Jan Peterson - Global Chair/Director

Jan Peterson serves as the Chair of the Coordinating Council of the Huairou Commission. Her current role comes from 30 years of working in community development. She has been a groundbreaking leader in producing innovative community structures led by grassroots women. In Brooklyn, New York, she founded numerous community-based organizations and developed a Leadership Support Process to help grassroots women to build leadership while working across ethnic and racial lines. Supporting the knowledge and contributions of grassroots women, she also ran the national Institute for Women and Community Development and the Neighborhood Women College Program. Her experience spans from local and national to global work work; in the United States she founded the National Congress of Neighborhood Women. She moved from national to global work, playing a founding role in GROOTS International and then the Huairou Commission. She has taught in the faculty of Adelphi University School of Social Work, the Pratt Institute, LaGuardia Community College and more recently at the New School Graduate Program in International Affairs. Under the Carter administration, she worked as the Associate Director in the office of public liaison in the White House, as well as the Office of Policy and Planning and Action, with Peace Corps and Vista.

Ms. Peterson was awarded the UN-Habitat Scroll of Honor in September 2009 for her work that spans four decades of commitment to improving grassroots women's lives globally. Because of her strong advocacy, Jan has ensured that the global women's movement incorporates grassroots women's groups and that it takes heed of community development priorities for sustainable human settlements. In addition to raising more than USD 4 million for work with grassroots women, Jan has supported pioneering initiatives such as the Grassroots Academies held at each World Urban Forum and the Local to Local Dialogue Process.

Program Staff

(In Alphabetical Order)

Katia Araujo - Coordinator for the Land and Housing Campaign 

Katia Araujo was born in Bahia, Brazil and has been with the Huairou Commission and GROOTS International since 2008, when she joined the organizations as coordinator for Latin America to enhance the organizing and network building of the grassroots women's groups and NGOs partners working in the context of security of tenure, livelihoods and resilience building in the urban and rural settings. Prior to coming to Huairou, Katia conducted field research, analysis and evaluation on specific women's issues related projects for various NGOs. She coordinated fundraising activities to POMPA, a youth leadership development project to train Afro-Brazilian youth for public service and social entrepreneurship led by Instituto Steve Biko, Bahia. Committed to the empowerment and self-determination of marginalized communities, Katia holds a Master's degree in International Affairs with concentration on Governance and Rights from the the New School and hold an undergraduate degree in Africana Studies from Hunter College.

Becca Asaki -AIDS Campaign Program Associate

Rebecca (Becca) Asaki received her BA in Interdiciplinary Studies with a concentration in Gender and Conflict Studies from the Global College of Long Island University. During this time she spent over three years studying and working with community-based organizations in Central America, East, South and Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and Southern Africa where she solidified belief that real social change can only be acheived through empowerment of women at the grassroots level. The strength and courage of women she has learned from and worked with around that world drives her commitment to supporting the empowerment of women and communities.  She first joined the Huairou and GROOTS team as an intern for the AIDS Campaign in 2009 and as since been hired full time as Program Associate for the AIDS Campaign.  

Suranjana Gupta - Senior Specialist and Campaign Coordinator for Community Resilience

Suranjana Gupta coordinates the Global Campaign on Community Resilience of Huairou Commission, and its member network GROOTS International from Mumbai and New York. Her responsibilities include fundraising, strategic planning, policy advocacy promoting grassroots women's leadership facilitating transfer of effective practice and alliance building. She is also involved in developing the Campaign's Community Disaster Resilience Fund and the Community Practitioners' Platform. In addition to working for GROOTS and the Huairou Commission, Suranjana taught at the New School University's Graduate Program of International Affairs from 2002-2004. From 1995-2000, Suranjana worked for Swayam Shikshan Prayog in India, on facilitating and documenting women's empowerment processes in the context of credit, livelihoods, governance and post-disaster recovery. Suranjana Gupta holds an M.Sc. in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and an M.A. in Sociology from the University of Mumbai.

Shannon Hayes - Adviser to the AIDS Campaign

Shannon Hayes moved to New York City from Southern California in 2003 to pursue a Master of Arts in International Affairs at the New School. In the summer of 2004, she traveled to Kenya for 2 months to participate in a Community AIDS Watch, documenting the work of GROOTS Kenya. The experience sparked her dedication to supporting grassroots-driven development, with a particular interest in processes through which grassroots women are leading the creation of healthy and democratic communities. Since she returned from that trip, she has been working at the Huairou Commission - first as an intern, as AIDS Campaign Coordinator and now as an advisor to the AIDS Campaign supporting various organizing processes in Africa including the Home-Based Care Alliance. Shannon's work and life are motivated by a deep belief that all beings are equal, and a commitment to creating the life circumstances and contexts through which we can all fully realize our best selves.  Shannon is also a trained doula and is currently attending nursing school. 

