The Rotarian Action Group for Peace has two open At-Large Director Positions and seeks your input on selecting candidates to fill these three-year terms on our Board of Directors (2014-2017).
Please cast your vote no later than Wednesday, May 28 (midnight, GMT).
The results will be announced at our Annual General Meeting, on Sunday, June 1 at 15:30pm in the Parklands Meeting Room at the Rotary International Convention in Sydney, Australia.
Please cast your vote no later than Wednesday, May 28 (midnight, GMT).
Alessandro Bruni
District 2080
Rotary Club of Viterbo, Italy
Alessandro is an attorney and has worked as a professional international mediator and arbitrator since 1996. He is the Founder and Board Member of CONCILIA LLC, the leading Italian Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) provider, since 1999. He is one of the first Italian mediators and trainers in ADR accredited by the Italian Ministry of Justice, and is an accredited professional civil and commercial mediator in Belgium, and a Professor of the topics “Mediation and Conciliation” and “Strategic Management of the H.R.” at the International Academy of Sciences of Peace in Rome. Alessandro is a former Honorary Fellow in “Mediation and Conciliation” at the University of Pisa (Sciences of Peace Centre), and has also taught for the EU-funded program, European Mediation Training for Practitioner of Justice – EMTPJ in Brussels (Belgium). He is an expert in EU-financed project mediation and ADR, and the Founder and President of Mediators Beyond Borders International, Italy Professional Chapter. Alessandro has written more than twelve books, two codes and more than 80 articles on mediation, conflict management, arbitration and ADR, international private law and EU law, many of them translated in English, Romanian, French and Spanish.
Alexander Deblond
District 6900
Rotary Club of Columbus, Georgia, USA
Alex Deblond was chief financial officer of foreign operations in transnational corporations from 1993 to 2012, and has recently moved back his native Belgium as an entrepreneur. He has been an active Rotarian since 1995 in clubs in Colombia, Belgium and the United States. Because of his frequent international moves, Alex has not been able to assume the presidency of a club so he took on the responsibility of international projects in each club. In this context he has remained active in his Columbus, Georgia (USA) Rotary Club as the driving force behind two projects in Colombia for which he has applied for matching grants from the Rotary Foundation.
Professionally, Alex has offered major value as an inspired and enthusiastic driving force of international profitable growth, thanks to his intrinsic flair for innovation, creative problem-solving and carefully measured risk-taking. This is what Alex would like to offer to the Peace RAG board.
His specific interest in matters of peace is not only inspired through his past as historian, his active contribution to international Rotarian activities, but also via his membership on the International Advisory Board of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he came in contact with the local Rotary Peace Center. Alex currently serves on the Rotary Peace Fellow Integration Committee of the Rotarian Action Group for Peace.
Michael James Parry
District 1150
Rotary Club of Cardiff Bay, Wales
Mike, a professional engineer and quality practitioner, is a Founding/Charter member of Cardiff Bay Rotary Club and a former District Governor of D1150. Mike is currently the International Service Committee Chairman for Rotary in Great Britain & Ireland (RIBI), providing support to twenty-nine districts. For Zone 17, Mike is the TRF End Polio Now Coordinator and the RI Zone 17 Assistant Rotary Coordinator. He was recently appointed the RI Representative on a World Health Organization’s Polio Assessment in Ethiopia, and is also a member of TRF’s Humanitarian Cadre having undertaken project audits in Eastern Europe and Africa.
Mike’s involvement with peace started in his early involvement as Club International & Foundation Chair and developed further when he was the District’s Foundation Chair. In this role he jointly coordinated the successful application of D1150’s first of two Peace Scholars and the inaugural D1150 Peace Forum at the United Colleges of the World’s Welsh College. He has maintained his involvement with Rotary Peace Fellows through his District’s Alumni Association and he recently published a piece by one of the first ever Peace Fellows in his District called ‘Slavery in Thailand’ in the monthly RIBI International Newsletter.
V.S. Ravindran
District 3230
Rotary Club of Nanganallur in Chennai, India
Rtn V.S.Ravindran is a leather technologist with a Master’s Degree in Foreign Trade. He is currently the CEO of M/s Caprittarius and M/s Caprienzymes, dealing in trade related intellectual services, the import and export of finished leather and bio products. His business house has international connections with Korea, China, Hong Kong, Spain, Italy, Germany, France and Brazil. He is an executive member of the Andhra Chamber of Commerce, Madras Management Association, the Federation of Indian Export Organisation and Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises.
He has been a member of the Rotary Club of Nanganallur in Chennai, India since 1994 and has held several positions during this period including Community Service Director, International Service Director and 2012-13 Peace President. Rtn. V.S. Ravindran is a Paul Harris Fellow and a major donor of Rotary Club of Nanganallur 3230. He regularly participates in various international conventions and has received the award for Top Peace President in District 3230 along with 18 other awards.
V.S.Ravindran’s ultimate vision is to convert all wasteland into green pastures and farms and try to achieve 100% literacy amongst children in India.
Alison Sutherland
District 1150
Rotary Club of Cardiff Bay, Wales
Alison has a degree in Theology and Ministry from Durham University. She is a former youth pastor in the Anglican Church and was a personal assistant to an oil industry chairman. While living in Tanzania for eleven years, Alison founded and acted as CEO of an NGO that did pioneering work in HIV/AIDS including counseling, testing, anti-discrimination, treatment, home care, training, advocacy, research and the care and education of orphans. She was the secretary of Rotary Dar es Salaam and the Rotary HIV/AIDS officer for Tanzania.
Over the last two years, Alison pioneered the PeaceJam education program with Rotary Clubs in the UK. She is the only UK-based person trained to deliver this peace and conflict resolution program to primary grade and university students. Pursuant to her PeaceJam involvement, Alison began a local RotaKids and Rotaract and enabled college students to support 100 overseas micro-finance and other service projects.
Within District 1150, Alison coordinates all peace related matters, including the recruitment and oversight of Rotary Peace Fellows, peace conferences, personnel training and accreditation of students. Alison received second place in Europe and third place globally in the Rotary Global Essay Competition.