Board of Directors
Executive CommitteeBoard President: Barry Ladendorf EDUCATION: Illinois State University, B.S. Social Studies, (1965) University of San Diego, School of Law., J.D. (1972) MILITARY SERVICE: Commissioned Ensign US Navy, May 1965 Main Engines Officer and Signals Officer, USS. Valley Forge (LPH 8) (1965-1968) Staff Officer Commander Training Command, Pacific Fleet Strike Warfare, Intelligence and Foreign Training Officer (1968-69) PROFESSIONAL: Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, Calif. Department of Justice (1975-2005) Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Section for Health Quality Enforcement (1990-2005) Received Attorney General's Award for Excellence (2004) Adjunct Professor of Law, University of San Diego School of Law (1990s) Member, University of San Diego School of Law Alumni Association Board. (1975-1976) ACTIVITIES: Co-founder, San Diego Chapter of the Lawyer's Alliance for Nuclear Arms Control (1981) Peace and Justice Commission, Catholic Diocese San Diego (1982-1986) Member, Veterans for Peace (2005-to present) President of Hugh Thompson Chapter 91, San Diego (2011-2012) Current Executive Committee Member VFP National Membership Committee (2011-present), Receipent of 2013 Leadership in Peace Award Married: Rhonda Ladendorf, three children and four grandchildren.
Vice President: Gerry Condon Gerry Condon is a Vietnam era veteran and war resister who spent six years in Sweden and Canada after refusing orders to Vietnam. Gerry has a long history in the veterans peace movement. In 1983-84, he organized the first two veterans delegations to revolutionary Nicaragua, and in 1987, he was a co-coordinator of the Veterans Peace Convoy to Nicaragua. From 1993-96, Gerry worked for IFCO/Pastors For Peace, organizing humanitarian aid and political solidarity caravans to Cuba. Since 2004, Gerry has been on the front lines of supporting Iraq and Afghanistan war resisters in Canada, Germany and elsewhere. For the last two years, Gerry has served as National Board Vice President of Veterans For Peace.
Treasurer: Mark Foreman I served as a Navy Corpsman in 1968 with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines in Vietnam. After five weeks in country I was wounded and received a 100% physical disability rating from the VA. While in Vietnam, I refused to carry a weapon and as soon as I got home I threw my purple heart in the garbage. War is nothing less then social insanity… while the war profiteers make off with billions of tax payer’s dollars. I joined VFP in 1990 and served as Milwaukee Chapter 102’s president for three years. In my three year term as president our chapter doubled its membership and partnered with Wisconsin Peace Action, and Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice. I co-founded the Milwaukee Homeless Veterans Initiative in 2008, which I’ve been board chair of for the past three years. I’ve also served on four different boards of directors for peace organizations. I feel no greater purpose in my life then working for peace… knowing that VFP is the most credible voice of all in the peace community. The American Empire is using its powerful military to dominate the world, making our role more important then ever. Secretary: Kourtney Andar I am a VFP Lifetime Member thanks to Doug Zachary, and I have been active in social justice movements for over a decade. I served in the Georgia Army National Guard as an infantry soldier from 2011 to 2013, and was lucky enough to avoid deployment during that short time. I come from a family heavy with military and law enforcement. My mother sued the city of Springfield, IL for race and gender discrimination while an officer, and my grandfather is a former Chicago Black Panther. I bring extensive experience and skills to VFP, and a comprehensive knowledge of how social change happens and how to organize effective movements. I am a dedicated writer and activist and I plan to serve VFP in whatever capacity I can for as long as I can.
