BOARD MINUTES |
BOARD MEMBERS |
BOARD MINUTES
Board Meeting - Nov 21, 2011
Board Meeting - Miami FL - Oct 29-30, 2011
Board Meeting - September 19, 2011
Board Meeting - Aug 3-4, 2011
Board Meeting - Jul
18, 2011
Board Meeting - Jun 20, 2011
Board Meeting - May 16, 2011
Board Meeting - Nashville, TN - April
16-17, 2011
Board Meeting - March 21, 2011
Board Meeting - February 21,
2011
Board Meeting - Albuquerque, NM - Jan 15-16, 2011
PREVIOUS YEARS
2010
2008 - 2009
2006 - 2007
2004 - 2005
2000 - 2003
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End of 2012 |
End of 2013 |
End of 2014 |
OFFICERS:
President - Leah Bolger
Vice President - Doug Rawlings
Treasurer - Nate Goldshlag
Secretary - Gene Marx
Members of Veterans For Peace can request a copy of the board policy book by emailing vfped@veteransforpeace.net.
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Born in Rochester, NY. 1946 BSBA in Economics/Business Administration 1968 from John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. Master of Arts in Teaching English 1974 from Boston College. Six years of high school English teaching; 26 years at the University of Maine at Farmington teaching writing and administering programs. Drafted in Fall, 1968. Served in Vietnam July 1969 to August, 1970. 7/15th Artillery. Married, two children and two grandchildren. Been a member of VFP since 1985 (founding member). |
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Treasurer: Nate Goldshlag
I became a radical political activist in college in 1968 and was kicked out in 1969 for accidentally getting my picture plastered on the front page of the New York Times, Life, etc. as we escorted a dean out of a building we occupied at Harvard while protesting ROTC and the Vietnam War. I was drafted in late 1970. I didn't do things to avoid the draft and went into the army to organize against the war. The fact that I avoided the stockade probably meant I wasn't that effective, but we started a GI paper in Germany. They had just stopped sending grunts like me to Vietnam a few months before, although I would not have gone. I went back to school and had two kids who I helped raise as a half-time single parent. I worked as an electronics engineer and retired a few years ago. I do volunteer and VFP work now. I was active in the Smedley Butler brigade in Boston in the 1980's around Central America issues, but then lapsed until 2005. I'll never make that mistake again. As Smedley coordinator, I helped plan the event that got 18 of us arrested on Veterans Day 2007 for being excluded from the American Legion event, and was one of those arrested. I coordinated the effort that raised $70,000 nationally for Winter Soldier. I hope to make a difference in VFP by serving on the Board. |
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I stepped into the streets with the Peace Movement when it became blatantly obvious that confronting rightwing diehards or complaining to Congressional delegations would never be enough. In 2003 my son's first Iraq deployment changed the course of my life and I got involved for real, finding VFP on the streets of New York at the RNC demonstration a year later. Legacy had entrapped my son in 1992, as it did me more than twenty years earlier. Following in my own father's footsteps I became a naval aviator, deploying on the attack carriers JFK and Coral Sea, but a career in the military was no longer a moral or ethical option after Vietnam (1971-72). A 32-year Federal Aviation Administration career concluded in 2004 when I retired as a Watch Supervisor with the Emergency Operations and Communications Division in DC. Since then, Progressive campaigns and non-profit activities have been my preoccupations. United for Peace and Justice lobbying activities proved to be invaluable, leading to a Board position with Bellingham's Whatcom Peace and Justice in 2005, eventually serving as its acting-president. A Lifetime member, local accomplishments include authoring and successfully lobbying for Washington's first Troops Home Now resolution (2006) and first Hands Off of Iran resolution (2008). A background in Broadcast Communications has made the Chapter Communications Coordinator a great fit, with most of my time consumed by maintaining a city visibility for VFP - National op-ed/articles and local media contributions, website, speaker venues, co-sponsoring anti-war events - and ensuring VFP-111's reputation as a principal player in Bellingham's vibrant peace community. |
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Board Member: Ron Dexter
Ron’s History Two years at Cal Tech. Joined Navy during Korean War. Sent to Japan for 3 years. Learned to look at the US from the outside and discover that my government was lying to me. Made E-6. Went to Berkeley. Left disillusioned with academia.. Went to Hollywood to make movies and ended up directing, producing and photographing TV commercials for 30 years all over the US and world. Did public service and political commercials besides selling crap that people and our planet don’t need. I shot TV commercials for California’s "Big Green" / Prop 128 about pesticides and "Forests Forever" / Prop 130 with Tom Hayden. Served on film union board, negotiated strikes. Built our own production studio with my wife and signed union contracts. Member of Directors Guild of America and American Society of Cinematographers. Hold patents on film equipment. (See rondexter.com) Member of Sierra Club for over 30 years. Involved with environmental issues after the first Earth Day. Tried to “ecologize” the film industry. Got active anti-war-wise during the first gulf war and retired in 1990. In Santa Barbara got involved in The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s Education Committee, Sierra Club Local Board and teaching film and video. Have taught film and video making for over 40 years. Made educational films about New Age conferences, natural childbirth, teen violence and Gorbachev’s 1998 State of the World Forum. Interviewed hundreds of world leaders and notables. Visited University of Peace in Costa Rica. Interviewed Rodrigo Carazo. Went to Israel-Palestine with a compassionate listening project. Shot a video about the group’s experiences in Jerusalem, West Bank, Hebron, Ramallah and Gaza. Supervised stop motion films about Gumby and Davey and Goliath over a 5-year period. Went to Cuba twice. Joined VFP at beginning of Second War on Iraq. On the board of VUFT which has a suit pending against VA for veteran’s benefits. Have been involved with Arlington West Santa Barbara for over 8 years as message manipulator, mechanical builder and outreach guide. I try to use my media and writing skills to promote less wars. I have read about history, war and peace most of my life. Recently shooting music videos, one about 9-11 responders. I personally believe we have screwed our home planet for human life. But we can’t stop trying to save us from ourselves. |
