Board of Directors
President – Ginny Fox
Ginny Fox founded the Peace Flag Project (PFP) in 2004, and has served as the Executive Director. In 2011, PFP became a 501C3. Ginny always says that working for peace is the work of her heart. The project which began as a personal spiritual journey has become something she has shared with thousands of people in RI and surrounding areas. She has studied Nonviolent Communication with Maria DeCarvalho and completed the Introduction to Nonviolence Training at the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at URI. Ginny and PFP have been extensively involved with the Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence and the URI Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies. She served for several years on the American Friends Service Committee’s Support Board for Southeast New England. As head of the PFP, she has worked with about 150 schools, libraries, peace and nonviolencegroups, community organizations, religious groups throughout the state and the region. Peace flags have also been made at festivals, concerts, special services and other celebrations
Her professional background is as an editor and writer at McGraw Hill Books and Random House in New York City. While living in New York City, Connecticut and RI, Ginny pursued photography at the School of Visual Arts, International Center for Photography, Silvermine Art School (CT), and with Kristin Street at Moses Brown. She has had a lifelong interest in the arts – dance, theater, and music. For Ginny, peace and the arts are intertwined.
Vice President: Susan E. Fox
Susan Fox is an artist, author, educator, and core member of the faculty in the Expressive Arts Institute at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI . She specializes in transformational processes using art, consciousness and Deep Ecology, and is a practitioner in the field of holistic health. She is a creative coach /mentor and has co-authored two books, Visual Journaling and Nature and the Art of Self-Expression. Susan also hosts the Internet radio program, Eco-Light Radio (www.twoblueherons.net). Her website is Creativityfactorinyou.com
Secretary – Hannah Resseger
Hannah Resseger has been involved with nonviolent activism on a variety of levels. Her years of working with youth through spoken word and Hip Hop music have always included a focus on peace and Ahimsa, meaning non-harming. Linking up with the Peace Flag Project has created a connection between her students, her own activism around peace and bridging the gaps between peoples that can easily lead to violence. The Peace Flag Project is about making a more peaceful world by starting with our lives. This is what Hannah Resseger continuously cultivates through teaching, the arts and her own yoga practice.
I believe that peace is possible in Rhode Island and would like to help make it possible. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the University of Rhode Island and a Master of Arts in International Affairs from the New School. I have held many jobs including working as a AmeriCorps VISTA at Serve Rhode Island and interning at Seeds of Peace in New York City. I have also completed the Training of Trainers in nonviolence at the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence. Ever since I can remember I have hoped for peace and have been personally committed to it. Through my studies I have come to the realization that teaching peace and practicing peace is the foundation for lasting change. Without it, all attempts at equitable and sustainable political, social and economic development are exponentially more challenging.
Nittaya Saenbut
Nittaya Saenbut is a development practitioner holding a Bachelor degree in English and Communication from Ubonratchathani University, Thailand, and a Master’s degree in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University. Nittaya currently works as a family engagement program manager at the Center for Southeast Asians, focusing on family/community engagement in the education system, cultural understanding and competency and youth development. Born and raised in Thailand, Nittaya has experience working with rural communities focusing on youth development, education, community empowerment, gender equity and cross-cultural learning in West Africa, Southeast Asia. Because peace is both a process and an end, Nittaya’s approach to peace is to work toward social justice, including equity in education, socioeconomics, gender, and ethnic and racial rights.
Dena Quilici
Dena offers valuable design and development experience to our project. An artist with extensive global business ventures, Dena brings together two worlds. Before retirement, she worked at Hasbro, Inc. as VP of Design and Development, providing executive leadership for classic brands.
Dena is a kind and generous woman of peace as she continues to be active in the community making significant volunteer contributions. One special group for her is the International Institute of New England, especially with a skill-training program for documented refugees. Having lived in Africa for many years, she has been involved with several significant programs there; one of the most important has been the Chikumbuso Widows & Orphans Project in Zambia, supporting those affected by HIV. Closer to home, Dena has been involved with Ocean State AIDS Care’s FACTS Nursery and DCYF as a Foster Parent. And for many years, she has been part of the Religious Education team at First Unitarian Church of Providence.
Kerry Staniunas
Kerry Staniunas was drawn to The Peace Flag Project (PFP) because of its focus on promoting peace by how we live with each other — in our families, our neighborhoods, our communities, our country and our world. “We are all peacemakers,” resonated with her, and she loved the way making Peace Flags inspired people of all ages to think about peace. The work of PFP fit Kerry’s goals for her own life — to support families and communities to understand each other better and to function better in the world. Kerry graduated from Rhode Island College with a degree in Psychology, and she has used that background to work with families ever since. She focuses on child welfare, mental health and early child education. Currently, she is also a Parent Educator at Blackstone Valley Community Action Program (BVCAP}, a nonprofit with a mission to assist people and empower them to become self-relant, responsible citizens. In addition, Kerry is a wellness instructor at the Y and an outreach yoga teacher at Shri Yoga Studio.
Amy Webb, Mockingbird Design
Artist Amy Webb is a wonderful part of PFP. She has made our lives so much happier with all her beautiful artwork and promotional materials. She is also a woman of great generosity and kindness – and a woman of peace. Amy has many facets: she is an artist and graphic designer, as well as gardener and washboard player, creating mixed media paintings, drawings, sculpture and design projects in her home studio. Her formal training began with a BFA in Printmaking at the University of Iowa, and an MA in Book Arts from Mills College, with an emphasis on artist books. She works primarily with performance arts and non-profit organizations, hoping to enhance the message of their work with meaningful design. A Rhode Island State Council on the Arts grant recipient, she has exhibited her work in San Francisco, Palo Alto & Santa Cruz, California, as well as Providence, Rhode Island. Her design studio is Mockingbird Design, https://mockingbirddesign.biz. Contact: amy.webb7@verizon.net
Acknowledgment and Gratitude
In Memorium – Mercedes Monteiro
Our dear Mercedes worked with The Peace Flag Project for years and eventually joined our Board. She was so intelligent, talented, creative and — yes — sassy; she was an original. Sadly Mercedes passed away in September 2018, and we shall miss her smart and sassy contribution. We cherish her memory. We want to keep alive her description of herself for the Board of Directors.
“Mercedes Monteiro is a single mom of two wonderful children, a daughter, a sister and a friend. She works at the RI Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission, helping the many cultures in RI celebrate their independence, holidays and traditions thru music, art and dance. She loves organizing chaos and putting events together. The one thing that all cultures and countries have in common is the desire for a better and peaceful life for their children and themselves. So let’s start in RI and pay it forward.”
May she rest in peace.
Cathren Housley
We are most grateful to RI artist Cathren Housley for her inspired American Peace Flag series collaboration with The Peace Flag Project. After working with PFP on various projects and exhibiting her own work 1st Unitarian Church during Peace Month, Cathren had the idea to create large-scale replicas of the American flag made up entirely of our Peace Flags. From 2015 to 2018, PFP and Cathren worked together to create a series of three exquisite flags — The Great American Peace Flag, The United American Peace Flag, and The Children’s Peace Flag. Each flag is made up of more than 300 flags — made by people of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds from all over all Rhode Island. These beautiful peace symbols have touched so many people, and they’ve been part of gallery exhibits, concerts, festivals, school displays and more. (You can see pictures of these flags on our Highlights page, under What We Do.)
Jane Maguire and I co-founded the Peace Flag Project in 2004. She retired in 2007. Without each other, we might not have worked with thousands of adults and children in Rhode Island and surrounding areas. I am grateful for the partnership that helped this work to grow.