Staff & Board

Carin Anderson is a Quaker Montessori educator who has worked with children in many communities across the globe. She holds a MA in Education, and her recent work in the US public schools has focused on creating healing environments for children suffering from trauma and other mental and emotional health challenges. She has worked internationally as a teacher mentor and consultant, participated in the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma, and worked with Nest Global’s early childhood programs.

Rev. Adam Ellsworth has served as the sole pastor of Grace Lutheran in Atlanta since 2015 and has served various organizations focusing on mercy work and human care with the unhoused and new American communities. Rev. Ellsworth teaches as an adjunct professor of Theology and Philosophy at Reformed University.

Philip Friedman’s study of history and political science more than 50 years ago got him interested in the Palestinian people and the politics in their region. He has twice been to the West Bank, where he taught continuing education courses at Dar al-Kalima University. Philip’s experience in business, consulting, and higher education also led him to teach in France, Russia, and the U.S. He believes the work of Healing to Hope is incredibly important and gratifying to support.

Penelope Gardner is a retired RN and worked primarily in Hematology/Oncology as well as Blood and Marrow Transplant in both adult and pediatric settings. Since 2015, Penelope has been an active associate member of Veterans For Peace (VFP). She is also a current board member of Women Against Military Madness (WAMM). She is honored to be a member of the board of Healing to Hope.

Travis Gibrael is a Lebanese-American activist, social worker, and father of a beautiful daughter. He completed his Master of Social Work at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 2018, and has since worked for various organizations concentrated on the disparate but related fields of refugee resettlement, family and childhood recovery from trauma, and community food and energy sovereignty. He currently works as the research and popular education organizer for an organization dedicated to transforming California’s electrical grid from a for-profit model to a not-for-profit model that centers the needs and wellbeing of low income and frontline communities.

Rami Khader, a humanitarian, artist, and activist from Bethlehem, Palestine, has a wide-ranging professional background. He is the founder of several prominent initiatives and organizations, including Diyar Theatre, Diyar Academy for Children and Youth, the Bethlehem International Performing Arts Festival, and Anar Organization for Psychosocial Support. Rami’s expertise spans humanitarian response, psychosocial support, arts-based healing, MHPSS capacity-building, and grassroots community empowerment. A strong advocate for collective justice as a key element of healing from both individual and intergenerational trauma, Rami was recognized with the 2015 Arab World Social Innovator Award by the Synergos Institute.