Staff
From off-campus, please dial: 781-736-XXXX.
| Cynthia Cohen, Ph.D. | Director |
x2133 | Bio |
| Naoe Suzuki | Senior Program Coordinator | x5001 | Bio |
| Lauren Satterlee | Graduate Web Assistant |
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| Prapti Sherchan | Graduate Office Assistant |
Bio |
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Cynthia Cohen, Ph.D., Director of Programs in Peacebuilding and the Arts
Dr. Cynthia Cohen is director of the program in Peacebuilding and the Arts at Brandeis University's International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life. She is an internationally recognized educator, peacebuilding practitioner and researcher who focuses on the contributions of the arts to conflict transformation. Dr. Cohen was the principal investigator for the "Acting Together" project, a six year inquiry with theatre artists and leaders of ritual working in conflict regions around the world, undertaken in collaboration with Theatre Without Borders. The project produced a documentary and toolkit, and a two-volume anthology published by New Village Press in 2011.
Cohen also serves as a co-convenor of the Arts and Peace Commission of the International Peace Research Association. Previously, she directed a fellowship program entitled "Recasting Reconciliation through Culture and the Arts," supporting visual artists, filmmakers, theatre artists and musicians working in Burundi, South Africa, Cambodia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka to document and reflect on the ethical dimensions of their work. She is the author of Working With Integrity: A Guidebook for Peacebuilders Asking Ethical Questions, and many other chapters, articles and papers that focus on the aesthetic and ethical dimensions of conflict transformation.
Prior to her tenure at Brandeis, Cohen founded and directed a community-based oral history center in the Boston area, and worked on issues of violence against women. She holds degrees from the University of New Hampshire, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Wesleyan University.
Listen to an interview with Cindy about the September 23, 2009 Theatre Without Borders/La MaMa E.T.C. conference in New York City, Acting Together on the World Stage: Theatre in Zones of Violent Conflict.
Naoe Suzuki, Senior Program Coordinator, Program in Peacebuilding and the Arts
Naoe Suzuki joined the Center in 2010 as Senior Program Coordinator for Programs in Peacebuilding and the Arts. Prior to joining the Center, she worked as operations and media relations manager for a small business, and as administrative specialist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Suzuki is also an accomplished visual artist. In 2012, she also had a solo exhibition, “Blue” at the Kniznick Gallery at Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis from January 12 through March 2. Her works have been exhibited nationally, including the deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, MA; Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY; Art Institute of Boston Gallery, Cambridge, MA; and Sarah Doyle Gallery at Brown University, Providence, RI. Her drawings have been published in New American Paintings, Vol. 74 in 2008, and Vol.86 in 2010. See Suzuki’s artworks on her website.
Suzuki’s residency fellowships include Blue Mountain Center, New York; Millay Colony for the Arts, New York; Jentel, Wyoming and MacDowell Colony, New Hampshire. She received the Artist Grant in Drawing/Printmaking/Artist’s Book (2006) and Artist Grant in Sculpture/Installation (2001) from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Artists’ Resource Fund from Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, and the Blanche E. Colman Award from Mellon Trust of New England.
Suzuki was born in Tokyo, Japan. She has lived in the United States since 1986. She holds an M.F.A. in Studio for Interrelated Media from Massachusetts College of Art.
Lauren Satterlee, Graduate Web Assistant
Lauren is currently a graduate student at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management in the Masters of Arts program in Sustainable International Development. Lauren most recently worked for the Minnesota Environmental Initiative, and for the American Refugee Committee, where she managed the organization’s social media presence and helped develop the web 2.0 strategy and best practices for the organization. She served as an AmeriCorps Volunteer for two years with Ashoka's Youth Venture and volunteered with World Savvy, Growth & Justice, and the Freshwater Society. During an urban studies internship with a neighborhood arts cooperative, she co-organized the Red Hot Art Festival, and has a strong belief in the power of the arts to give a voice to individuals and communities, especially those that are traditionally marginalized. Lauren is also an ameateur photographer. View some of her photography. She is honored to have the opportunity to support to the work of the Program in Peacebuilding and the Arts and a remarkable global network of artists, cultural workers, and peacebuilders.
Prapti Sherchan, Graduate Office Assistant
Prapti is currently a graduate student at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management in the Masters in Business Administration program. Her area of specialization is nonprofit management. Before she moved to the United States, Prapti used to work as the Alumni Relations Manager for United World College of South East Asia, Singapore. Her role entailed managing alumni events globally, spearheading the department's social media presence, to name a few.
Prapti is originally from Kathmandu, Nepal. After completing her undergraduate studies in Singapore, Prapti took some time off to go back to Nepal, where she interned with Himalayan Human Rights Monitors (HHRM). During her time at HHRM, she monitored the local human rights situation during demonstrations, interviewed victims of the Maoist conflict in order to assist in reporting and she also helped translate a comic book based on creations by children affected by the conflict.Prapti is thrilled to be supporting the Program in Peacebuilding and the Arts and all the great work the program is doing in the area of peace building and conflict resolution.