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Will Hopkins is a lifelong New Hampshire resident who served for six years in the New Hampshire National Guard, he was decorated for valor during a year-long tour in Iraq as an Infantryman, including the fall 2004 Fallujah offensive. Hopkins also served in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. He was honorably discharged upon completion of his six year term in the National Guard. Hopkins has a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology and Sociology, and a Master's degree in business administration with a certificate of advanced graduate studies in strategic marketing management from Plymouth State University. He has served as a member of the board of directors of New Hampshire Peace Action Education Fund and the chapter president of the New Hampshire Iraq Veterans Against the War. Hopkins took over as director of New Hampshire Peace Action and New Hampshire Peace Action Education Fund in September of 2009. He lives in Concord New Hampshire and hopes to help strengthen the ties between Veterans For Peace and the other peace groups he serves while learning from the vast experience and knowledge held by the members of VFP. |
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Joey King was Distinguished Military Graduate from Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville. He graduated from the following Army schools: Airborne, Ranger, Pathfinder, Air Assault, Infantry Officer's Basic Course, Jungle Expert, and the Infantry Officer's Mortar Platoon Officer's Course. He was served with the 82nd Airborne Division and the airborne unit in Vicenza Italy. He was a platoon leader and company executive officer. He resigned from the active army in July 1987 and later resigned from the Individual Ready Reserves saying: I, 1LT (First Lieutenant) Joey B King SSN# -------, wish to resign my commission in the Individual Ready Reserve as soon as possible. My 6-year obligation ended 1 Dec 90, however, I was unable to resign at that time due to the Iraq War. I am resigning because of a personal conviction that war is an unacceptable means of resolving differences among nations. Joey B. King First Lieutenant Infantry Since leaving the Army he has been active in: Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Truth-in-recruiting, Gandhi-King Conference on Peacemaking, Veterans Day Parade, Stop the Bombs Oak Ridge TN, School of the Americas Watch, Participated as an international election observer in El Salvador March 09, Contributor to the book, “Why Peace”, Chair of Veterans for Peace Middle TN |
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Adrienne served in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves from 1994-2004 as an Arabic linguist in military intelligence. Following September 11th, Adrienne was activated in the Reserves and stationed stateside where she served in direct support of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Currently she works to improve veterans' healthcare through the VA. She helped form the Vermont chapter of IVAW (Iraq Veterans Against the War) and was on the Winter Soldier organizing team. |
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Board Member: Michael McPhearson Michael T. McPhearson is the National Coordinator for United For Peace and Justice and the former Executive Director of Veterans For Peace. He resides with his wife in Newark NJ and continues to be an active member of VFP. He works closely with the Newark based People’s Organization for Progress and publishes the Mcphearsonreport.org expressing his views on war and peace, politics, human rights, race and other things.He is a native of Fayetteville North Carolina and was a field artillery officer in the 24th Mechanized Infantry Division during Desert Shield /Desert Storm, also known as Gulf War I. Michael joined the Army Reserve 1981 as an enlisted soldier at the age of 17 and attended basic training the summer between his junior and senior high school years. He is a ROTC graduate of Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina with a B.S. degree in Sociology. Michael’s military career includes 6 years of reserve and 5 years active duty service. He separated from active duty in 1992 as a Captain. During his time in the Army he held numerous positions, attended Airborne School and received several awards. As a civilian, he has held positions with various profit and non-profit entities such as the card company Hallmark Marketing, Vincent Metal Goods, then the largest distributor of stainless steel in the United States, KWMU a non-profit public radio station and the human relations non-profit National Conference for Community and Justice. He has been an active member of the Greater Saint Louis Association of Black Journalist, the American Civil Liberties Union, Military Families Speak Out and Veterans For Peace. He served on the Executive Committee of the St. Louis Branch of the NAACP and the Steering Committee of the Bring Them Home Now campaign. Michael's son joined the Army in January 2004 and served one tour in Iraq in 2005-2006. He separated from the military in 2007. In December of 2003 Michael returned to Iraq as part of a peace delegation to examine the state of the occupation firsthand. He has spoken all over the U.S. to small gatherings and large crowds. He has also traveled to Istanbul Turkey and Bologna Italy as a speaker on the U.S. peace movement and world peace.
