People


Peace Club Leadership Team develops leadership skills and plans school wide workshop, celebrations and events. The Student Leadership Team is composed of Student Mentors (2 or more), Student Directors (10 +) and Student Treasurers (2 or more.) Assistant Directors attend leadership meetings and train for one semester, before becoming Directors. The Mentors make decisions by consensus, with all significant decisions voted on by the rest of the team. The Leadership Team varies from 10 to 30 members each year.

Advisory Board

Vlada Teper, Founder and Executive Director

A Third Culture Kid (TCK) born in Moldova, Vlada has been a teacher, curriculum developer and an educational leader for 20 years. A former Fulbright Scholar in Russia, Vlada has been recognized for her work with English Learners by the Oakland Unified School District and is the recipient of the Teacher of the Month Award from 826 Valencia. Fluent in Spanish and Russian, Vlada believes that youth’s power is limitless and that we can create a kinder, more EQ and CQ wise world through adult partnership with youth. Read about what the youth have taught her.

Erin-Kate Escobar

Erin-Kate had the pleasure of working with Vlada on IMU’s first curriculum in 2009. At that time Erin-Kate had engaged in conflict transformation focused on ethnonational-religious conflict and social justice education. Since then Erin-Kate has pursued a Master degree in Education, worked in multicultural centers in college campuses, and then founded their own consulting company. They are a diversity, equity, inclusion specialist and a decades-long organizer, activist, and educator. They work with organizations across the United States towards effective structural and cultural climate changes within organizations with a specialty in empathy, care, and healing while challenging systems of oppression. You can read more about Erin-Kate and their work at  www.erinkateescobar.com

Yee Ling (Elaine) Liang

Elaine Liang, currently in her third year at UC Berkeley studying Data Science, serves as the Treasurer Assistant for I M U Peace Club. Her journey with I M U began through an introduction by her friend Alan, sparking an enduring commitment to the organization. Elaine deeply resonates with I M U ‘s vision of fostering a global community that embraces and celebrates diverse cultures and languages. She believes that I M U ‘s dedication to creating safe spaces for high school students to dialogue, along with I M U’s focus on social justice and cross-cultural awareness, is crucial for personal growth and societal development . Elaine finds her role in I M U particularly fulfilling as it aligns with her values of diversity, empathy, and non-violence, and offers her a platform to contribute to building a world where individuals appreciate and support one another in their self-exploration and development.

Alan (Lingxiang) Hu

Alan (Lingxiang) Hu, a former Peace Club leader from 2017 to 2020, is a senior at UC Berkeley. He is majoring in Public Health with a minor in Data Science. Alan believes that I M U Peace Club has not only been significant for him, but is also very important to the school community and the student body. It has opened students’ eyes to the diverse cultures of our world. As a Peace Club leader in training, Alan learned many things that aren’t taught in school, such as non-violent communication and the three-chair strategy (used in external and internal conflict mediation and developed by John Kinyon, based on NVC). Alan also found his best friends in Peace Club. Taught to respect and embrace other people’s cultures, Alan also developed his leadership and teamwork skills. Alan has benefited greatly from this program; he feels it has made him a better person. Alan strongly believes that with these opportunities, youth leaders and participants will make an amazing positive impact on their community, and spread peace and love! You can learn more about him in his  linkedin profile. 

Hilton Obenzinger

Assistant Director for Honors Writing at Stanford University. A Professor that teaches the importance of humor as well as how to write well, Hilton believes that the more people understand each other across culture the better. For more information, click here.

Advisors

Deep gratitude to the following people/organizations who have inspired and advised I M U Peace Club over the years!

Misha Dumov, Nelly Mensah, Christian Grant, Jeff Tam, Stuart Lum, Gary Einhorn, Camilla Greene, Miguel Hilario-Manënima, David Grosof, Gabriella Melano, Yelena Kozlova, Lynnette Garcia, Sophia Far, Dana Textoris, Shayna Gelender, Peace Development Fund, the San Francisco Study Center and many more!

Funders and Partners

Build Leaders in Innovative New Giving

Youth Funding Youth Ideas

Community Youth Center

San Francisco Unified School District

Individual Donors

Gifts of $1,000 and above

Eric Rosen
Stuart Lum

Gifts of $300 and above

Anna Ladyzhenskaya
Dina Leytes
Erica Schultz and Jeffrey Tam
Erin-Kate Escobar
John Kryder
Mila and Roman Teper
Misha Dumov
Natalie Wisniewski
Nelly Mensah
Sophia, Omied and Iran Far
Stephen Woo

Gifts of $18-$300

Aileen Cruz
Ailsa Foulke
Alysa Escobar
Anna Khavulya
Anuar Ramirez
Ben Neumann
Carol McHuron
Conchita Serri
Daniella Lewis
David Grosof
Dixie Belcher
Elena Kastritsis
Elizabeth Schuster
Elli Nagai-Rothe
Gail Evenari
Hilton Obenzinger
Irene and Michael Teper
Jaime Peñaherrera
James Hong
Janie Pinterits
Jason Reynolds
Jenia K.
Jessica Klenth
Juan Lopez
Julie Kessler
Katie Waddle
Kristen Merritt
Maggie Levantovskaya
Melanie Finke
Noel Obiora
Olga Zilberbourg
Paco Jain
Paola Bianco
Paul Orbuch
Puja Kumar
Reina Angela
Robert Knox
Robert Sylvester
Sam Alavi
Shreyasi Das
Sima Talai
Vladimir Kleyman
Yelena Kozlova

In-kind Gifts of goods and services

23rd and Mission Produce, San Francisco
Holey Bagel, San Francisco
Panaderia La Mexicana Bakery, San Francisco
Rocco’s Pizza & Pasta, Mill Valley
Safeway
Trader Joe’s