The Team
Anthony McCann, Ph.D., M.Phil, PGCHEP
Founder and Director, Crafting Gentleness
Anthony McCann grew up in Devonport (Auckland), New Zealand, and Warrenpoint, Co. Down, Northern Ireland. He now lives in Artigarvan, Co. Tyrone.
Anthony is an experienced researcher and educator who has held positions at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University, and the University of Ulster. He is a graduate of Queen's University Belfast (B.A. Celtic Studies and Spanish), University College Galway (M.Phil. in Irish Studies), and the University of Limerick (Ph.D., Ethnomusicology). In 1999 he was assistant co-ordinator of a UNESCO/ Smithsonian World Conference in Washington DC entitled 'A Global Assessment of the 1989 UNESCO Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore: Local Empowerment and International Cooperation'. He later undertook postdoctoral research in cultural policy at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC in 2001-02, where he was part of the team that drafted the working text of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention.
Anthony has given talks and seminars at the US Library of Congress, the University of Chicago, the University of California Los Angeles, Indiana University, and the University of Western Sydney, among other places. His awards include the Charles Seeger Prize of the Society for Ethnomusicology, a Fulbright Award, and a Government of Ireland Scholarship. He has served as an advisor for the Ulster Museum ('Troubles Gallery'), among others, and as a consultant for Editorial Solutions Ltd., and Pròiseact nan Ealan/The Gaelic Arts Agency.
Among Anthony's current research interests are: the politics of gentleness; emotional climate; social theory; pedagogy; personal and political dynamics of enclosure; Irish traditions; critical legal studies/anthropology of law; music, copyright, and intellectual property. Anthony considers himself primarily a Social Ecologist, although he has also worked in the disciplines of Celtic Studies, Spanish, Irish Studies, Ethnomusicology, Anthropology, Media Studies, Visual Culture, Cultural Policy and Management, and Museum and Heritage Studies.
In past years, Anthony has also worked as a translator, journalist, and radio broadcaster. He remains a keen singer, songwriter, and bodhrán player. He is known to come up with bad puns on a regular basis. A television addict since age 4, he particularly enjoys science fiction, and Josh Whedon's work, and has been rumoured to still shed random solitary tears at the passing of The West Wing. He's also a frustrated wannabe film and theatre director, who hopes that there are enough years left to do something about that. He once received Special Mention for acting in a youth drama competition. He was also listed for an "outstanding" game in a local newspaper following an U-16 hurling match in 1988. Don't give him sugar. Please, no sugar.
Mary Kennedy, MA. Hum. Rel.
Born and raised in Oklahoma, USA, Mary Kennedy moved to Northern Ireland in 2007. She received her Bachelors of Liberal Studies and a Masters of Human Relations at The University of Oklahoma. As a student, she was the recipient of scholarship awards, a member of The National Scholars Honor Society, and The Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. During her time as a mental health counsellor, she not only aided her clients in devising appropriate treatment plans and delivering them, but also served as an emergency mental health assessor. She devised and delivered anger management courses, served as a facilitator for grief recovery groups (co-writing some of the curriculum), served as a volunteer for a rape crisis unit, and liaised between community organizations and her clients. Assisting Viet Nam and Iraqi war veterans in recovery from post traumatic stress and war encounters has been an important focus of her work as well. Since moving to Derry/Londonderry she has acted as a facilitator for a depression support group and delivers life skills courses through a local mental health organization. Also, she has facilitated a study groups and was co-presenter and co-writer of curriculum for Inter-Faith Northwest's secondary school initiative.
In Oklahoma, Mary was a member of the American Indian Cultural Society (AICS, a group which focused on identity and cultural issues for American Indians). She taught shawl-making as well as assisting in presentations on American Indian culture, traditions, and art at schools and other venues. She served as AICS newsletter editor for four years, as well as serving on numerous committees and as advisor for the organization. Before working as a mental health counsellor, Mary was a Computer Graphic Designer and taught a computer graphics course. She used these skills to act as graphic artist for the group?s yearly cultural event, producing a printed program. Part of the program featured ink portraits which Mary drew of key honourees or lead participants.
Mary has been deeply involved in art, crafts, sewing and writing throughout her adult years, specializing in portraits and quilt-making. Her quilts have been shown in Birmingham International Quilt Show, featured in Irish Quilts and Crafts magazine and recently as a part of the International Women's Day events in Derry/Londonderry. Her art has won awards in US and Northern Ireland competitions, and she continues to take commissions for portraits. Currently, Mary is serving as Chairperson for the Derry Playhouse Writers Group, and has had poetry published locally as well as in America. Her interests extend into photography and she is co-chair of Pilot's Row Camera Club.
By and far, Mary considers her greatest achievement to be the raising of her children and is now enjoying the pleasures of being a grandmother to her grandson and is happily anticipating the birth of another grandchild. She is a fledgling guitarist, flailing bodhran player, a former vocalist with traditional Irish and American music groups in America, and sings in her church choir.
