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Jo Becker
Jo Becker is the Children's Rights Advocacy Director for Human
Rights Watch, where she works to end abuses against children, including the use of children as soldiers,
hazardous child labor, and ill-treatment during detention.
Ms. Becker was the founding chairperson of
the international Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, which campaigned successfully for an
international treaty banning the forced recruitment of children under age eighteen or their use in
armed conflict. She also serves on the steering committee
of the U.S. Campaign to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. She has conducted field investigations to document
child recruitment in Burma, Northern Uganda and Sri Lanka.
In addition to reports published by Human
Rights Watch, she has also written about child soldiers in the Washington Post, International Herald
Tribune, Asian Wall Street Journal, Toronto Star and Christian Science Monitor. She has testified before
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee regarding the international treaty banning the forced recruitment
of children or their use in combat and briefed members of the United Nations Security Council.
Prior
to joining the staff of Human Rights Watch, Ms. Becker was the executive director of the Fellowship
of Reconciliation (FOR), a national interfaith peace and justice organization.
Michael Wessells
Michael Wessells, Ph.D., is Senior Child
Protection Specialist for Christian Children’s Fund,
Professor of Clinical Population and Family Health at Columbia University in the Program on Forced
Migration and Health, and Professor of Psychology at Randolph-Macon College.
He has served as
President of the Division of Peace Psychology of the American Psychological Association and of Psychologists
for Social Responsibility and as Co-Chair of the InterAction Protection Working Group. Currently, he
is Co-Chair of a U. N. Task Force on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings.
His research on children and armed conflict examines child soldiers,
psychosocial assistance in emergencies, and post-conflict reconstruction for peace. He regularly advises U. N. agencies, donors, and
governments on the situation of children in armed conflict and issues regarding child protection and
well-being. In countries such as Afghanistan, Angola, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Sri Lanka, East Timor,
Kosova, and South Africa, he helps to develop community-based, culturally grounded programs that assist
children, families, and communities affected by armed conflict.
Theresa Stichick Betancourt, Sc.D., M.A.
Dr. Theresa Stichick Betancourt is an Assistant Professor in the Center for International Health and Development at Boston University and is a part of its Applied Mental Health Research Group (AMHR). Dr. Betancourt has worked as a mental health clinician in both school and community settings and has consulted to various international NGOs and UN Agencies on global children's mental health issues. She has particular expertise in child refugee mental health and research, policy, and programming for children affected by war and other forms of violence. Her research focuses on the mental health and psychosocial development of children and adolescents affected by complex humanitarian emergencies, resilience in children exposed to violence, and the cross-cultural assessment of mental health constructs.
Martha Bragin, LSCW, Ph.D.
Dr. Bragin is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York and on the Clinical and Research Faculty in Social Work of the International Program in Refugee Trauma, (IPORT) at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. For the past ten years Dr. Bragin has consulted
to a number of agencies on the cultural components of epidemiological research and the “best
clinical practices” for the treatment
of children affected by armed conflict. She has developed and assessed psychosocial programs for
children and families in conflict situations in South America, Africa and the Middle East, working
with agencies such as Care International, Child Fund Afghanistan, Save the Children Federation, United
Nations Children’s Fund, and the International Rescue Committee. Dr. Bragin has published numerous
articles and chapters on this topic, a recent article is titled: Knowing terrible things: engaging
survivors of extreme violence in treatment in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, 2004. Dr. Bragin
received her master’s from Hunter College School of Social Work in New York and doctorate from
New York University School of Social Work.
Joanne Corbin, Ph.D.
Dr. Corbin came to the School for Social Work in 2000 from the Yale Child Study Center’s School Development Program where she was the Director of the Child and Adolescent Development Unit. Her work aided educators in integrating developmental theory into educational practice. She has also done research on parent involvement in public schools. Her current research and practice at Smith College explores the systemic work of school social workers and examines the multiple effects of children forced into armed conflict situations in Africa. Her publications focus on two areas: the role of social workers in educational decision making in public schools, and on the resettlement experiences of child soldiers in Uganda. She is the chair of the research sequence. Dr. Corbin received her B.A. from Wellesley College, her M.S.S. from Bryn Mawr Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research and her doctorate in Epidemiology and Public Health from Yale University.
Ay Ling Han, Ph.D.
Dr. Han and her family emigrated from
Indonesia due to long-standing political instability and ethnic strife related to colonization and
complex socioeconomic-arrangements between Indonesians and the Chinese in Indonesia. She identifies as multicultural with a life-long
professional commitment to the mental health and empowerment of people in general and disenfranchised
members of society in particular. She obtained her doctorate in counseling psychology from The
University of Texas at Austin, and, has, among many things, an interest in how under-represented ethnic
and racial minorities develop self-efficacy, empowerment and community within their multiple life contexts
of difference, oppression, and privilege.
Khalilah Karim-Rushdan, M.S.W.
