Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury has devoted many years as an inspirational champion for sustainable peace and development and ardently advancing the cause of the global movement for the culture of peace that has energized civil society all over the world.

As a career diplomat, Permanent Representative to United Nations, President of the UN Security Council, President of UNICEF Board, UN Under-Secretary-General, the Senior Special Advisor to the UN General Assembly President, and recipient of the U Thant Peace Award, UNESCO Gandhi Gold Medal for Culture of Peace, Spirit of the UN Award and University of Massachusetts Boston Chancellor’s Medal for Global Leadership for Peace, Ambassador Chowdhury has a wealth of experience in the critical issues of our time - peace, sustainable development, and human rights.

In March 2003, the Soka University of Tokyo, Japan conferred to Ambassador Chowdhury an Honorary Doctorate for his work on women's issues, child rights and culture of peace as well as for the strengthening of the United Nations. In May 2012, he received a Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa degree from the Saint Peter’s University of the United States.

Ambassador Chowdhury’s legacy and leadership in advancing the best interest of the global community are boldly imprinted in his pioneering initiative in March 2000 as the President of the Security Council that achieved the political and conceptual breakthrough leading to the adoption of the groundbreaking UN Security Council Resolution 1325 which for the first time recognized the role and contribution of women in the area of peace and security.

Equally pioneering are his initiatives at the United Nations General Assembly in 1999 for adoption of the landmark Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace and in 1998 for the proclamation of the “International Decade for Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World (2001-2010)”.

He served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in New York from 1996 to 2001 and as the Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations, responsible for the most vulnerable countries of the world from 2002 to 2007.

Ambassador Chowdhury is a member of the Advisory Council of IMPACT Leadership 21 and is the first recipient of the IMPACT’s 2013 Global Summit Frederick Douglass Award Honoring Men Who Are Champions For Women's Advancement in October 2013.

He is one of the 12-member Asia-Pacific Regional Advisory Group on Women, Peace and Security hosted in Bangkok.

He has been the Chair of the International Drafting Committee on the Human Right to Peace; an initiative coordinated from Geneva and was a founding member of the Board of Trustees of the New York City Peace Museum.

Ambassador Chowdhury is the Founder of the New York-based Global Movement for The Culture of Peace.

He is a founding Co-Chair of the International Ecological Safety Collaborative Organisation (IESCO) with headquarters in China and is a member of the Advisory Council of the National Peace Academy in US.

He is the Honorary Chair of the International Day of Peace NGO Committee at the UN, New York and Chairman of the Global Forum on Human Settlements, both since 2008. He has been a part of the 12-member Wisdom Council of the Summer of Peace for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014, a world-wide participatory initiative to advance the Culture of Peace.

He has been decorated by the Government of Burkina Faso in West Africa with the country’s highest honour “L’Ordre National” in 2007 in Ouagadougou for his championship of the cause of the most vulnerable countries.

Dr. Chowdhury has structured curricula and taught courses on “The Culture of Peace” at the Soka University of America and the City University of New York in 2008 and 2009. He also served as an Adjunct Professor at the School of Diplomacy, Seton Hall University of the United States.

He is an Honorary Patron of the Committee on Teaching About the UN (CTAUN), New York.

Public speaking and advocacy for sustainable peace keep him engaged at the present time.

Lewis Randa is a Quaker, vegan, educator and social change activist.  He is the founder and director of The Life Experience School for children and young adults with disabilities and The Peace Abbey, an organization that promotes the study and practice of nonviolence, cruelty-free living and activist pacifism.  His journey of peacemaking began during the 1968 presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy at the University of Iowa.

Listen to Lewi Randa's remarks at the Gala Event on October 8th.

Ted Reinstein has been a reporter, producer and occasional anchor for WCVB-TV Channel 5’s “Chronicle,” the nation’s longest running locally-produced nightly newsmagazine, since 1995. He also provides reports and commentary on Sunday mornings during WCVB’s “On The Record,” a program that addresses political issues of the week. Since 2004, he has written a weekly opinion column, “And Another Thing,” which appears on WCVB.com. He also sits on WCVB’s editorial board, where he is a contributor.

In 1995, Ted hosted the premiere season of the Discovery Channel's “Popular Mechanics” show. Out of the studio, he has explored Hawaii's volcanoes, the caves of Puerto Rico and the islands of Tahiti as host for the Travel Channel's photo/adventure series, “FreezeFrame.”

In 2002, he was part of a Chronicle team that received a prestigious National DuPont-Columbia Award for Chronicle’s coverage of Boston’s Big Dig project. In 2010, he was one of five national finalists in the Washington Post’s “Great American Pundit” opinion-writing Competition.

