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The People of LSN

Created by landmine survivors for landmine survivors, the Landmine Survivors Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to help the hundreds of thousands of civilian landmine victims, and prevent new ones from ever joining their ranks. Through an integrated program of peer support, sports, and social and economic re-integration into their communities, we work to help mine victims and their families recover.

Jerry WhiteJerry White - Executive Director and Co-founder

Jerry White is Co-founder and Executive Director of Landmine Survivors Network. He was a student and tourist in Israel when he stepped on a landmine in 1984. Prior to his work with LSN, Mr. White worked for more than ten years as an arms control analyst, tracking the spread of weapons of mass destruction (nuclear weapons, chemical/biological weapons and the missiles to deliver them). A graduate of Brown University, Mr. White worked at the Brookings Institution prior to becoming Assistant Director of the DC-based Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, a nonprofit organization that tracks the sale of dual-use equipment to risky buyers. At the Wisconsin Project, Mr. White founded and was editor of an award-winning publication and electronic database that alerts exporters to the risks of selling to buyers that help build nuclear-capable missiles. Through editorials, public speaking, and news interviews, Mr. White has helped build public support for stopping the spread of such weapons. In 1997, Mr. White became full-time director of the Landmine Survivors Network. He has testified before Congress and published articles in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor and International Herald Tribune.
See also: Our Founders


Ken RutherfordKen Rutherford - Co-founder

Ken Rutherford is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Southwest Missouri State University, where he teaches international relations, international organization and American Citizenship and Democracy. On December 16, 1993, while working as a credit union training officer in southwestern Somalia, he lost both his legs when his vehicle ran over a landmine. Since his accident, he has traveled worldwide to speak out in favor of a ban and to raise awareness of the mass suffering caused by these weapons. Dr. Rutherford has testified before congress and published articles on the landmine issue in numerous academic and policy journals, including World Politics, International Journal of World Peace, Journal of International Politics, Nonproliferation Review, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, International Journal of Grey Literature, American Bar Association Update on Law Education, Journal of Transnational Associations and the United Nations Landmines Journal. He also has articles forthcoming in Security Dialogue and the Journal of International Law and Policy. His book, Disarming States: The International Movement to Ban Landmines, is being published by the MIT Press in Harvard University’s BCSIA Studies in International Security. He has worked in Africa for the Peace Corps (Mauritania), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Senegal), and International Rescue Committee (Kenya and Somalia). He received his doctorate in Government from Georgetown University in 2000 and MBA from University of Colorado in 1993. Dr. Rutherford and his wife, Kimberly, have three sons, Hayden, Campbell and Duncan, and one daughter, Lucie.
Visit Ken Rutherford's Web site at: http://courses.smsu.edu/krr889f/homepage.htm
See also: Our Founders


Kristan BeckKristan Beck – Director of Finance and Administration

Ms. Beck is responsible for all aspects of the finance, accounting, grants management, and administrative functions of the organization, including financial oversight of the seven network offices. She joined LSN in November, 2002, bringing 20 years of experience in financial management and administration of international non-profit organizations. Through her work with NGOs such as Save the Children, International Planned Parenthood, and The Nature Conservancy, Kristan has traveled throughout the world providing training and technical assistance in all aspects of financial management and grants and contracts administration to local non governmental organizations. Fluent in Spanish, she has extensive experience in Latin America and the Caribbean. Kristan holds an MBA from The University of Michigan.


Zahabia AdamalyZahabia Adamaly - Advocacy Program Officer

Ms. Adamaly has a Masters degree in International Affairs from Columbia University, concentrating on human rights and humanitarian affairs. She has experience in human rights work at the grassroots level, has developed strategies for arms control advocacy campaigns, and has reported on human rights related activities at the UN both as an NGO representative and for the press. Ms. Adamaly serves as a member of LSN’s human rights education project team, contributing to the research, design and development of educational materials, and formulating trainings for the Networks and elsewhere. She assists in the drafting and editing of technical documents relating to the development of a disability rights convention in the UN, with writing grant proposals, and with other campaign related activities with a focus on developing countries.


Elaine BelmearElaine Belmear - Advocacy Program Associate

Ms. Belmear acts as the Advocacy Department’s budget focal point, the communications coordinator for LSN’s initiative to support the convention to promote and protect the human rights of people with disabilities, and as a member of the human rights education project team. Prior to joining LSN, Ms. Belmear worked in corporate America in various sales, marketing, and product development positions. After acquiring a disability as the result of a car accident in 1991, she gained personal experience of the discrimination and harassment that people with disabilities face in the workplace and the attitudes they encounter in everyday life. She joined LSN with the hope of making a much needed difference for people with disabilities in the US and abroad.