Al-Hajjah Khalilah Karim-Rushdan
received her M.S.W. from Smith College School for Social Work in 1999. At Smith she is a Chaplain to the
College/ student advisor as well as a clinician at the counseling service. Khalilah’s life work
is to advocate and raise awareness of oppressed peoples struggle. Most recently Khalilah co-led a
group of Smith College students to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, her former home, to work with victims
of hurricane Katrina. Khalilah's work with multicultural communities continues to give voice and empowerment
to the disenfranchised.
Joan Lesser, MS, Ph.D.
Dr. Lesser is an associate adjunct
professor at Smith College School for Social Work and the clinical director of the Pioneer Valley Professionals
in Mental Health Services in Holyoke, Ma. Dr. Lesser has been doing research with children, parents
and human service providers in West Kingston, Jamaica, WI on the impact of violence in their community. Based
on their research findings, Dr. Lesser, Dr. Marlene Cooper, and their Jamaican colleagues will participate
in a three day training in Jamaica (February 2006) on the treatment of children who have been traumatized
by violence and sexual abuse. Dr.
Lesser is part of an interdisciplinary clinical practice in Holyoke where she works with racially
and culturally diverse children and families. In addition to cross cultural research and trauma practice,
Dr. Lesser’s professional interests include children with learning disorders and ADHD. She
is currently co-authoring a second book, Human Behavior and the Social Environmen, which will be
published in 2006 by Allyn & Bacon. Her publications are focused on the application of theory to
clinical work, human development and community based practice. Dr. Lesser received her master’s
degree from Columbia University School of Social Work and doctorate from New York University School
of Social Work.
Eugenie Mukeshima, B.A.
Ms. Mukeshima was born in Rwanda.
She was a young adult interested in social services during the period of the genocide and she worked
with refugees, mostly women and children. Since coming to the U.S. in 2001 she has worked with the
homeless population and parents involved in custody cases. She connects her work in Rwanda and her
work in the U.S. through the common experience of violence inflicted upon a population. Ms. Mukeshima’s professional goal
is to educate practitioners in social service agencies about the challenges immigrants face when they
enter a world that knows little or nothing about them. She lectures on women’s and children’s
perspectives in the conflict situations. Ms. Mukeshima graduated from College of St. Rose in Albany,
New York and is pursuing her MA degree in Holocaust and Genocide Studies at West Chester University
in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
Father Remigio Obol
Father Remigio Obol is a parish priest with the Gulu Archdiocese in the conflict area of northern Uganda. He conducts workshops on peacebuilding and reconciliation for all members of the community, and he specifically works in six internally displaced peoples' camps. As this region has been affected by the armed conflict for 20 years, reconciliation is a major focus of the work for the entire community. Father Remigio is the founder of a local organization in Gulu named Education for Peace and the Prevention of Violence and HIV/AIDS (EPPOVHA). Father Remigio is also a board member of the psychosocial rehabilitation center in Gulu for former child soldiers, Gulu Support the Children Organization.
Stella Ojera, B.A.
Ms. Ojera is currently the program officer of
Children Affected by Conflict and Disaster for Save the Children in Uganda. She has a rich history
with humanitarian and social service agencies in the war affected region of northern Uganda. She was
a social worker and deputy program coordinator for one of the largest psychosocial rehabilitation centers
for former child soldiers in northern Uganda, Gulu Support the Children Organzation (GUSCO). She was
also the point person for the global school feeding initiatives of the World Food Program. Through
her work Ms. Ojera has been a co-investigator and consultant for numerous research studies, ranging
from assessing the support needs of children and communities affected by armed conflict to the development
of feasible and sustainable culturally appropriate community action plans. Born in Uganda, Ms. Ojera
received her B.A. in social sciences from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Adin Thayer, M.S.W.
Ms. Thayer teaches a global perspectives
course on collective trauma at Smith College School for Social Work. She has also taught in the area
of brief dynamic psychotherapy. She has provided consultation on brief psychotherapy to agencies, colleges
and universities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont. She has recently ended twenty years of
private practice in order to commit more attention to her work as a staff member of the Karuna Center
for Peacebuilding in Amherst, Massachusetts. In this work, Ms. Thayer travels to areas of recent or
current armed conflict, such as Rwanda, and works with community members on building, justice and reconciliation.
Ms. Thayer received her master’s
from the University of North Carolina, School of Social Work.
Panel from Jewish Family Services
Jewish Family Services
helps refugees and immigrants resettle safely, learn English, gain citizenship and adjust to American
life in Western Massachusetts. Through these efforts, hundreds of refugees from around the world have
become contributing members of our community. In addition to finding U.S. sponsors and providing a
safe arrival, the multi-cultural, multi-lingual staff provides comprehensive services for refugees.
The agency’s
assistance includes case management, family reunification, federal refugee assistance, employment,
acculturation, housing, access to medical and educational services and counseling. In addition, a special
program for seniors helps refugees over age 60 adjust to their new community.
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