Kyle Dietrich
Co-Founder and Director
My roots are in the Ozarks of northern Arkansas. My heart is everywhere I’ve ever lived. I like to think of Peace in Focus as the culmination of our collective life experiences working around issues of education, youth development, human rights, and peacebuilding. My own education, though far from finished, has been enhanced by a BA in Languages and Anthropology, several years spent living in Mexico, Brazil, Morocco, Turkmenistan, Burundi, and Haiti, and a firm grounding as a result of working with the Peace Corps, the Carter Center, Mercy Corps, and the United Nations.

Kate Fedosova
Co-Founder and Director
After spending the first part of my life growing up on the Black Sea coast in Odessa, I moved to the United States at age ten. I quickly embraced my new culture, and this dual identity greatly fueled my passion for international dialogue and cooperation. I see photography as a unique and powerful tool to overcome linguistic barriers and communicate the human experience - whether the photograph captures treasured childhood memories or documents complex global crises. My approach to creative conflict resolution has been shaped by my experience working as a studio photographer, as well as an advocate of human rights in the non-profit sector and with the United Nations. I received my B.A. in Diplomacy & World Affairs and French from Occidental College, where I wrote my thesis on, “Conflict Photography: Instrument and Impediment to Conflict Resolution.”
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Joseph Mukozi
Burundi Program Coordinator, Trainer
My nickname is Musore. I’m Burundian. Burundi, my country, is very poor and has been affected by a civil war since 1993. I recently finished my studies at the public university in the Faculty of Arts and Social sciences, the department of English language and literature. I’m also a member and Deputy Chairman of the non-profit youth association called Jamaa, which means “Friends” in Swahili. We work to strengthen peace and stability in our community, and our strategy is to focus on a variety of issues that must be addressed if peace, stability, and development are to prevail. In spite of the obstacles mentioned above, we strive to do our best and our partnership with Peace in Focus has strengthened our vision. I believe, and hope, that we shall overcome, because where there is a will, there is always a way. So join us and let’s build a peaceful world!

Eric Nsengiyumva
Director of the “Akarusho +” Youth Journal, Trainer
I am the oldest son in a family of seven children. I was born in Burundi to a Burundian father and a Burundian mother. I am journalist, and I have been working for peace and reconciliation since 1997. There are numerous achievements with this work; some of the most important among them is the training of youth, the reintegration of former combatants, the education of youth organizers in peace and reconciliation, the construction of houses for indigenous groups (the Twa tribe in Burundi), raising awareness of repatriation in refugee camps, advocacy against using children as soldiers, as well as peace and sport journalism.

I was Vice President of the Burundian non-profit organization Jamaa. As a journalist and the head of Jamaa Info, the monthly newspaper for Burundian youth, I report on national and international news, and I had the opportunity to cover first-hand the conflicts in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. Additionally, I serve as a trainer in peace photojournalism for underprivileged Burundian youth through joint Peace in Focus/Jamaa projects. Right now, I am the Director of Publications of Jamaa Info and Akarusho +. As a result of my experience with conflict and peaceful conflict resolution, my desire is to participate in peace education because it lies at the core of everything.

Roxanne Krystalli
Peace Photojournalism Trainer
Roxanne Krystalli is a conflict management specialist with expertise in gender-related development in war zones, facilitation, and capacity-building. Roxanne has designed and implemented capacity development initiatives and post-conflict reintegration programs in Egypt, Uganda, Colombia, Guatemala and Jordan, among other places, and has worked in affiliation with UN agencies, NGOs and community-based organizations. Beneficiary populations of Roxanne's programs worldwide have included parliamentarians, ex-combatants, refugees and internally displaced persons, victims of conflict, humanitarian development personnel, single mothers, teachers and orphans. In addition to designing and implementing programs that benefit women affected by war, Roxanne works as a photojournalist, documenting the stories of these women and publishing them in portals such as Idealist.org, PeacexPeace, and Gender Across Borders. Prior to her field work, Roxanne worked at a law and public policy firm in Washington, DC and at the Harvard Program on Humanitarian and Conflict Research, where she first became acquainted with the laws of war and the potential of capacity development initiatives to improve the impact of humanitarian personnel in conflict zones. Roxanne graduated from Harvard University with a degree in History and Literature. She was born and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece and speaks fluent English, Greek, German and Spanish, while also currently learning Arabic, Hebrew and French.