Julia Clark DownsJulia Clark Downs – Network Services Program Assistant

Ms. Clark Downs assists the Network Department in planning, organizing, and preparing for national and international travel. She assists the Network Department in improving their knowledge and understanding on particular technical topics and country situations through assigned research projects. Ms. Clark Downs maintains data and statistics related to both the Network Department and the overseas Networks to analyze LSN's work abroad. In addition to assisting in the writing and editing process of project proposals and reports, she coordinates and plans for Peer Support Trainings and other events in both the DC office and the overseas Network offices.


Juliane FosterJuliane Foster - Individual Donor Program Coordinator

Ms. Foster graduated from Earlham College in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations. She has advanced knowledge of a variety of database tools as well as extensive experience in event planning, direct marketing, and public relations. Ms. Foster currently manages the individual donor program. She is responsible for mailings, receipts, database management and direct mail.


Kathleen GainesKathleen Gaines – Network Services Database Manager

Ms. Gaines came to LSN in 1999 with a degree from Boston University in International Relations. Ms. Gaines has been instrumental in establishing LSN's local language survivor and services database in five of LSN's six Network countries. Her responsibilities include installing the database and training Network staff on its use, overseeing data quality control and protection measures used by the Networks and LSN-DC, as well as providing the technical oversight and input necessary to further develop and fully utilize the database. In addition to collaborating in designing, planning, implementing, and evaluating international workshops and events for Network staff, Ms. Gaines' responsibilities also include assisting Networks to test, input, apply, and evaluate tools and materials as well as recording, organizing, and evaluating curricula, tools, and materials the Networks develop themselves.


Katherine Guernsey – Advocacy Program Attorney

Ms. Guernsey is responsible for the development of human rights education documents and materials, supervision of Human Rights Program Interns, and activities supporting the development of a new UN human rights convention for people with disabilities.
Ms. Guernsey has spent the last several years working as an academic researcher in the field of international human rights and environmental law, assisting in the preparation of law journal articles and books. She holds a Bachelors degree and a JD from Ohio Northern University, and is currently pursuing LLM and SJD studies in international and comparative law from the George Washington University Law School. Ms. Guernsey is a licensed member of the Ohio Bar.


Antonio GuerraAntonio Guerra - IT Coordinator

Mr. Guerra graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in the College of Social Studies, a multi-disciplinary program focused on government, economics, history, and social theory. Mr. Guerra began his non-profit career with Social Success Markets (SSM), a non-profit designed to alleviate the economic burdens of disadvantaged families. Working closely with the founder of the organization, Mr. Guerra helped to develop business strategies and researched the long-term social and economic implications of SSM's social objectives. As IT coordinator, Mr. Guerra administers the Local Area Network, develops and maintains IT protocols, and assists the staff in all technical matters.


Anne HayesAnne Hayes - Country Program Officer

Ms. Hayes came to LSN with over four years of international program management. Ms. Hayes graduated from the University of Kansas with a double major in Spanish and Latin American Studies and is currently studying to earn her Master's degree in International Education Development with an emphasis in Special Education Development at George Washington University. Her responsibilities include supervising and overseeing the development of the Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ethiopia, and Mozambique Networks. In this capacity, Anne is responsible for monitoring the productivity and performance of the Networks' work, overseeing the planning and implementation of relevant training and technical assistance programs, ensuring that Network activities are well-planned and monitored by the team, and developing an expertise on the Network's context for LSN-DC.


Catherine Henry HaroldCatherine Henry - Office Manager

Ms. Henry Harold has twelve years experience managing and supporting a variety of companies including Fortune 500, medical, legal, lobbying, staffing and various non-profit organizations. She is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the LSN-DC office, which houses 28 employees. Her duties include setting up offices and orientating new hires, manning the phones, maintaining the office calendar, scheduling and arranging flights, hotels, and visas for all LSN-related travel, scheduling messenger services, sorting and distributing incoming correspondence, ensuring office repairs and equipment failures are fixed in a timely manner, ordering and maintaining general office materials, and preparing conference rooms for meetings.


Becky JordanBecky Jordan - Senior Program Officer

Ms. Jordan has a master’s degree in Occupational Therapy and has worked in the international disability and development field in south-east Asia, central Africa, and the US for more than 10 years. Ms. Jordan is LSN’s liaison between the LSN Advocacy Department and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), chairing the ICBL’s Working Group on Victim Assistance, and working with key landmine victim assistance allies to support the Advocacy Department mission. Ms. Jordan is also involved in the development and delivery of advocacy training, and the production of LSN educational materials.


Mike JungeMike Junge - Overseas Finance and Operations Coordinator

Mr. Junge has extensive experience living and working overseas in financial and administrative positions (Micronesia, Burundi, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Togo, and Mali). In his position as the Overseas Financial Coordinator he is responsible for ensuring that the financial and administrative policies for the network offices are up to date and that the financial records are auditable by both local international audit and LSN/DC audit firms.


