The Charter's Global Team

Louisa Hext, CFC Lead for the Peace and Restorative Jusice Sectors

Louisa is the North American coordinator for the traveling exhibition, The F Word: Stories of Forgiveness (a program of The Forgiveness Project, a UK-based nonprofit). The exhibit uses story-telling to explore ideas around forgiveness and reconciliation and how they can be used to create healing in people’s lives. Louisa is the Co-Founder of #CompassionConvos, which challenges bias through compassionate action. She has extensive experience as an advocate in human and civil rights. Louisa is a skilled and experienced mediator, consultant and coach. She serves as the ambassador for Charter for Compassion's (CFC) Peace and Restorative Justice sectors.

Mimi Hicklin, Program Coordinator

Mimi Hicklin graduated from Washington State University with a B.A. in English literature and a B.A. in Spanish, before moving to Oregon where she earned her Master’s degree in English from Portland State University. Today, Mimi lives in the Seattle area with her husband and two boys. She loves being CFC's Coordinator and working for a cause that she feels passionate about.

Vanessa Hurst, Consultant for Community Growth

Vanessa F. Hurst is Compassion Officer at Intent & Action. She consults with organizations to identify and strengthen compassion cultures and create sustainable, collaborative environments. As a community builder, she facilitates the strengthening of relationships with current stakeholders and the growing of community membership. Vanessa is author of Engaging Compassion Through Intent and Action and A Constellation of Connections: Contemplative Relationships. She holds a master’s degree in Natural Health. In her practice as an intuitive coach, she assists clients in transformation through the integration of mindfulness practices and compassion.

Sara Jamil, Co-Lead Facilitator, Women and Girls Sector

Sara Jamil is a Pakistani-Dane currently living in Toronto, Canada. She is blessed to be a daughter, wife, mother and sister. Sara is a Seeker of Peace, a true philanthropist and an ambassador of her faith- Ahmadiyya Islam. Sara holds a Bachelor of Education and has 20 years experience of mentoring girls. She is a Lifelong Learner; a graduate of the Landmark "Curriculum for Living" program, a student of Bob Proctor's "Thinking Into Results" program, certified in Compassionate Integrity Training and a certified Red Tent Facilitator. Sara became an official Partner and Ambassador of the Women and Girls sector in 2018, after having been a member for 5 years. She is currently serving as Co-Lead Facilitator with Donna Mills.

Professionally, Sara is committed to using business as a force for good and is an Independent Consultant with Arbonne. She is the proud Founder and Visionary Leader of CompassionFirst, a mother-daughter social enterprise on a mission to create a better world by modeling the motto "A Better World Starts With Me".

Lastly, Sara is a collaborator locally as well as globally; she is an advocate for the (unofficial) 18th UN Sustainable Development Goal and serves on the Advisory Board of SARAH. She has furthermore partnered with the Women's Woven Voices Project, MilkbagsUnlimited, the Fill a Purse for a Sister Campaign, and is a strong supporter of WE.

Barbara Kaufmann, CFC Lead for the Arts Sector, writer and contributor to the Voices Education Project

Barbara Kaufmann, “One Wordsmith” discovered a long time ago, the power in words, images and "story” to change the world. Told with art, music, words, photos, images, film, "story" can grab the human heart, squeeze it, burst it open and send a corona of inspired-creative-human-brilliance shimmering through mass consciousness, the world and the Universe itself. A single image can reverberate round the globe and startle humanity awake. Founder of  “Words and Violence” Program about bullying in all its forms on this planet, and writer for Voices Education Project, Charter for Compassion, a Huffington Post contributor, poet, artist, scriptwriter and filmmaker—Barbara “writes to simply change the world.” Her ministry and life’s work is dedicated to “establishing a more humane narrative on this planet.”

