Staff

Senior Leadership Team

Mark Hanis, President (see full bio) 

Sam Bell, Executive Director (see full bio) 

Angela Deane, Director, Development
As Director of Development, Angie leads Genocide Intervention Network's efforts to increase impact and foster growth by building a broad base of support from multiple funding sectors, including indviduals, foundations and grassroots support. She provides oversight, coordination and management of all GI-NET fundraising activities through the development and implementation of growth strategies for the organization. Since Angie came to GI-NET in the summer of 2008, she has overseen the significant diversification of the organization's funding streams.

Prior to joining GI-NET, Angie worked as the Chief Development Officer for the Center for the Homeless in South Bend, Indiana, and as Development Director for Catalyst Schools in Chicago. A graduate of Miami University with dual degrees in Public Relations and French, she has been involved with anti-genocide work for many years, fundraising for the Chicago Coalition to Save Darfur and Berwa, an Indiana-based Rwandan organization. Angie has also traveled extensively throughout Africa, India and Europe. She has been a Big Sister for the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) program for six years and is actively involved in immigrant and refugee organizations.

Janessa Goldbeck, Field Director
As Field Director, Janessa manages Genocide Intervention Network’s student-led division, STAND, an international clearinghouse for student anti-genocide activism, and the Carl Wilkens Fellowship, a program designed to build leadership within the anti-genocide movement. With fellows in 15 states and more than 1,000 active STAND chapters around the world, GI-NET's membership activities have been recognized by such notables as UN Lt. General Romeo Dallaire, and President Barack Obama. Janessa has served a pivotal role in expanding GI-NET's membership base, totaling over 50,000, and has led training seminars for numerous organizations across the country on movement-building and leveraging technology to achieve social change -- including the Echoing Green Foundation, New Organizing Institute, the Corporation for National and Community Service, and National Student Partnerships.

A graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Janessa is also a contributing blogger for Change.org. In 2009, Janessa became a Fellow at the New Leaders Council, which recognizes emerging political entrepreneurs, and a Truman National Security Project Partner.

Melany Grout, Director, Conflict Risk Network (CRN)
Melany is Director of CRN, a network of institutional investors, financial service providers and related stakeholders whose combined efforts to mitigate conflict risk and increase responsible foreign investment aim to protect civilians as well as investment returns. Melany manages relations and services to CRN's subscribers and members and oversees all aspects of CRN’s work, which focuses on research; corporate social responsibility standards; and company engagement. CRN engages companies in select conflict-affected areas on behalf of its membership base, a group representing roughly $700 billion in assets and comprised of institutional investors, financial service providers and other stakeholders.

Melany joined Genocide Intervention Network from the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights, where much of her work involved developing and advancing the Center's long-term projects with its partners on the ground in Sudan, Haiti and the United States. Previously, she conducted human rights research and fieldwork in the West Bank and India. Melany received her  Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she was a Cowan Fellow and received the Monroe Leigh Fellowship in International Law and the National Association of Women Lawyers Award. Melany has a B.A. from the University of Washington.

Program Staff

Allyson Neville, Senior Advocacy Associate
As Senior Advocacy Associate, Allyson serves as the primary contact with Congressional offices and works to develop and implement GI-NET’s advocacy strategy. She also conducts policy research related to GI-NET’s primary areas of engagement including genocide prevention, Darfur/Sudan, Burma and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Allyson received her M.A. in International Politics with a focus on Africa from American University.  Her graduate research centered on the intersection of conflict and identity in central Africa, and dynamics of reconciliation after genocide.  She holds a B.A. from American University in Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics and Government.  Previously, she has worked for the Department of Commerce and at an economic research institute in South Africa.

Maureen O'Brien, Head of Engagement, Conflict Risk Network (CRN)
Maureen O’Brien is Head of Engagement for CRN, a network of institutional investors, financial service providers and related stakeholders whose combined efforts to mitigate conflict risk and increase responsible foreign investment aim to protect civilians as well as investment returns.  Maureen leads CRN’s dialogue with companies in select conflict-affected areas on behalf of CRN’s membership base, a group representing roughly $700 billion in assets and comprised of institutional investors, financial service providers and other stakeholders.