Janet LordJanet Lord - Advocacy Director

Ms. Lord is responsible for developing human rights programming. She continues to play an advisory role for the UN Disability Program and in 2002 was appointed to serve on International Watch, a federal advisory committee for the US National Council on Disability. Prior to joining LSN, Ms. Lord served as an attorney with the World Bank Group where she practiced international administrative law and participated in the Bank’s Disability Thematic Network. Ms. Lord has taught international law at the University of Edinburgh, American University in the School of International Service, and the University of Baltimore School of Law. Ms. Lord earned two law degrees from the University of Edinburgh, an LLM in international and comparative law from George Washington University, and a BA from Kenyon College.


Christine ManulaChristine Manula - Marketing and Outreach Coordinator

Ms. Manula came to LSN after serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Slovakia, and has a background in U.S. and Eastern European politics. Ms. Manula is responsible for several programs designed to raise the profile of and support for LSN and its activities in the U.S. Members of Congress, schools, corporations, and faith-based organizations are among the groups she works with to educate new constituencies about LSN’s work with amputees around the world.


Lindsay McMahonLindsay McMahon - Network Services Coordinator

Lindsay McMahon comes to LSN with over 12 years of international management experience. Ms. McMahon has most recently worked as a Business Development Manager and a Program Officer for Management Sciences for Health, where she contributed to developing and delivering services to enable clients to improve organizational performance. She holds a Masters of Public Administration degree from Harvard University and a Masters of International Affairs degree from Columbia University. At LSN, she is responsible for overall Network Department functioning and coordination. She oversees the setting of current and long-range Network goals and strategies, facilitates collaboration with other LSN departments, oversees database development, monitors and guides Networks performance, provides Networks with on-site management support, and oversees the DC Network Department staff.


Lisa HicksLisa Parish - Executive Management Assistant

Lisa Parish is the Executive Assistant for Executive Director Jerry White. Lisa brings six years’ experience in government affairs and research in the non-profit arena to LSN. In addition to Lisa's primary task as Executive Assistant, she is a member of LSN’s Institutional Advancement team and is responsible for major events, major donor outreach, and liaising with LSN’s Board of Directors. A seven-year resident of the metro D.C. area, Lisa and her family enjoy many different cultural and outdoor activities.


Sue Schafer - Art Director

Ms. Schafer graduated from Syracuse University with a dual degree in Advertising and Psychology, and has advanced her studies as a fine-arts painter through the Open Program at the Corcoran School of Art and Design. She has a strong background in graphic design, marketing, and print management, and has worked on a variety of projects with both private and non-profit businesses and creative teams. At LSN, she plans, directs, and coordinates all activities within the art department, and works directly with various LSN departments to design, develop, and produce effective and strategic communication materials aligned with the LSN mission and goals.


Michelle HeckerMichelle Hecker Szechenyi - Country Program Officer

Ms. Hecker Szechenyi came to LSN with three years of international project management experience working in the United States and abroad and a Master's degree from the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in African Studies and International Economics. As one of LSN’s Network Associates, Michelle is responsible for supervising and overseeing the development of the El Salvador, Eritrea, and Jordan Networks and supporting the start-up of a Network in Vietnam. Her responsibilities include monitoring the productivity and performance of the Networks’ work, overseeing the planning and implementation of relevant training and technical assistance programs, ensuring that Network activities are well-planned and monitored by the team, and developing an expertise on the Network’s context for LSN-DC.


Bunnary TanBunnary Tan - Senior Accountant

Bunnary was born on January 7th, 1964 in Battam Bang Province, Cambodia. Prior to her settlement in the United State, she and her family were living in the refugee camp called Khao I Dang Processing Center (Thailand) for more than 3 years (1980-1983). Over there, she struggled very hard to learn English as her second language before she started working for International Rescue Committee in 1982 as an Office Assistant. She and her family were settled in the United States on 05/01/84 in Cresskill, NJ. She then moved to Philadelphia, PA where she obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting in 1990 from La Salle University. Bunnary herself moved to Maryland at the end of 1992 to start her new job with National Maritime Union of America as an Accountant after 2 years experience of worked with the YWCA of Philadelphia as the Staff Accountant. With almost 10 years of experience in the field of not-for-profit accounting and financial management, she came to LSN in September 2000 as Finance Assistant. For her hobby, she likes to sew and play volley ball.


Karen WelterKaren Welter - Deputy Director of Institutional Advancement

Ms. Welter has more than 15 years' experience writing, editing and designing a variety of materials for both profit and non-profit organizations. Her work experience includes design and development of training materials, as well as brochures and other marketing materials. Ms. Welter has a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Illinois, at Champaign-Urbana.
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