My experience includes professional level advising and campus organizing on issues of feminism, racism and sexual violence, as well as serving on the steering committee and people of color caucus for a grassroots environmental organization. I am a published author and my writing is available on several activist websites. Board Members Board Member: Jason Cardenas EDUCATION: University of Southern California, Social Work, MSW (2014), Cal-Poly Pomona, Archi’s Institute of Sustainable Agriculture (2014), University of California Riverside, Religious Studies/U.S. History, B.A. (2012) MILITARY SERVICE: United States Army, Military Police Corps, 18th Military Police Brigade (2002-2005), Operation Iraqi Freedom II (2004-2005), 17th Military Police Detachment (2005-2007), 314th Military Police Co., U.S. Army Reserves (2007-2010) ACTIVITIES: Executive Committee, VFP Ch.91 (2016), Vice President, VFP Ch.91 (2015-2016), Membership Committee, VFP National (2014-PRESENT), Development Committee, VFP National (2014-2016), National Board Member, VFP National (2014-2015), Member, National Association of Social Workers (2014-PRESENT), Member at Large, International Socialist Organization (2012-2015) Jason Cardenas is a United States Army Iraq War veteran, an activist and social worker. After his deployment, he has since spoke out against the injustices of war, such as the systematic targeting of young impoverished U.S. citizens to join the Armed Forces. Additionally, he co-directed a documentary, “When Will War End,” examining the economic implications and far reaching impact of war on military personnel, their family members, and displaced persons. He is a proponent and advocate of the need for peace at home and abroad. He has extensive knowledge on non-profit management, evaluation and capacity building, including fostering and maintaining collaborative partnerships, as well as fundraising. He is actively dedicated to the peace movement, and engages both locally with the San Diego Veterans For Peace, Hugh Thompson Memorial Chapter 91, and on a national level. Jason has been an active member of Veterans For Peace for over three years, and recently obtained Lifetime Membership through a generous donation from a longtime Veterans For Peace member. He continues to offer his support and assistance on the Membership Committee, and is committed to recruitment and retention of Post 9/11 veterans. Jason is currently a veteran’s advocate, and assists homeless veterans with obtaining needed resources to pave a path towards economic and social stability. He resides in San Diego, CA with his wife, an active Veterans For Peace Supporter.  Board Member: Willie Hager I served in Vietnam as a USMC Combat Engineer for two tours of duty, 1965 – 1966 and 1968. I have been an Anti-War Veterans’ activist since 1971, when I first joined Vietnam Veterans Against The War (VVAW). My first official responsibility with VVAW was as the Coordinator for the California Convoy to the 1972 RNC in Miami, Fl. I was subsequently elected Regional Coordinator for the California/Nevada Region of VVAW from 1972-1974. I am currently a Co-Coordinator of Operations for VVAW/OSS. I was President of Vietnam Veterans of Florida, State Coalition (VVOF) in the late ‘80s. A regional grassroots model that I think would benefit VFP in today’s political environment, and current Strategic Plan, and is the primary reason that I am willing to stand in nomination as a Board Member of this great organization, today. I am a Life Member of VFP these days, and I have participated as a caucus and/or workshop presenter relating to Veterans issues and Social Justice self empowerment programs at three successive VFP National Conventions. I believe that I bring the life experience and learned organizational skills, gained through 40 years of active struggle for Peace & Social Justice, as well as a clear understanding of VFP’s intended and stated purposes, both national and international, to this important post of trust. I hope you will all agree, and not vote for me as a personality, but for my history, experience, and commitment to further VFP’s agenda for Peace.  Board Member: John Heuer John registered with the US Coast Guard in 1965, right out of high school and served in Vietnam in 1968 as an Ordinary Seaman in the Merchant Marine. On his return voyage to the US he decided that he would not return to Vietnam as a soldier. He refused induction into the army of Richard Nixon in 1970 and was indicted by the government in 1971. Eventually he settled on a small farm in Nova Scotia, not far from his mother’s birthplace. In 1975 John returned to the US under Gerry Ford’s Reconciliation Program for Vietnam era war resisters, and worked 4 years on low income rural home rehabilitation in central NC. After retiring from UNC Chapel Hill Architectural & Engineering Services in 2006, he began volunteering with NC Peace Action, and helped found the Eisenhower Chapter 157 VFP in the NC Triangle. John lives in Chatham Country, NC with his wife Sue.  