Angela Peabody | President and Founder
Angela has worked as a humanitarian for most of her adult life, supporting the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the Tigerlily Foundation and several other non-profit organizations. The Liberian Journalist and Novelist is an accomplished and award-winning writer. She is the first Liberian woman to write and publish a full-length novel. Her career has taken her to the corners of the earth, as she speaks out against female genital mutilation and other gender-based violent acts. A highly sought-after public speaker, Angela has spoken at Harvard University, George Washington University, Georgetown University, The University of Pittsburgh, Catonsville Community College, Saint Simon’s Island Festival and Making Poverty History Conference in London, where she shared the stage with 2 members of the House of Parliament. Angela is the former Chair of the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the National Writers Union and has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) and the Advisory Board of Tigerlily Foundation. Though Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation keeps Angela’s schedule very busy she continues her career as a Novelist. Her novel, When the Games Froze was released in December 2013.
Amie E. Jallah | Vice President and Co-Founder
Ms. Jallah is a graduate of George Washington University in Washington, D.C. with a Masters Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and a certification in Health Care Administration. She is also a graduate of the Loyola College Management Training Program. She has an extensive background in the development and implementation of community outreach programs and has developed collaborative partnerships with many non-profits and Churches throughout the Washington, D.C. area. She is the former Executive Director of the Metropolitan Community Development Corporation a 501c (3) non-profit that aims to improve the quality of life for African immigrants and low-income residents in Montgomery County, Maryland, through programs and services that engage the community in meeting their own physical and emotional needs, and close gaps in education, health, income, and family well-being. She is currently a Program Director with City Gate, an urban ministry in Washington, D.C., seeking to open doors of opportunity and empowerment with the primary focus on children and youth. Ms. Jallah is also one of the founders and a Director with the African Cultural & Resource Center which provides programs and services for African immigrants in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Currently, she is the Vice President and Cofounder of Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation
Arnold E. Deshield | Treasurer and Co-Founder
Arnold also currently serves as the Controller of The Goode Companies, Incorporated. Arnold began his career at Chancellor Broadcasting Corporation as a Business Assistant. He later joined the staff at Radio One, Inc. as Assistant Business Manager for over seven years, later he was recruited by McKinley Marketing Partners, Inc. as their Manager of Finance and Accounting for the East Coast and Southeast Regions. Prior to that, he worked as a Corporate Controller at On Top Communications. He brings many years of finance experience to the boardroom of Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation.
Dr. Karen McDonnell | Board Member
Dr. Karen A. McDonnell is an Associate Professor and Vice-Chair in the Department of Prevention and Community Health at Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University. Dr. McDonnell is a public health program evaluation and implementation specialist with over 16 years’ experience working with community groups, public health agencies, and health care systems both locally and globally. Dr. McDonnell’s expertise lies in using mixed methods to look at complex public health issues and programs. Her most recent work is leading a team to evaluate gender-based violence in immigrant communities, development, and testing of a community-centered FGM prevention project, evaluating the National Domestic Violence Hotline/love is respect Helpline, taking a public health approach to gender-based violence and HIV, and evaluating multi-systems changes in the Clinical Translational Science Institute with Children’s National and GWU. Dr. McDonnell has conducted trainings in public health policy, gender equity, and women’s leadership and teaches coursework in Program Evaluation, Maternal, and Child Health, and works with undergraduate and graduate students, medical residents, and community groups to further the exploration of methods to meet our current complex public health challenges. Dr. McDonnell is the recipient of the 2009 ASPH Early Career in Public Health Teaching Award, ASPH Academy of Distinguished Teachers, and the 2011 Milken Institute SPH Excellence in Teaching Award. She was a 2018 recipient of the Global Woman Awards in the Education/Health Category. Karen has been vigilant in her work against FGM, including teaching, training, facilitating workshops, and supporting Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation. She recently joined the Board of Directors of Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation.
Dr. Wallicia Gill | Board Member
Dr. W. Wallicia Gill is a retired Middle School Principal and Adjunct Professor. Since retiring from Education, Dr. Gill has worked passionately to support community service initiatives. She is a member of the Centreville Immigration Forum Human Resources Committee, Centreville-Chantilly Rotary Club, the Northern Virginia Business and Professional Women’s Club, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She is currently writing an article on Teen Sex Trafficking in conjunction with work for Just Ask Prevention, a non-profit that seeks to educate the community on Teen Sex Trafficking. Dr. Gill completed her undergraduate work at Hampton University, her Master’s work at George Mason University, and an Ed.D in Educational Leadership at Shenandoah University.
F.A. Cole | Board Member
From Freetown, Sierra Leone, F.A. Cole has used her childhood and young adult experiences to design a blueprint to defeat female genital mutilation, sexual abuse, and oppression. Through unwavering faith, Cole has developed art for empowering the lives of women and children. From victim to victor – F.A. Cole experienced life’s tragedies at an early age and fought to overcome them (sexually molested at age six; forced to undergo female genital mutilation at age eleven, raped multiple times; and many more.) Her astonishing work, Distant Sunrise – the Strength in her Pain to Forgive, speaks to the pain and suffering of women who have experienced female genital mutilation and survived physically, mentally, and spiritually. Cole traveled to Sierra Leone in May 2017 to host a special workshop for young women and girls, where she distributed sanitary napkins, pencils, and other necessities. Cole speaks out about the benefits of restorative surgery and her experiences after surgery. Although Maine still remains without a law against FGM, F.A. Cole was vigilant in working with a State Representative in Maine to put forth a bill in that state through her testimony.
Jacqui Olkin | Board Member
Jacqui Olkin is a web consultant with more than 20 years of experience in communications and publishing. For 11 years, she has provided web design and business consulting services to associations and other not-for-profits, commercial businesses, and government agencies. Jacqui received an Emmy Award as project editor and co-author of the “Biography Project for Schools,” a multimedia educational project with A&E Networks. She was the strategic lead on numerous award-winning websites. Jacqui’s articles on web-related topics have been published in Association Publishing magazine and various association newsletters, and she blogs here on her website. She has judged award competitions for association and education websites and print publications. She is a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), User Experience Professionals Association, (UXPA), the Information Architecture Institute (IAI), and the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIST). Jacqui is currently spearheading the development of a values statement for the field of information architecture, to help guide ethical practice in the creation of digital products. Jacqui resides in Reston, Virginia. She is an avid runner and a fan of the Washington Nationals baseball team. She holds an honors undergraduate degree in English literature and creative writing from Brown University and a master’s degree in English literature from Boston University. Jacqui is a great welcomed addition to the Board of Directors and the organization.