His first book, New England Notebook: One Reporter, Six States, Uncommon Stories, was released in May, 2013 by Globe-Pequot Press. The book recounts many of Ted’s favorite people and stories from his travels around New England. National Geographic Traveler named it one of its “Best Picks.” New England Notebook is now in its second-printing, and Ted is currently at work on his second book for Globe Pequot Press, about some of New England’s most famous feuds.

Ted also maintains a longtime interest in theatre, and is the co-author of the play, "Yom Kippur in Da Nang," which premiered in Boston in 1992 and has had subsequent productions in Ohio and Washington, D.C. He has also written several shorter plays for Boston’s annual Theater Marathon. A native of the Boston suburb of Winthrop, Ted received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Brandeis University.

An avid skier and hiker, Ted has also penned political cartoons. He resides just west of Boston with his wife and two daughters.

John Feal found a way to use his own personal tragedy to help others. Feal was one of the construction demolition experts called in to help with the rescue and cleanup efforts at the World Trade Center following the 9/11 attacks. While removing piles of twisted metal and rubble, a four-ton steel girder collapsed on Feal, crushing his foot. He spent 11 weeks in the hospital, and lost half his foot.

With medical bills piling up, and unable to work, Feal, a U.S. Army veteran, found himself in another battle. He was told he didn’t qualify for assistance because his injury fell outside the window of time allotted for the 9/11 victim compensation fund. Rather than give up, he fought back. He was determined that no American who served at Ground Zero should be treated so shabbily.

In 2005, Feal established The FealGood Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to assist responders affected by 9/11 and the sicknesses that developed from inhaling toxic fumes that day. The foundation has donated over $2.5 million and ardently supported the passage of several bills in Congress, most notably the James Zadroga 9/11 Health & Compensation law.

Feal has been interviewed by “60 Minutes,” “The Daily Show,” CNN, FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC and other major news outlets to help educate the public about the catastrophic health effects these workers have faced. In 2007, he donated a kidney to a complete stranger to raise awareness for 9/11 responders with kidney illnesses.

Feal grew up in Long Island and served in the U.S. Army’s airborne division. He has been recognized by his high school as one of the “Alumni of Recognition.” He also received the NYS Congressional “Medal of Honor for Civilians Above & Beyond” for his continuous advocacy.  Feal also received an honorary doctorate from Quinnipiac University in Humane Letters after giving the Commencement Speech to the graduating class of  2014.

Feal has made it his life’s mission to educate and help alleviate the burdens of 9/11 heroes. He continues to work on fundraising and increasing awareness by lobbying subcommittees and holding forums to make sure the responders know their rights. His motto is “No Responders Left Behind.”

He and his wife, Marzena, live in Nesconset, N.Y.

Every time Joan Paley begins illustrating a new book, she thinks of herself as an explorer. "Each book is an adventure," says Joan. "I wonder where this book will take me and who I will meet along the way." First, she consults her own extensive reference shelves. "I love doing research and learning about new things: birds with amazing beaks, emperor penguins, insects, animals in winter - what could be more fascinating?"

Then Joan continues her research at libraries and sometimes even consults scientists and other experts - whatever it takes to make sure she gets her facts correct. Then Joan gets down to the business of illustrating. On a single sheet of paper, she makes small thumbnail sketches of the entire book. She paints large pieces of paper with brightly colored washes. Finally, it is time to begin her collage! Joan cuts shapes form the painted paper and from other textured papers she has collected. "I'm happiest when I'm surrounded by paint, brushes, crayons, pencils, fabrics, textured papers and a pair of scissors," says Joan. "With each piece I strive to create a dimensional sense of environment and character."

Joan received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Massachusetts College of Art. She also studied lithography (stone printing) with George Lockwood, one of the finest printmakers in the country, and at the Haystack Mountain School of Arts and Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine. Before she became a full-time illustrator, Joan worked as an art director in the educational publishing field. "My favorite part of that job," recalls Joan, "was the challenge of finding the perfect artist to illustrate every story or poem. Now I am that artist - what a dream!"

It's a happy coincidence that all of Joan's books to date concern the natural world, because animals and the environment are two of Joan's passions. When she isn't illustrating, Joan volunteers on her local watershed team to reduce the use of pesticides in an effort to improve water quality and protect the environment. She lives with her husband, Norman, two Dalmatians, one large (really sweet) brown dog, and a collection of cats in North Scituate, Massachusetts.