Board Member: Tarak Kauff Since the Vietnam War to today’s occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, Tarak has opposed U.S. wars and invasions and the materialist, consumer oriented American way of life which precipitates wars and needs an ever expanding empire to continue. Tarak served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper from 1959 to 1962. He has held a lead role in VFP’s Direct Action Team including actions at the National Archives, the White House on December 16, 2010, and March 19, 2011 and recently at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Oct. 7, he took part in the 2009-10 Gaza Freedom March in Cairo. Tarak believes that creating and nurturing a culture of sustained resistance is our only hope for stopping the war machine and saving the planet from destruction by the profit-driven system of corporate control now in power.  Board Member: Joey King 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 (Panama Canal Zone), and the Infantry Officer's Mortar Platoon Officer's Course. He served as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division and in Vicenza Italy. He was a platoon leader and company executive officer. In his resignation letter he said
 Board Member: Tom Palumbo He became 'radicalized' for peace while living in Norfolk Virginia, before the start of Iraq 2.0. His military service is Desert Storm era with 6 years active duty Army and 7 years in the Reserves with duties as a Behavioral Sciences Specialist. In 2004 he was a co-founder of Virgina AntiWar Network. 2005 he was a VFP representative for the March on Washington. October of that year he is recorded in the official White House transcripts by announcing to then President Bush that “War was terrorism and Torture was terrorism and he should do the right thing and resign!”  Board Member: Monique Salhab One year ago I became an official member of National Veterans For Peace, although I had and continue to be active in my local chapter - Don and Sally-Alice Thompson Chapter, #63 – in Albuquerque, NM for approximately four years. Two years ago I was elected as the chapter’s Secretary and continue to serve as such. I also periodically visit public schools and speak to students regarding “Full Disclosure” regarding military recruitment and service. I work as a part-time case manager for an agency which provides wrap-around services – housing, vocational guidance, therapy and more - for women exiting from incarceration to civilian life. As I work with these women - who mainstream society deems “un-rehabilitated” and “broken” - most of whom have experienced horrific trauma(s) in their childhoods and teenage years shift and transform, I am reminded we are all worthy of second, third and fourth chances in life. I would be naïve to ignore the elements of how our society chooses to compartmentalise my existence via gender, race, sexuality, economic status, education, etc., so I acknowledge them. I identify as a queer woman of colour. These labels are not important to me because I wish them to be, but because of how our society forces me to exist within its marginalised structure. A practicing Buddhist of 18 years, I trust in the mind-body-spirit approach to healing; and have observed the Peace Movement (as a whole) struggle to incorporate such practices into its foundation. Too many times have I experienced moments of harmful speech and/or inept actions from individuals or an individual “working for peace” and as a result, recognze the necessity to remain ever-present of my own words and actions, so as not to inflict the same harm onto another.  Board Member: Dan Shea I am running so I can contribute more time to what I think is a noble cause, the cause of Veterans For Peace. I am active in many areas of social justice and human rights and my bio at https://dsheavfp72.wordpress.com/2015/08/15/bio/ should serve as my commitment and experience.  Board Member: Brian Trautman Brian is a post-cold war veteran, having served four years on active duty (U.S. Army) as a cannon crewmember.
He has been employed in various administrative and faculty positions in higher education over nearly two decades, including as an instructor of peace studies and economics at a community college since 2008.
Brian became involved with the peace and justice movement during the lead up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. He participates most actively with his local peace group, Berkshire Citizens for Peace and Justice (BCP&J).
His passions as a peace scholar-practitioner include the interdisciplinary field of peace education, counter-hegemonic struggles, and intersectional social justice activism.
Among the many reasons Brian gives for wanting to serve the VFP membership on its national board is his dedication to the urgent task of ending militarism and war in all its forms and building and nurturing a global culture of positive peace through nonviolent social change.
Brian currently resides in Albany, NY with his wife, Karrie, and twin sons, Gavin and Ethan. |
Officers
Directors
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