Associates
Maureen Hetherington is the Founder and Co-ordinator of The Junction in Derry/Londonderry. Maureen has been working in the field of community relations in a full-time capacity for twelve years. She was responsible for the Community Relations Programme for Derry City Council for ten years before heading up the creation of The Junction. Maureen has headed up several major projects such as: Seeing Sense: Prejudice Challenge Resource (now in every post-primary school in Northern Ireland), The Right to Hope Project (conflict resolution programme with young people which is cross-community, cross-cultural and cross-border), and Towards Understanding and Healing, a project housed at The Junction.
Jarda Dokoupil is a coach, consultant, facilitator, learning designer, speaker and writer currently based in London, UK. Jarda is a founder and director of Tribe Network, an innovative consultancy that supports healthy evolution of individuals, organizations and systems towards fulfilled and sustainable existence. Jarda is also an active fellow of Future Considerations, management consultancy that enables the world's leaders, institutions and systems to evolve and influence the great challenges of the time.
Tessy Britton specialises in personal development in education and her research have led to specialising in developing programmes that enhance metacognition for both learning, personal development and wellbeing - predominantly working with teenagers and teachers. Tessy works on a number of social projects and is Chair of the RSA Fellowship Council.
James O'Dea is currently a Fellow of The Institute of Noetic Sciences and its immediate past President. He was Executive Director of The Seva Foundation, an international health and development organization and, for ten years, was the Washington Office Director of Amnesty International. He is currently engaged in several international initiatives and implementing a grant to assess the emerging field of social healing. The Social Healing Project will also collaborate with Intersections International in New York to convene frontier multidisciplinary dialogues on societal healing.
Andy Gibson is a social entrepreneur, campaigner and consultant working principally in education, democracy and mental health. He's Founder of the Mindapples "5-a-day for your mind" campaign, co-founder of education 2.0 start-up School of Everything, and writes and speaks about mental health, work, social entrepreneurship and the social impacts of new technologies.
Stephanie Knight is an internationally published researcher, practitioner and writer in applied theatre and participatory arts, specialising in social justice and human rights, international collaboration and reconciliation. She has extensive experience in lecturing and education, and is a collaborative researcher in applied theatre and management.
Colin Tate is the Director
at Nemawashi Ltd. With over eight years in conflict resolution/relationship management and consulting in the Financial, New Media and governmental sectors, Colin has a proven track record in developing valuable and positive relationships with the different groups typically found within an organization or a large project team, and can successfully bind them together into a group that moves towards common objectives, be they strategic, tactical or operational.
Katarina Juvancic (Ph.D. candidate in Cultural anthropology) holds degrees in Ethnology, Cultural anthropology and Sociology of culture. After 5 years of academic affiliation (research fellow in anthropology at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia) she is now working as a freelance music researcher, writer, performer and lecturer. Over the past few years she has advocated humanizing and connecting power of more intimate sites of music interaction such as lullabies by conducting fieldwork research, releasing a CD of lullabies as well as holding workshops for children, adults, asylum seekers and other vulnerable social groups.
Kathryn McCabe is a program coordinator and facilitator with a social enterprise dedicated to creative sustainability, based in Sydney. As she says herself: "I am passionate about living in a way that sustains myself, others and the Earth. I (eventually!) found my calling as a facilitator of change through a life-changing Masters degree in Social Ecology. I am particularly interested in re-storying our culture, and engaging with a diverse range of modalities to support this transition; somatic psychotherapy, drama, self-directed education, critical pedagogy, parenting which is enabling not socialising, as well as lots of random fun stuff like Playback Theatre and dumpster diving!"
Lia Suzuki, 6th dan: Founder, President, Executive Director, of Aikido Kenkyukai Santa Barbara. Lia Suzuki began training aikido in 1982. Through her first teacher, the renowned William Gleason Sensei, 6th dan, she was introduced to the distinctive aikido of the late Yamaguchi Seigo Shihan, 9th dan and one of his most accomplished students, Takeda Yoshinobu Shihan, 8th dan. Lia Sensei lived in Japan from 1987 to 1996, receiving her 1st through 4th dan gradings at Takeda Shihan's dojo during that time. Her aikido clearly reflects years of dedicated training with Takeda Shihan and his senior students. In addition to teaching aikido to adults and children, Lia Sensei is also involved in ongoing projects employing aikido in work addressing substance misuse and emotional/behavioral problems. Suzuki Sensei helped develop A.C.T. - Aiki Conflict Transformation © 2002 offering workshops and seminars to psychologists, counselors, and educators, among others.
