Committee Meetings

Get Involved ! Our five working committees meet regularly to plan and carry out work for peace, social justice and international law. You can also help us build bridges of peace by participating in our ad hoc task forces activities.

Visit the Committee meeting schedule page for the latest schedule.

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Board of Directors

Our work is primarily educational, we have incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation, governed by a Board of Directors. Membership on the BFP Board is open to any member who has been active in the activities of BFP, who supports our goals as stated above, and who is willing to share the responsibility for determining the priorities and developing the programs of the organization. We are seeking diverse membership on our Board, representing the diversity of communities in Brooklyn.

To become a member of the Board, an individual must be voted in by a majority of the current members of the Board. An individual can nominate themselves for membership on the Board, or could be nominated by another member, whether on the Board or not. Our current By-Laws allow 30 members of the Board.

Monthly regular meetings of the Board of Directors are open to any member of Brooklyn For Peace who wishes to attend. The opinions and input of all members are important and welcome; however, only Board members can vote. Annual meeting for election of Board members and officers is in June, but vacancies on the Board can be filled at any time. Term of service for both officers and Board members is one year. There is no limit on the number of terms which may be served. Date and time of regular meetings are posted on the web-site, with RSVP by e-mail or telephone requested if you would like attend.

For a copy of our By-Laws, or for further information on the responsibilities entailed in membership on the Board, please contact us by email or call 718–624–5921.

Officers

Chair: Charlotte Phillips M.D.

I am the Co-Founder and currently serve as the Chairperson of Brooklyn For Peace.
I am a general primary care pediatrician, and retired from clinical practice in March, 2012, after practicing for 20 years in the New York City public hospital system, where I provided continuity of care to a diverse community of patients from the African- American, Haitian, Jamaican, Latin American, West African, Middle Eastern and South Asian communities, all of which are represented in Brooklyn. I was also on the faculty of SUNY-Downstate.

I co-founded Brooklyn Parents for Peace in 1984 as a network of parents all of whom had children in the same day care center in Brooklyn. I have been involved in various ways for the past 29 years, and continue to be committed to the growth and development of Brooklyn For Peace as a non-sectarisn, non partisan, locally-based, multi-issue organization. As a pediatrician, I see war and violence as critical public health issues; as a parent and grandparent, I see the well-being and (even the existence) of future generations at stake.

Vice-Chair: Carolyn Eisenberg

Carolyn Rusti Eisenberg is a co-founder and now Vice-chair of Brooklyn for Peace. Since 2004 she represented Brooklyn for Peace on the United for Peace and Justice Steering Committee and was a co-coordinator of its Congressional Work.

Rusti is a Professor of US Foreign Policy and History at Hofstra University. She is the author of a prize-winning book on the early Cold War and is presently completing a book for WW Norton Press on the Vietnam war and the "illusion of national security." Most recently she has served as Consultant to the New York Historical Society for its exhibition on the Vietnam War.

Vice-Chair: Veronica Nunn

She is an international vocalist-songwriter, recording artist and arranger most known as the featured vocalist with Michael Franks since 1993. In the late 1970s she moved to New York to pursue a degree in Theology at Lehmans College in the Bronx. Singing in the music clubs at night to support her college tuition, she met Big Nick Nicholas (an influencial teacher of legendary tenor saxophonist John Coltrane) who became her musical and performance mentor.

She travels around the world performing, conducting her vocal workshop series and working with international schools to help build awarness of the importance of art and culture in society. " A world where peace is possible first begins with respect for all life and recognition of the unique diversities within all cultures."

She is hostess of Tales from the Jazz Side podcast, co-owner of Dead Horse Records and the CEO of Full Gallop Entertainment, Inc. - www.veronicanunn.com

Secretary: Elizabeth (Betta) Broad

Elizabeth (Betta) Broad is a native New Yorker and longtime activist for peace, social justice and sustainability. Her activism began in college when she worked on a campaign to unionize the janitors on campus and as a statewide student organizer for the AFL-CIO. After moving back to New York City she was involved in multiple organizations and campaigns including as an NGO Representative for Peaceways, advocating for children’s rights at the United Nations, fighting to repeal the Rockefeller Drug Laws, managing a Brooklyn community arts space, and producing anti-war concerts called Party for Peace.

She worked as the Deputy Director of Earth Day New York for five years, organizing the major Earth Day festivals in NYC. In 2011 she began working full-time on the campaign to ban fracking in New York State and as part of her anti-fracking work, produced a short video series, “Love NY: Don’t Frack It Up!”

Currently, she is the Outreach Director for the New Yorkers for Clean Power campaign, working to accelerate the transition to a renewable energy economy in New York State. She has served on the board of directors of Brooklyn for Peace for the past decade.

Treasurer: Eleanor Preiss

My involvement with peace movement started in 1961, coinciding with move to New
York from the midwest. My husband was Coordinator of the Greenwich Village
Peace Center for a year, and I was immersed in that group’s thinking and have been
involved in one way or another ever since. For obvious reasons, the demonstration that
I particularly remember was in April 1965 in DC, because I was VERY pregnant at the
time.

My “career” has been bookkeeping related, and as well as doing that for a living I have
contributed that skill to the Neighborhood Nursery School, the Brooklyn Heights Youth
Center, the Nevins Day Care Center, and Concerned Friends of WBAI. I started
volunteering and was elected Treasurer for Brooklyn (Parents) For Peace very soon after
retiring from employment, in 2004.

