of the Crides Centre Jean Renauld (UCL), member of CEPANI (Belgian Center for Arbitration and Mediation), chairman of the Belgian OHADA Club (Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa), director of the Chamber of Commerce ACP/CBL and chairman of the Fonds Scientifique Jean Bastin. He is the author of numerous articles and is regularly invited to a wide range of seminars and conferences as a speaker.

	Timothy Feige Senior Vice President and International Insurance Group Executive, Prudential International Insurance

Tim Feige is Senior Vice President and International Insurance Group Executive, Prudential International Insurance, heading International Insurance operations outside Japan. In this role, Feige is responsible for accelerating the growth of Life Planner insurance businesses in Asia, Latin America and Europe as well as guiding insurance activities in new markets. Feige joined Prudential in 1976 in the Company’s planning unit. Since then, he has held a variety of managerial and executive positions. Feige joined Prudential International Insurance in 1997 as senior vice president with responsibility for financial functions, new business development and European Operations. After working on the restructuring and acquisition of Gibraltar Life, he became Gibraltar's President and Chief Executive Officer in 2002, a position he held until assuming his present responsibilities in July 2006. Feige holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and an AB in Chemistry and Physics from Harvard College. He has earned the insurance industry’s Chartered Life Underwriter, Charter Property and Casualty Underwriter, and Chartered Financial Consultant designations.

	John Grossman Partner & General Counsel, Third Sector Capital Partners, Inc.

John Grossman is a partner and the general counsel at Third Sector Capital Partners, Inc., a non-profit financial advisory working with social service providers, governments and philanthropists to move to a performance-driven social sector. Prior to this, Mr. Grossman spent 16 years serving the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in various capacities. Most recently, he was the Undersecretary of Forensic Science and Technology within the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (“EOPSS”). In that role, Mr. Grossman was responsible for providing strategic leadership to and overseeing the performance of 5 state agencies. Additionally, he was charged with supervising the development and implementation of a Secretariat-wide information technology and information sharing strategy. Previously, John Grossman served as a prosecutor and manager in the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General. He is a graduate of MIT's Sloan School of Management, where he was a Sloan Fellow in Global Innovation and Leadership, Boston University School of Law and the University of Pennsylvania.

	Jo-Anne Hart Professor, Lesley University Research Faculty, Brown University

Professor Jo-Anne Hart has been a university professor for more than two decades teaching and researching, mostly at Brown University where she is currently a research affiliate. She also taught at Barnard and Columbia University and at the Naval War College in the Strategy and Policy Department. Currently Jo-Anne Hart is a professor at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA teaching Middle East history and politics and courses in technology and education. Her numerous publications appear in books and academic journals in the field of international relations. Dr. Hart lectures widely around the US and abroad and gives briefings for the State Dept, and the US military. She divides her time between international security/Middle East conflict resolution and civic education teaching and activism. Jo-Anne Hart is also a national leader in civic education. She developed Growing Voters - a project to create and nationally distribute free learning activities for US elections to increase civic engagement among primary and secondary students. In the 2008 Presidential race Growing Voters materials were used in every American state. Jo-Anne Hart was an undergraduate at UCLA and received her doctorate in Political Science at New York University (NYU).On the board of Search for Common Ground since 1991, she was a founding member of the Middle East security group as well as the Iran group. She continues to be an active participant in Search conflict resolution projects.

	Shamil Idriss Chief Executive Officer, Soliya

Shamil Idriss is Chief Executive Officer of Soliya and Senior Advisor to the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Initiative. Mr. Idriss served as the Executive Director of the Alliance of Civilizations Media Fund which merged with Soliya in 2009. In 2005 he was appointed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as Deputy Director of the Alliance of Civilizations. He served on the Steering Committee of the World Economic Forum's Council of 100 Leaders and as Chief Operating Officer of Search for Common Ground, where he worked in multiple capacities from 1993 - 2005. He is a member of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders and of the ASMA Society's Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow community.

	Douglas W. Kenyon Partner, Hunton & Williams

Douglas Kenyon focuses on intellectual property and commercial litigation at Hunton & Williams. With extensive experience in a wide range of legal fields, including antitrust, trade secrets protection, and corporate compliance, he initiated the trademark and copyright practice at Hunton & Williams. Mr. Kenyon has litigated in tribunals around the world, including the United States Supreme Court, numerous Federal Courts of Appeal, as well as the European Commission and the World Intellectual Property Organization. He chaired the Task Force on Data Exclusivity and the Task Force on Chinese Trademark Law Revision at the International Chamber of Commerce, and is a member of the United States Council for International Business and the Intellectual Property Commission at the International Chamber of Commerce. In addition to representing a variety of clients, Mr. Kenyon also engages in pro bono activities for organizations such as SHARE, which offers survivor-led support to women affected by breast or ovarian cancer, and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, an affiliate of the World Bank, which promotes microfinancing for those in poverty. Mr. Kenyon graduated cum laude with a J.D. and a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame.