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Camilo is a U.S. Army and Florida National Guard veteran, and a veteran and resister of the Iraq war, where he served as a staff sergeant and as an infantry squad leader. In 2004 he became the first soldier to publicly refuse further participation in the war, which he denounced as illegal and oil-driven. Following his court-martial and consequent conviction, Amnesty International adopted him as a prisoner of conscience and launched a campaign to demand his safety and freedom. After 9 months of incarceration at Fort Sill, Oklahoma Camilo was released and became a member of the organization Iraq Veterans Against the War, eventually becoming its Board Chair. He was recently elected to the National Board of Directors of Veterans For Peace. Camilo is the author of the Iraq war memoir Road From ar Ramadi – The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia. Camilo lives with his 11 year-old daughter Samantha in the neighborhood of Little River in Miami, Florida.
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Viet Nam Veteran Dan Shea has his MFA in Art Mixed Media with a minor in International Economics and is a co-founder and current executive director of Education WithOut Borders. Dan a seasoned speaker, having his own broadcast program in 1995 on KPSU campus radio which he co-found, toured the US on a trip to Cuba 1994 speaking on panels with other delegates on the tour. In 2006 guest speaker in Venezuela representing a Portland Central American Solidarity Committee and Veterans for Peace chapter 72 with a Veterans perspective on the Wars in the Middle East and USA-Latin American adversary roles in Foreign Policy and in March/April of 2006 went to Viet Nam spoke before commissions, roundtables, and foreign press as a witness and victim of Agent Orange. Dan currently hosts a monthly cable access program Veterans for Peace Forum. Topics from PTSD, Agent Orange, Counter Recruitment, Art & Revolution, Sustainable Economics, Labor/Working Class struggles, Rape, Sexism, Homophobia and Racism in the Military, Sanctuary both for Immigrants and for GI Resisters, Iraq Refugees and Foreign Policy concerning current occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. PSU Art Alumni News/Announcements Spring 2010 Dan Shea ('99), a Vietnam combat veteran, is undergoing therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and health issues related to exposure to Agent Orange. He is executive director of Education without Borders (EWOB), which recently organized a benefit concert to raise money for the PTSD Awareness Project. Dan is also on the executive board of the Portland chapter of Veterans for Peace and is working on a number of projects in the interest of veterans and their families. If you would like to donate or help in some other way, contact Dan at ewob_y2k@hotmail.com or djshea@hotmail.com. Also visit www.untilyoucomehome.com. United State Marine: Viet Nam Veteran 1968 Date of Entry: March 21st, 1968 Date ended service: October 6th, 1969 Place of Entry: USMC RS Portland, Oregon Last Duty Station: Sep Cd. Co MB USNB Subic Bay Philippines MOS: 0331 Machine Gunner Estimate of months served in Viet Nam: August, September, & October 1968. Married June 16th 1971 to Arlene K. Shea Children: Casey Allen Shea 12/16/77 – 02/25/81 and Harmony Alexandra Shea 2/27/1979 Willamette National Cemetery Portland OR Shea, Casey Allen, b. 12/16/1977, d. 02/25/1981, Plot: R 2066, bur. 03/02/1981 Statement: I am concerned with all veterans’ issues, benefits, PTSD, PTBI, and all disabilities affecting veterans. I am an Agent Orange victim and am involved with the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign (VAORRC) and on the VFP VAOWG committee. What do I bring? I bring a passion for justice, peace, and veteran, with years of experience as Civil and Human Rights activist from my years of being involved in the 1980 Sanctuary Movement for Central America Refugees fleeing war and oppression, Labor Activist, Founder and Executive Director of Education WithOut Borders, helped found IVAW-Oregon, and currently sit on the 2011 VFP Convention Planning Committee. The only cure to the maladies that affect our veterans and their families is prevention – No More Wars. |
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