Max Carocci is a project curator at The British Museum, a Lecturer in Anthropology at City Lit, and Academic Advisor and Lecturer in World Arts at Birkbeck, University of London. In his own words: "I am an anthropologist interested in exploring under-studied areas of human culture and history. By highlighting the importance of these areas in the wider social and cultural awareness of human difference and variety, I hope to engender a higher degree of consciousness about cultural diversity that ultimately can be turned into a greater degree of respect. I embrace this research philosophy in the topics and areas that I investigate. From little known histories of Native American enslavement to the socially relevant roles of in-between genders, my approach to anthropology focuses on the everchanging and mutable aspects of human culture and history in their fullest exhuberance, resilience and creativity."
Ashie S. Hirji is a technology activist, visionary and social entrepreneur. She is the CEO & founder of Heart In Action Enterprises, a new media social enterprise (a subsidiary of Asita Informatica Inc.) For the last 5 years she has been developing and spearheading a push to develop secured multimedia global communication solutions, with a particular emphasis on connecting people in Asia, Africa, and South America to foster gender equality and social and economic empowerment. Ashie has produced and organised many secured multimedia events and forums for young people, young professionals, non-profits, NGOs, and for women around the world. She is currently working with several fortune 500 technology-leading companies to launch an advanced communication platform called secured multimedia communication. She, together with several visionaries, have co-founded a new media lounge called A Gem Of An Idea. Prior to forming Heart In Action Enterprises & Asita Informatica Inc., Ashie was in the fashion industry, she founded a perfumerie called Mon Parfum in Vancouver in late 80s and has worked with high fashion French and Italian designers such as Dolce Gabbana, Versace, Bulgari, Yves Saint Laurent and several other Italian and French designers.
Julia Wasson is a freelance writer, journalist, educator, and environmentalist. She is the co-founder and publisher of Blue Planet Green Living, an environmental and humanitarian web magazine. As a freelancer, she specializes in ghost-writing for executives, writing marketing collateral and website copy, and editing all types of writing. A former elementary teacher, she holds a masters degree in instructional design. She is also a co-founder of the new media lounge called A Gem Of An Idea, developed by Ashie Hirji of Asita Foundation.
Tressa Berman is a cultural anthropologist (Ph.D. UCLA) who works in the arts. The anthropologist, Renato Rosaldo, referred to her as an 'anthropoeta', and it is from this amalgam that her work is inspired. As a writer, curator and educator, her work spans disciplines and transnational sites. Her work in Indigenous communities engages questions of heritage, ownership, authorship and possession as they converge around contested issues of property - from land rights to art rights. Her museum career includes positions at the California Academy of Sciences and Smithsonian Institution, including as a Rockefeller Fellow at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. As former Director of the International Conference on the Arts in Society, she has curated the Arts Conference in conjunction with the Edinburgh Festivals (2006), Documenta12 (2007) and the Venice Biennale (2009). Tressa is Founding Director of the non-profit organization, BorderZone Arts, and Founding Principal of the Institute for Inter-Cultural Practice, an international consultancy based in San Francisco. She is currently Adjunct Professor at the California College of the Arts; Affiliated Research Faculty of the Centre for Transforming Culture, UTS (Sydney), and Research Associate of Anthropology at the California Academy of Sciences. Her books include Circle of Goods (SUNY Press 2003), and No Deal! Indigenous Arts and the Politics of Possession (SAR Press 2011).
Cahal McLaughlin is a senior lecturer at the School of Media, Film and Journalism at the University of Ulster. A documentary film-maker with almost twenty years of broadcast and community production experience, he is also director of the Prisons Memory Archive of audio visual recordings from the political prisons in the North of Ireland.
John Barry is Reader in the School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy and Associate Director of the Institute for a Sustainable World at Queens University Belfast. He has written extensively about normative aspects of the politics and ethics of sustainability, citizenship and sustainability; the political economy of sustainability and the politics of renewable energy. While based within social science, he approaches issues around un/sustainability such as climate change from an explicitly interdisciplinary perspective. He has just completed a draft book entitled Vulnerability, Sustainability and Green Politics: The Coming Politics of Resilience, Resistance and Green Republicanism, and has just started on another book entitled Green Politics in Ireland: Political Economy, Unsustainability and Hope on a Carbon-Constrained, Climate-Changed Island. He is a founding member of Holywood Transition Town and an active member of the Green Party, having been co-chair of the NI region of the party from 2003-2009. He is also chair of the Management Council of the Holywood Steiner School
Maja Nenadovic is a doctoral candidate at the European Studies Department, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Her current research project is focusing on the development of democratic political parties and party systems in post-conflict internationally administered countries, provisionally titled "Installing Democracy in the Balkans: Assisting Political Parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo." When not busy with research and writing, she is a freelance consultant in public speaking, advocacy, campaigning, strategic planning and fundraising in the civil society sector. In the past decade, she has founded several debating societies and clubs across Europe and actively continues to coach debate.