	Monib Khademi Founder and President, Cypress Praxis, LLC

Monib Khademi has been managing Cypress, in Mill Valley, California since 1991, where they focus on wealth management for high net worth individuals and families. Monib worked as a consultant with Rockwell International in Strategic Planning. He was also an executive and leader for an adult education group, where he successfully conducted programs focusing on communication and organizational breakthroughs for over forty thousand people in major US and European cities. Monib founded the first College of Computer Science and Planning in Tehran, Iran, before he permanently moved to the U.S. in 1973. Monib was elected as a Trustee of the Mill Valley School Board, one of the top school districts in the country. He served for three terms and was honored as Trustee of the Year. Monib received his bachelor's degree from MIT and his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

	Michael Lewis Mediator and Arbitrator, JAMS

Michael K. Lewis, a neutral with JAMS' Washington office, is a mediator, arbitrator, teacher, and lawyer. Michael Lewis has mediated a variety of disputes involving commercial, environmental, public policy, employment and interpersonal issues. In recent years major successful mediations have included Pigford v. Glickman and Sokogan v. Babbitt. The Pigford case was a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of black farmers against the U. S. Department of Agriculture for discrimination in the application of the department's credit programs. The Sokogan case resulted from the underlying transactions giving rise to the Independent Counsel investigation of Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt. He has worked in a variety of settings, including the Ford Motor Company, the 3M Company, the International Monetary Fund and the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Mr. Lewis taught negotiation at Georgetown University Law Center and currently teaches mediation in the Harvard Negotiation Institute. He served on the Council of the American Bar Association Section on Dispute Resolution, and is a member of the CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution's Panel of Distinguished Neutrals. Mr. Lewis has a bachelor's degree in government from Dartmouth College and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

	James Meier President, Arete Corporation

Jim Meier started Arete Corporation in 1991, a management consulting firm that works with government and nonprofit agencies, school systems and colleges/universities, following stints in New York City government, community based agencies, consulting and research.

Prior to founding Arete, he served as First Deputy Budget Director for the New York City school system. Following college, Dr. Meier went into the Peace Corps in India, and trained high school science teachers. From 1974-1980 he was Director of Training and then Administrator of the East Harlem Block Schools, which included day care centers, elementary and middle schools, after-school programs, and a College program for parents and staff.

Jim joined the Board of Trustees of American Jewish World Service (AJWS) in 2001 and was Chair of the Board from 2006-2009. He is also an endurance athlete: eight time gold medalist in the 100 mile Canadian Ski Marathon, twice skied across Finland, swam the 28.5 mile race around Manhattan Island and in 2010 attempted the English Channel, using the event to raise money for charities. Jim is married, has two adult children, and lives in New York.

	Ambassador (Ret.) George Moose Adjunct Professor and Professorial Lecturer, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University

George E. Moose has served on the Board of Directors of Search for Common Ground since 2003 and served a term as Board Chair from 2007-2012. He was a career member of the U.S. Foreign Service, where he attained the rank of career ambassador. His service with the U.S. State Department included assignments in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Europe. He held appointments as U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Benin (1983-86) and to the Republic of Senegal (1988-91). From 1991 to 1992, he was U.S. Alternate Representative to the United Nations Security Council. In 1993, he was appointed assistant secretary of state for African Affairs, a position he occupied until August 1997. From 1998 to 2001, he was U.S. permanent representative to the European Office of the United Nations in Geneva. In June 2007, he was appointed by the White House to the board of directors of the U.S. Institute of Peace, where he now serves as vice chair. He also serves on the boards of the Atlantic Council and Elderhostel. Since 2003, he has been adjunct professor of practice at the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University, and he is Distinguished Fellow at LMI Government Consulting, a not-for-profit government consulting firm.

	John E. Mullins President and Co-Founder, Greystone Financial Group, Inc.

John Mullins began his finance career in 1968. He is a certified public accountant and holds specialty designations in Personal Financial Planning from the American Institute of CPAs and the College for Financial Planning. He maintains professional memberships in the American Institute of CPAs, the Michigan Association and Arizona Society of CPAs and the Financial Planning Association. John is a life member of the Walsh College Alumni Association and Vietnam Veterans of America. He serves on the board of directors of a multinational nonprofit organization specializing in conflict resolution.

John received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude in business and his graduate degree in economics from Walsh College. John was named one of America’s Top Financial Planners by the Consumers’ Research Council of America. Worth Magazine named John one of the nation’s top “250 Wealth Advisors."