Maureen’s engagement work builds on nearly a decade of experience in conflict studies and corporate responsibility. Prior to joining Genocide Intervention Network, she served as Research Director for the Center for Political Accountability, where she conducted successful dialogues with U.S. corporations on political transparency and accountability standards and managed shareholder campaigns and the engagement work of 40 institutional partners. As Senior Research Associate for RiskMetrics, she managed the Northern Ireland Service, which monitors and evaluates companies in Northern Ireland on sectarian discrimination to help guide institutional investors on their portfolio selection. As a Research Associate for the Public International Law & Policy Group, a law firm nominated for a 2005 Nobel Peace Prize for assistance to states involved in peace negotiations and post-conflict situations, Maureen informed senior government officials on issues arising from breakaway regions, such as independence referenda and vote monitoring.  Maureen also is a founder and Managing Director of LINC Negotiation Architects, a D.C.-based consultancy providing negotiation training on issues relating to international conflict. She holds a Master’s degree in International Conflict Resolution from American University.

Ashley Kroetsch, STAND Coordinator
As STAND Coordinator, Ashley is responsible for managing the Student Leadership Team, in partnership with the STAND Student Coordinator and Student Director. Ashley's responsibilities include the day to day management, long-term training and guidance and evaluation of a team of over 25 Outreach Coordinators. Prior to joining Genocide Intervention Network, Ashley served as STAND's Southeast College Outreach Coordinator, managing close to 100 chapters across nine states. Ashley went on to join STAND's Management Committee as the College National Outreach Coordinator. She is originally from Northeastern North Carolina and has a degree in International Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ben Drexler, Information Technology Associate
As Information Technology Associate, Ben is responsible for maintaining Genocide Intervention Network's online and technology presence, including social networking capabilities and the organization's website. Ben has been a part of the anti-genocide movement since 2005 and has worked as a community organizer with the Denver Coalition to Save Darfur, Boulder Friends for Darfur, the University of Colorado at Boulder's STAND Chapter, and The New York City Coalition for Darfur in a multitude of capacities. He has worked as a web developer for more than a decade and has a degree in American History from the University of Colorado.

Jessica Reveri, Membership Coordinator
Manager of the Carl Wilkens Fellowship Program, Jessica has a professional background as a communications liaison, project designer, and program manager. Jessica spent a combined six months living and working in Ghana in 2003 and 2008, a year working with AmeriCorps VISTA in southeast Alaska in 2005, and a year and a half teaching primary and kindergarten-aged children at the Metropolitan Montessori School in New York City. She holds a Masters of Science in African Studies from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University.

Josh Kennedy, Research Associate
Josh's duties as Research Associate include research and publication of quarterly Conflict Risk Network (CRN) reports, the annual selection process determining Genocide Intervention Network's Areas of Concern and the publication of the Genocide Monitor. Before joining the organization, Josh worked as a public diplomacy assistant for the U.S. Consulate General in Frankfurt, Germany, conducted research among refugee populations in Syracuse, NY and as a social studies teacher. Josh earned his Master's in International Relations from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and also holds a degree in History Education from The College of New Jersey.

Lindsey Woolf, Operations Associate 
As Operations Associate, Lindsey's responsibilities include providing administrative support to the President and Executive Director, organizing staff travel and speaking engagements, assisting with human resources and accounting, coordinating the internship program, and fielding general inquiries from the public, donors, and members. Lindsey joined Genocide Intervention Network in 2008 as the Executive/Operations intern, and also served as the 2008 STANDFast National Coordinator, STAND's nation-wide fundraiser for GI-NET's civilian protection program. Lindsey graduated summa cum laude from The George Washington University with a Bachelor's Degree in International Affairs with concentrations in Contemporary Cultures and Societies and African Studies and a minor in Sociocultural Anthropology.