Dero Sanford
www.thinkdero.com
Communications Director and Photography Trainer
I wish I could photograph the faces of people the moment they learn I grew up with 14 siblings and a horde of exchange students. My parents adopted my brother and me when I was about 9 years old. We grew up in an old school on the outskirts of Russellville, Arkansas. Great adventure and grace filled our home and my childhood. Over 20 years later I found myself performing photographic services to advertising agencies, architecture firms, companies, and other clients. It has been a great journey to find the tools that I have been given to help others whether it was for an ad campaign or a non-profit photo assignment. Through doing so, I have had the honor of gaining great friends whom I have gotten to know over the years.
View Dero's Peace in Focus Gallery

Joel Bombardier
Program Coordinator
Growing up on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, I have been freshly transplanted to Boston and am spreading my roots. Photography has been a long-time passion of mine and is a constant reminder to take back roads, walk slowly and be mindful. Additionally, photography has the rare ability to capture the delicate strands of complex emotional and situational environs in a beautiful and profound way.

With experience in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey I am passionate about creative contributions to education, resources, and development in conflict and post-conflict regions. I hold a BA in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Islamic Studies and International Relations from the University of Washington and speak Arabic proficiently. 

Jonas Benjamin Brunschwig
Curriculum Development Coordinator 
I join Peace in Focus with little experience in either photography and creative conflict resolution, but with a broad global perspective forged by living in Switzerland, Egypt, Argentina and the United States, in what feels like a natural step in the development of my persona. I consider my life my opus magnum so I carefully select each influence, mindful of my personal mission to work on serving a higher purpose. This has led me to transcend my interest for the institutional life of diplomacy, at the expense of a more meaningful and participatory experience. I expect my work with Peace in Focus to reap exponential growth in my future endeavors and I look forward to humbly learn from the team as well as from the many workshop participants in order to help the organization grow.

Janna Rayworth
Development Coordinator
I’ve been drawn to the artistic process since I was young, and would tell anyone who asked that I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. This passion lead me to graduate from Stonehill College in Easton, MA with a BA in Fine Arts, and each class I took deepened my love for this field. While at Stonehill I was also very involved in the school’s alternative spring break program, which opened my eyes to the injustices of poverty in this world.  My first trip was to New Orleans to aid in disaster relief, where I worked with the people of New Orleans and was able to hear their stories first-hand.  After this I was hooked, and later traveled to Peru, Honduras, and Nicaragua. This program is partially responsible for establishing a second passion of mine: working with underserved populations. After graduating I worked in Missoula, Montana at Western Montana Mental Health Center through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, Northwest. I worked with adults with severe mental illnesses in the day treatment program where I was able to lead art-based and self-esteem building groups, and also lived in a community of four other volunteers. I recently moved back to Boston for the next chapter in my life, and am considering pursuing a career in art therapy.   

Renee Amirault
Social Media Coordinator
Originally from a small New England town I grew up with city fever, a travel bug, and a love for dance. My education and travels throughout Europe and Morocco have made me passionate about youth development, community work, and peace building. I firmly believe that art has the ability to break down cultural barriers and bring about mutual understanding and compassion. Whether through physical art, music or dance, I am always aware of the ways that people are brought together.  As an amateur photographer, I love observing interactions between strangers and people in their day to day lives. Moments captured in a photograph, whether beautiful or difficult to look at, remind us that we are all human and all connected.

In addition to my role as the Social Media Coordinator with Peace in Focus, I currently serve as the Career Development and Post-Secondary Education VISTA at YouthBuild USA. I also dance for Deadfall Dance Company and am pursuing a certification in yoga instruction. I received my BFA in Dance and my BA in Political Science from Temple University in Philadelphia.