	Ambassador (Ret.) Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah Mauritanian diplomat and former senior United Nations official

Amb. (Ret.) Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah is Chairman of the Centre for Strategy and Security in the Sahel Sahara (Centre4s). Previously, Mr. Ould-Abdallah was Mediator-in-Residence for the Department of Political Affairs at the United Nations, and he was Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General to Somalia. From 2003-2007, Mr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah was jointly Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and Chairman of the Cameroon Nigeria Mixed Commission. From 1993 to 1995 he served as Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in Burundi. From 1996 to 2002 he served as Executive Secretary of the Global Coalition for Africa, a Washington, D.C. based intergovernmental forum dedicated to African issues. He has also worked as Advisor on energy and African issues to the UN Secretary-General. From 1968 to 1985, Mr. Ould-Abdallah held a number of high-level governmental positions in his native country (Mauritania), including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation; and Minister of Trade and Transportation. He is co-founder and a member of the Advisory Board of Transparency International, an international non-governmental organization devoted to fighting corruption. Ould-Abdallah has written extensively on Africa, democracy, human rights issues, and conflict management.

	Abdul Aziz Said Professor and Director, International Peace and Conflict Resolution, American University

Abdul Aziz Said is the senior ranking professor at American University and the first occupant of the Mohammed Said Farsi Chair of Islamic Peace. He is the founding director of the International Peace and Conflict Resolution Division, in the School of International Service.

He is a frequent lecturer and participant in national and international peace conferences and dialogues and is deeply involved with a number of professional associations and Service Academies. His past and current public service includes consulting the U.S. Department of State, the Department of Defense, the United Nations and the White House Committee on the Islamic World. He advises and serves on the Board of Directors for various INGOs including Search for Common Ground. He also serves on the editorial boards of Human Rights Quarterly and Peace Review.

He has written, co-authored and edited more than seventeen books including Islam and Peacemaking in the Middle East, Contemporary Islam: Dynamic, not Static, Peace and Conflict Resolution in Islam: Precept and Practice and articles on various aspects of world politics.

His deep commitment to nonviolence, human rights, political pluralism, cultural diversity, and ecological balance has furthered the expansion of Peace and Conflict Resolution as a field of study throughout the world.

	Cathrine Steck Partner, Arrington Natural Resources

Cathrine Steck has served on the Board of Directors on Search for Common Ground since 2004. She also sits on the Board of the National Institute for Reproductive Health where she has served as Chair and Interim Executive Director. Ms. Steck is a partner in Arrington Natural Resources, a natural gas company based in western Pennsylvania.

	Randy Wright Partner, Berry Moorman P.C.

Randy Wright is a principal in the Detroit law firm Berry Moorman PC, practicing from the firm's Birmingham office. Randy is a business lawyer advising US and international clients regarding general business issues, international trade, finance, mergers and acquisitions, and the resolution of business disputes. Randy is a member of the American Bar Association and the State Bar of Michigan, and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. Also, he is a member of the Business Law, International Law, and Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections of both the ABA and Michigan bar. He is past Chair of the International Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. Mr. Wright has served on the Board of Directors of Search for Common Ground (formerly as Chairman) for over two decades. It was Mr. Wrights work with Search for Common Ground in the early 1990's that led to the law firms work in Russia and, ultimately, the establishment of the firm's St Petersburg office, which continues to represent both Russian and Western clients. Randy is a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Vietnam Veterans of America. He has served as a Commissioner on the Michigan Court of Claims for veterans issues by appointment of the Governor of Michigan.

	Dov Zakheim Vice Chairman, Center for the National Interest; Vice Chairman, Foreign Policy Research Institute

Dov S. Zakheim served from 2004-2010 as Senior Vice President of Booz Allen Hamilton, where he was a leader in the Firm's global defense practice.

From 2001 to April 2004 he served as the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Defense, developing and managing the world's largest budgets, overseeing all aspects of the Department's accounting and auditing systems, and negotiating five major defense agreements with US allies and partners.

Dr. Zakheim has served on a number of government, corporate, non-profit and charitable boards. He is a member of the Defense Business Board, which he helped establish, the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel and the Council on Foreign Relations.

A 1970 graduate of Columbia University with a bachelor's in government, Dr. Zakheim also studied at the London School of Economics. He earned his doctorate in economics and politics at St.Antony's College, University of Oxford, where he was a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, a Columbia College Kellett Fellow, and a St. Antony's College Research Fellow. The author of a dozen books or monographs, and of numerous articles, Dr Zakheim has lectured and provided print, radio and television commentary on national defense and foreign policy issues domestically and internationally. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his government, professional and civic work, including the Defense Department's highest civilian award in 1986, 1987 and 2004.

John Marks
Ex Officio Board Member
President, Search for Common Ground

On Sabbatical:

Andrea Bartoli
U.S. Representative, Community of Sant' Egidio
Dean, School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University