The Trustees
Amanda Brown – Chair
Founder of RedEarth Playback Theatre running community projects in Devon and facilitating training internationally and in UK since 2005. Amanda’s first career as a dancer and choreographer in theatre and television led her towards supporting others creatively and working in education for 7 years specialising in communication skills, mediation and conflict resolution. As co- Artistic Director for Playback Theatre South West she has worked with service users, carers and professionals in the NHS Mental Health Services, Adult Social Care and with young people in caring roles and in educational settings. One project is the longest running women’s support group for refugees and asylum seekers in Plymouth and RedEarth Playback Theatre is currently supporting women survivors of abuse.
Amanda is passionate about the power of personal stories to heal conflict in this troubled world. Jo and Pat’s story along with their unique relationship has an undeniable authenticity that inspires and strengthens others on their path towards peace. Amanda envisages Building Bridges for Peace creating opportunities for people who are suffering from living with conflict and trauma to hear Jo and Pat’s story and find hope, and for people who are working towards peaceful resolution to be able to find inspiration and support in making changes that can take them out of adversity.
Erica Lewis
Erica has had a thirty five year career in leadership, operational management and consultancy roles in voluntary organisations and social enterprises, hence brings extensive experience of governance and fundraising in the not-for-profit sector. Erica is passionate about enabling people, whatever their circumstances, to realise their potential and make a positive difference in the world.
What particularly inspires Erica about Building Bridges for Peace is enabling people who have been directly personally affected by conflicts to reach out to one another and transform them from the bottom up. Erica is now retired and volunteers with local community projects.
Claire Thompson Moore
Claire Thompson Moore is a permaculturist, ecological educator and advocate for peacebuilding based in Co. Donegal, Ireland, where she lives with her husband, children and a lively collection of animals. Her work is rooted in the permaculture ethics of Earth Care, People Care and Fair Shares, with a particular passion for restoring relationships between people, communities and the natural world.
Originally qualifying in Nutritional Medicine, Claire’s path evolved into community ecology, foraging and herbalism, regenerative land practices and conflict transformation. Through an attachment parenting network centred around respectful and non-violent parenting, she became close friends with peacebuilder Jo Berry and a committed supporter of her ground breaking work in reconciliation and dialogue.
Claire holds a Diploma in Conflict Resolution and has participated in the “Let’s Involve the Victims Experience” programme at Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, as well as previously engaging with WAVE Trauma Centre. She is deeply interested in the role of listening, empathy, storytelling and ecological connection in healing division and building more compassionate futures.
Her work brings together peacebuilding, systems thinking, community resilience and care for the living world, with a belief that lasting peace must include both people and planet.
Saba Ali FRSA
Saba is a multi-award-winning advocate specialising in intersectionality, cultural abuse, and the challenges faced by marginalised communities. As a queer South Asian with lived experience of trauma, she brings nuanced insight to her work with institutions like the Crown Prosecution Service and Metropolitan Police Service, focusing on Hate Crime, VAWG, and LGBT+ Black/Brown communities. She sits on the Oversight Working Group for the Alliance for Police Accountability. Beyond law enforcement, she is a trustee for Building Bridges for Peace and Biscuit bi+ charity, Welfare & Met Liaison Manager at UK Black Pride, Chair for the Ban Conversion Therapy Coalition, LGBTQIA+ Network Lead for the Royal Society of Arts, and Advisory Board Member for Centre for Prevention of VAWG.
Saba contributes to Sutton Council’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy Planning and Suicide Prevention Partnership. She is a mentor for The Diana Award and Race for Equality’s Routes2Success, empowering the next generation of changemakers.