Thea LaGrou, Lead for Film and Media Arts

Thea is a cultural creative who is driven by curiosity, imagination and a vision for positive change in the world. As Founding Director at Compathos Foundation she works at the intersection of the arts and creativity, peace and compassion, and social transformation by producing and sharing conscious media that educates and inspires. Cynthia facilitates teams of social change artists, filmmakers, musicians, writers, and technologists in the co-creation of meaningful media experiences from around the world, while working to provide strategic insight and integral solutions for content producers, mission-driven organizations, and networked movements. Cynthia is an author, speaker and event producer who is passionate about bringing people together to unearth their collective stories and inspire meaningful action around the common good. She is working with the Charter to produce community engagement resources and a Media Coalition for Peace and Compassion.

Andrea LeBlanc, CFC Lead for Peace and Non-Violence Sector and annotated bibliographies section

Andrea LeBlanc lost her husband, Robert G. LeBlanc, Professor Emeritus of Geography, on UA#175 when it was flown into the second WTC tower. Together Bob and Andrea parented 5 children and have nine grandchildren. Andrea is a retired veterinarian, having practiced small animal medicine and surgery for 37 years. The family created the Robert G. LeBlanc Memorial Scholarship at the University of New Hampshire which is awarded to undergraduate students for study abroad.

[Since joining 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows] "I have realized that there is a vast global community of wise and compassionate people who all understand the wisdom and power of nonviolence. I believe that the stories of these peacemakers must be told and told again until they become as ubiquitous as all the stories of hatred and violence and war.  I belong to that community and I want to tell their stories."

Olivia McIvor, course development and conference planning

Known as a ‘people champion’ since early in her career, Olivia was told she would never be successful if she continued to “wear her heart on her sleeve”; today this proclamation has become her trademark. She has spent three decades as an Organization Development specialist supporting cultures to promote connection, compassion and community in business.  Olivia is a leadership facilitator, speaker and author of three best-selling books: The Business of Kindness; Four Generations-One Workplace; and Turning Compassion into Action.  Olivia lives in Vancouver, Canada and serves as a board director on The Kindness Foundation of Canada.  Her passion for training and facilitating dialogues for positive change comes into action as an education coordinator with CEI and in the development of the Introduction to the Charter on-line course and other Charter projects.

Yvette Newton, CFC Lead for Social Services Sector

With a deep commitment to public service and child advocacy, Yvette Newton has been a competent social worker in the field of child protective services for the past 24 years.  She is an instrumental leader, recognized amongst colleagues and peers, for the conceptualization of projects and events that benefit the community.  During her tenure at the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), she has fostered numerous professional relationships with local leaders, organizations, and the media.
 
Subsequent to the 2012 elementary school massacre in Sandy Hook, CT, Yvette attended a conference on "Compassion in the Community."  Unknowingly, the conference, talks from leaders of all disciplines, and the humble warriors at the WCSU's Center for Compassion, Creativity, and Innovation, served as a catalyst for her current volunteer work and passion.

Threading compassion for the benefit of the collective good, is in concert with Yvette's work and lifestyle.  Her goal is to host Compassion Games in her community, "catalyzing compassionate action through the spirit of competitive altruism."  Yvette currently serves as Lead Volunteer of the Social Services sector for the Charter for Compassion.

Reed Price, advisor

Reed Price is Chief Catalyst of @rveep, a soup-to-nuts cross-media content consultancy that helps organizations tell their stories in text, image and video. A former national journalist, Reed also has extensive professional experience in entertainment programming and social media. He admires the music of Leonard Cohen, the art of Wassily Kandinsky and the reflections of Henri Fredric Amiel. Reed works on helping CFC on preparing materials to promote the work of the Charter, helps with website coordination, and oversees the speakers list for Maestro.

Marie Roker-Jones, Co-Founder and Host of #CompassionConvos

Marie Roker-Jones is Founder of Raising Great Men-Life skills for boys to mind up, not man up and co-founder of #CompassionConvos-challenging bias through compassionate action. Marie has over 15 years of experience in program development, community building, coaching and career development. Marie is a NAMA certified Anger Management Specialist, a certified Intrinsic coach and Youth Mental Health First Aider, working with kids and teens to be "smart with their hearts".