Members of the Board

Bruce Altschuler

Bruce Altschuler is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science at SUNY Oswego who retired in 2013 and moved to Brooklyn. His main teaching fields were the US presidency, elections, mass media, and popular culture and politics.

He is the author or co-author of seven books, most recently Seeing Through the Screen: Interpreting American Political Film (Lexington Books, 2017) and the winner of the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities. His commentary for public radio won awards from the New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association and Syracuse Press Club. Since his retirement, he has become active in Brooklyn For Peace and continued his involvement in United University Professions, the largest higher education union in the United States.

Ann Fawcett Ambia

Ann is a retired public interest attorney whose practice years included: representing city workers in tenant-side housing and administrative law cases including NYCHA, Section 8 and SSD; representing clients with HIV-AIDS in Permanency Planning and training practitioners in the field; and representing Salvadorans seeking political asylum whose Temporary Protected Status was expiring in 1995.

Prior to starting law school at 41 with twins entering third grade, Ann worked in non-profit public relations, and earlier was a union organizer. She has been an active community organizer since 1976 when she became a member of the Action Committee of the People’s Firehouse in Northside (Williamsburg) Brooklyn; and has been an activist in the intersection of peace, civil rights and social justice issues since college.

Currently Ann is a member of the Board of Brooklyn For Peace, an activist in Bay Ridge for Social Justice on refugee and immigration issues facing the community, and a member of Military Families Speak Out/ Veterans For Peace. She can often be found on the street during the day at various rallies and marches, and in the evenings when not at a meeting or caring for a grandchild is most likely at a music event.

Mukti Banerjee

I am Mukti Banerjee. In 1986, I moved to the U.S. with my husband, to work as a biologist. In 2007, I retired from the nine-to-five routine so that I could work full-time on my dream: bringing the flavors and the benefits of Indian cooking to all New Yorkers. Mukti’s Kitchen has proved to be a success.
I decided to start Mukti's Kitchen when a few good friends insisted that I did something to let others know about my Indian cooking and the variety and uniqueness of it. I have a desire to share my passion of food with people to empower and help to cook for themselves and eat more healthy diets and be happy and healthy. Mukti’s Kitchen offers cooking classes, lecture-demonstrations and catering services. I focus on Indian food, Indian cooking and healthy eating. It’s authentic Indian, but also catered to an American taste: I make it palatable to all. I also take special care of any dietary restrictions you may have. Please visit my website www.meetup.com/muktiskitchen and www.muktiskitchen.com and see my food pictures and reviews.

Charlene Barker

My name is Charlene Barker; I was born and raised in Westchester County. I lived in CT for several years before moving to NYC in March 1983. Many said I would not last six months, and yet here I am 30 years later quite the content survivor. I love NYC, especially Brooklyn, with all its unique and fascinating qualities. Some of my interests, other than peace/political activism, are photography, travel, cooking, museums, crocheting, music, needlepoint, movies, theater, art, old cemeteries and tag sales. I have been involved with activism since February 2003 and also very proud to be part of Brooklyn for Peace.

Sasha Dobos-Czarnocha

Ken Diamondstone

Mel Grizer

Mohammed Nurhussein

Dr. Nurhussein is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine and, until his retirement, served as
Chief of Geriatric Medicine at the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical
Center. Under his leadership the geriatric fellowship program secured a full 5-year accreditation
in 2009. Dr. Nurhussein was born in Adwa and grew up in Gondar, Ethiopia where he received
his primary school education. On orders of Emperor Haile Selassie, he was recruited to the then
newly-established military academy soon after completing high school in Addis Ababa. Upon
graduation he was one of six Army officers sent by the Emperor to Yugoslavia to study medicine
thus becoming among the first Ethiopian military doctors. He came to the US in 1972 to pursue
further training in internal medicine and pulmonary medicine. The 1974 revolution, which
abolished the millennia-old monarchy, was soon hijacked by the military, which established a
repressive regime eliminating all opposition. Dr. Nurhussein’s brother was among the thousands
of young Ethiopians killed by the regime.

Seeking political asylum in the US, Dr. Nurhussein started a long career as an attending
physician at Kings County Hospital Center, affiliated with SUNY Downstate College of
Medicine where he held a faculty appointment. He has been a mentor and role model to
generations of medical students and residents. His long service at both public institutions has
earned him numerous awards. Dr Nurhussein has been listed in the Castle-Connolly Best Doctors
in Geriatric Medicine in New York in 2009 and 2010. He is an active member of various civic,
professional and humanitarian organizations, among which are: Member of a Task Force of
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) for the Total Elimination of Landmines; National Chairman
of United African Congress, a Pan African organization that represents the interest of continental
Africans in the United States and plays an advocacy role on matters germane to Africa;
Chairman of the Ethiopian Renaissance Council of the tristate area of NY, NJ and Connecticut
March 2013-March 2015; Chairman of a broad coalition of African Diaspora organizations
against Ebola, led by the United African Congress which was responsible for holding the first
Ebola forum at the UN to raise awareness of the devastation the pandemic was causing in the
West African nations of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea and underscore the need for global
response on a massive scale; Co-Chairman of a Diaspora Coalition led by The United African
Congress organizing the concert on Ebola held on March 2/2015; Chair, Adwa Hospital Task
Force.

Mohammed A Nurhussein, MD is a Board Member of Ethio-American Doctors Group, Inc. and
Member of the Executive Board of Brooklyn for Peace.

Eric Shtob

Advisory Board