Catherine Reynolds Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School

Pete is currently a Catherine Reynolds Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School getting his MPA. Prior to coming to the Kennedy School Pete directed FHI's (Food for the Hungry International) "developmental relief" operations in post-tsunami Indonesia. His work has also taken him to many other relief fields including, Ethiopia, Darfur and Iraq. Pete has a special interest in building the capacity of humanitarian response, through disaster mitigation, preparedness and training.

Sarah Sywulka

Director of Relief, Food for the Hungry

Sara currently is the Director or Relief for Food for the Hungry. She grew up in Latin America and then pursued an MPA at Cornell University and has been living and working with GOAL and Food for the Hungry in relief and long-term development in the Congo, Rwanda and Senegal. Prior to becoming the Director of Relief Sara worked around the world in food security and relief coordination while based out of Washington DC. Sara also Chairs InterAction's Democratic Republic of Congo working group. Finally Sara also has special interest in climate change and how that affects the humanitarian field - with special focus on disaster mitigation.                                               

Oren Schlein

CEO of Robin Hood Asia and former UNDP Representative

Oren brings 15 years experience as an attorney and development practitioner to Robin Hood Asia. After an early career as a banking and corporate attorney, Oren moved into the development field, working first for the United Nations Association, the largest advocacy organization supporting UN causes in the US, and later for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). He has engaged numerous multinationals and international foundations in disaster relief and long-term development initiatives and worked with the UN Global Compact, the Bush-Clinton Tsunami Fund, and several other public and private groups. Oren's fieldwork includes extensive travels through Asia and Africa to support efforts to eradicate landmines and address the socio-economic implications of mines on affected communities.

Most recently, he served as head of UNDP's External Relations Office in the Maldives following the 2004 Asia tsunami, which involved significant partnership development opportunities with the corporate sector. Oren established the Adopt-A-Minefield Campaign, which gained wide public attention through the support of its Goodwill Ambassador, Sir Paul McCartney. As Executive Director in the late 1990s, he raised millions of dollars from the public and private sectors for the landmine cause and he developed one of the first online fundraising sites that linked donor funds to specific field projects - a precursor to many of the models adopted by today's charities. Prior to this, Oren advised companies on business opportunities at the United Nations and he authored a book on How to Do Business with the United Nations. His media contributions cover the Asia-Pacific, American and European markets.

Peter Morris

Team Leader, Technical Assistance Group (TAG), OFDA

He joined OFDA in January 1996 as the Contingency Planner and Nutritionist; then became TAG team leader in 2001. During his time at OFDA, Peter has served on nine Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DART), and led five of them, notably the Tsunami DART in Indonesia, the West African DART for drought, and was Deputy Team Leader for the DART team to Bam, Iran. He has also served on numerous Response Management Teams (RMTs) and Assessment teams, notably leading the initial 'Official American' assessment team into Afghanistan in April 2001.

Mr. Morris has a Masters in International Development from Cornell University, and a Master in Nutrition from the University of Maryland. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan in 1977. Prior to working with OFDA, Mr. Morris worked with non-governmental and international organizations. He initially started in the humanitarian assistance field in 1984, working as a nutritionist with CARE at Khao-I-Dang refugee camp in Aranyaprathet, Thailand, where he met his wife of 23 years, Margaret Ferris, who was working with UN Border Relief Organization (UNBRO). Mr. Morris has worked with the Red Cross in Niger and Geneva (1985-1986); with International Catholic Migration Commission in Washington, DC (1986-1987); was World Vision Associate Country Representative in Cambodia (1988-1991); and opened the International Federation of Red Cross office in Cambodia (1991-1992). He has worked with UNHCR as the Nutrition Coordinator in Bukavu, Zaire during the Rwanda crisis in fall of 1994, among other consultancies. Peter and Margaret have three children, two in college and the third in high school.

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