Nancy Rushlow Bray, CEI Education Advisor 

Nancy is an enthusiastic and compassionate champion for the human spirit and contributes her success to her insatiable appetite to engage. Recognizing each person’s inherent worth and appreciating their individuality is her trademark. Nancy is an Emmy award-winning producer and recipient of several Clio Awards for excellence in advertising. She excels in her ability to combine business prowess and the creative experience. She began her career producing visual effects for the acclaimed PBS series Cosmos and continued on as the executive producer/producer for academy-award winner, Robert Blalack, (Star Wars) also becoming the studio’s vice-president of operations & business development. She has produced for such notable companies as Praxis Films, 20th Century Fox, and ABC as well as advertisers such as Coca-cola, Kodak, Panasonic, Chevrolet, and Toyota. Nancy serves an education advisor for the Charter for Compassion Education Institute and lives in Orange County, CA.

Salmaan Sana, Healthcare Sector European

Salmaan Sana has a background in being very active in several NGOs, leadership, social media, inspirational events and medicine. Due to him missing something in his medical education, very early on in his studies he became highly active in international student associations and had created a few foundations. One of them had to do with what he believes that which can really change healthcare, namely "Compassion for Care". Together with a few medical students he initiated a movement in finding ways of cultivating compassion in the current healthcare system. Currently he is running his own company bridging the offline and online worlds, president of Compassion for Care, an active member of a team organizing a Healthcare Leadership summerschool.

Donna Stone-Reed, CFC Lead for the Business Sector

Donna believes that for people and cultures to transform requires them to look within. As an experienced personal and spiritual development seminar leader and workshop facilitator, she offers opportunities for people to go on a journey of inner self-discovery by way of an intellect that is synchronized with their heart fields. She believes that it is from this place that we find inherent compassion for self and others. Donna is certified in archetypal patterning and HeartMath facilitation. She is a seasoned leader and educator, having worked in numerous roles and capacities for multi-national corporations, universities, small businesses, professional associations, and churches. Whether in the role of university director, corporate program manager for management development or speaker at an Organization Development conference, Donna’s greatest fulfillment has come from guiding others on ways to find their wholeness and to grow. She has recently authored a book that champions a more compassionate approach to cultural change in organizations and provides members with processes for self-discovery through a synchronized heart field. Donna lived much of her adult life in the Bay Area of California, working in Silicon Valley, but now resides in Huntsville, Alabama. She holds a PhD and master’s in business, with a focus on personal and group change and transformation.

Kate Trnka, CFC Lead for Environment Sector and Global Read Program Coordinator

Kate Trnka is a writer, educator, small business owner and facilitator of Compassionate Integrity Training. She is the founder of The Sacred Earth Institute and operates Alternatives Holistic Health & Wellness Center in Appleton, WI. Kate is currently serving as the Lead Ambassador for the Environment Sector of the Charter for Compassion and is heading the Charter’s Global Read Program. She has her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Education and is now enjoying semi-retirement after her 26-year career as a public school teacher. Kate is the author of many poems and had her first book published several years ago. She is nearing the completion of her Doctorate in Ecopsychology and is excited to be bringing her mindful reconnecting-with-nature activity card deck this fall.

Marilyn Turkovich, director

Marilyn Turkovich started with the Charter for Compassion in 2013 as the education director and since that time has moved into a number of different roles with CFC. Marilyn's background has been primarily in higher education and most specifically in directing teacher training programs for the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, and chairing Columbia College-Chicago's master's program in multicultural and global education.  She has done a considerable amount of curriculum writing through the years, much of it related to international and cultural topics. She worked with Independent Broadcasting Associates on a series for airing on National Public Radio, BBC and the Australian Broadcasting organizations.  There was a period of time in the 1990s when she worked in organizational development and specialized in instructional design work, strategic planning and leadership development.  She also wrote and developed training on race and social justice initiatives.

Charlene Williams, Membership Coordinator

I am 71 and retired. I am up early every day and off to the pool 5 days a week. I was an office manager/office accountant. My 91 year old mother lives with me and I assist her. Her mind and sense of humor are in great shape her body not so much. I take her to the senior center 4 days a week for friendship and lunch, once I bring her home I stay in so this volunteer opportunity fits my schedule perfectly. I have done various volunteer work over the years and always get more than I give.