NATIONAL OFFICE STAFF
Mike Ferner, Interim Director
Chrissie Brooks, Administrative Assistant
Virginia Druhe, Office Manager
Shelly Rockett, Communications Coordinator
Casey Stinemetz, Chapter Coordinator
Mike Ferner
Interim Director
Mike Ferner is the acting director of Veterans For Peace and a writer from Ohio. Formerly he served as national president of Veterans For Peace, a member of Toledo City Council, a union organizer for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Communications Director for the Program on Corporations, Law & Democracy and for the Farm Labor Organizing Committee.
He went to Iraq for one month, immediately prior to the U.S. invasion in 2003, with a Voices in the Wilderness delegation, returning in 2004 for another two months as an independent journalist and wrote Inside the Red Zone: A Veteran For Peace Reports from Iraq, published by Praeger in 2006. In 2005, Mike wrote the “VFP Case for Impeachment and Prosecution.” His activism includes several arrests for “disturbing the war,” including disrupting a session of Congress.
During the Vietnam war he served as a Navy Hospital Corpsman, took care of hundreds of wounded soldiers and was discharged as a conscientious objector. His current interest is to learn how the Populists organized one of the largest democratic, mass movement in U.S. history and what that might mean today for people who are demanding a better life.
Chrissie Brooks
Administrative Assistant
Before beginning her work with Veterans For Peace, Chrissie served as an organizer for a variety of political campaigns, including Asst. Director of Special Programs for America Coming Together, Field Organizer for the MoveOn "Call for Change" campaign during the 2006 Congressional elections and Field Director for MO State Senator Jeff Smith. A native of the St. Louis area, she has had the good fortune to dedicate herself to progressive political and social advocacy in one of the most highly contested swing states in the nation. Chrissie would like to personally thank President Bush for providing her with the opportunity to work with an astounding number of highly energized progressive campaigns during the course of his tenure. She is eagerly awaiting the premiere of the administration's reunion tour (TBA), to be held at the Peace Palace located in the South Holland provincial capital, The Hague, Netherlands.
Virginia Druhe
Office Manager
Virginia Druhe is a native St. Louisan. She has worked with the Catholic Worker community there, the American Friends Service Committee, the National Farm Worker Ministry and her local public elementary school. She lived and worked in Nicaragua for a year and a half with Witness for Peace during the mid-1980's. Anti-war work has been a fundamental commitment in her life.
Shelly Rockett
Communications & Outreach Coordinator
Shelly has spent most of her professional career working in the for-profit community. However, four years ago she decided to make a career change to the nonprofit sector. Since her career move, she has been concentrating on web development & maintenance, database management, reports management, and communications. This is her first experience working with veterans and she finds it especially rewarding. Since joining VFP, she has become increasingly aware that war is a racket which financially benefits the corporate community. She enjoys supporting the chapters and individual members to advance VFP's mission.
Casey Stinemetz
Chapter Coordinator
My name is Casey Stinemetz and I am excited to join VFP as your Chapter Coordinator. I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to everyone. I currently live in St. Louis and will be primarily working out of the national office. I am a graduate of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, located right outside of St. Louis, with a Bachelors in Marketing and Management, and I am finishing up my Masters in Public Administration with emphasis on Nonprofit Management. While in school, I have had the opportunity to work with many community and nonprofit organizations, and I hope that I can become a resource for your chapter.
Although I have not personally served in the armed forces, the antiwar movement and the VFP mission is very close to my heart. I come from a long line of career military members. Just to mention some immediate family, my father has just completed 10 years of active duty with the army since 9/11, my sister is currently stationed at Scott Air Force Base, and my youngest brother is applying for the Air Force Academy when he graduates from high school. While I am proud of their service and dedication to our county, I do not agree with our country's use of war and violence as national policy.
Over the next couple weeks, I will be calling Chapter Contacts to get a better understanding of how I can assist individual chapters. In the meantime,
please feel free to call and introduce yourself or send me an e-mail at casey@veteramsforpeace.org. I look forward to getting to know everyone and helping VFP's chapters continue to be a positive influence in the antiwar movement.