Kim-Jenna Jurriaans - Communications Coordinator

Kim-Jenna joined Huairou as Senior Media Intern for the MDG 3 Initiative, where she focused on documenting the work of women's groups across five continents, both in writing and through video. She meanwhile pursued her M.A. in International Affairs at The New School, with a concentration on development and poverty issues and a regional focus on Latin America. Having finished her degree, she has since moved on to become the Communications Coordinator for the Huairou Commission. She holds a B.A. in Journalism and Public Policy from Antioch College, and has vague recollections of studying International Law in the Netherlands for a few years. A passion for writing and the liberal arts drove her to change her career path and move to the U.S. -- a step she still considers the best choice of her life. 

 Julia Miller - Senior Program Associate for the Community Resilience Campaign

 Julia Miller has worked at GROOTS and the Huairou Commission since 2008. Working on the  Community Resilience Campaign as the Senior Program Associate she focuses on empowering  grassroots women to build resilient communities through organizing, peer learning, advocacy, policy  and programming. Julia hold an M.S.c in Comparative Politics (Democracy) from the London School  of Economics and a BAH in Political Studies from Queen's University in Canada. Prior to her masters  degree Julia worked in Ecuador volunteering with Canada World Youth, and was awarded a CIDA  internship to work in the Philippines with the Canadian Urban Institute where she worked with a diverse set of actors to facilitate community participation in areas of urban policy and sustainable development.

 Carolina Pinheiro - Senior Program Associate for the Governance Campaign and the  MDG3 Initiative

Carolina Pinheiro was born in Brasília, Brazil, where she graduated with a degree in Law in 2006. In  Brazil, she studied and worked for promoting human rights of marginalized communities and  indigenous populations in the Brazilian Amazon. From her engagement in both academic and  activist projects she has learned the importance of understanding theory in practice when  advocating for people`s rights. At the Huairou Commission she works for promoting women`s  empowerment and gender equality through the Governance Campaign and the MDG 3 Initiative. She is an MA Candidate in International Affairs at the New School University and speaks Portuguese, English and Spanish.

 Birte Scholz - Law and Policy Advisor

 As Law and Policy advisor, Ms. Scholz is responsible for shaping organizational policies of the  Huairou Commission and providing legal advice to the organization. She further plays a key role in  defining the Huairou Commission's global advocacy-agenda and partnership strategy, while also  serving as liaison to various institutional partners. Previously, she was the Women and Housing  Rights Program Coordinator at COHRE, the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, a Geneva-  based human rights NGO. She acted as the COHRE Ghana Program manager and focal point for the  Women's Land Link Africa (WLLA) Initiative, a collaborative project on strengthening  grassroots women's work on land in Africa. Birte is a licensed human rights lawyer, and has worked  in private litigation as well as public service. Birte received her J.D. with a public-interest-law  emphasis from the University of San Francisco School of Law and received degrees in Psychology and Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles.

 Sarah Silliman - Program Director and Coordinator  Governance Campaign/MDG3 Initiative

 Sarah Silliman is the Director of Programs for the Huairou Commission, overseeing the program  development and management of the four Huairou Campaigns. Over the past five years, Sarah  has developed and coordinated the Governance Campaign and from 2008, the MDG3 Accountability  Initiative, demonstrating how women are advancing the MDGs through participation in public  decision-making and securing assets. Sarah holds an MA in International Affairs from the New  School University and a BA in economics from Antioch College in Ohio. Prior to her masters studies, Sarah lived and worked for two years in Brazil where she gained fluency in Portuguese and solidified her growing interest in global poverty and governance issues. In 2005, she traveled to Kenya and Uganda on a research grant from SEEDS to document and analyze organizing steps to enable rural women beekeepers to scale-up their work, access national and international markets, and establish secure livelihoods.

Administrative Staff

(in Alphabetical Order)

Kyle Dowley - Network Administrator

Kyle Dowley is the Network Administrator and Technical Support Specialist for the Huairou Commission providing systems management and technical support for the Secretariat staff. Through his work improving the technical capabilities and user experience for the Huairou Commission he has combined is personal interest in Information Technology and his experience in international affairs. He spent three years living and working in China where he gained fluency in Mandarin. He also works as a Technical Consultant for the internet start-up Totsy.com.  

Juanita Orengo - Office and Administrative Manager

Juantia Orengo has been a community activist in Brooklyn for 28 years. She is a member of the National Congress of Neighborhood Women (NCNW), the Neighborhood Women of Williamsburg and Greenpoint (NWWG), GROOTS International, and the Huairou Commission. As a community organizer, she has worked to better the school systems in her community through collective action including the Eastern District High School Boycott and serving as Principal and Executive Director of the YouCan Community School for 10 years. She has received many awards from city council members and other government officials for her dedication to improving the public school system in New York City. Juanita graduated from the National Congress of Neighborhood Women College Program through Long Island University and received an AA in Social Work, BA in Education, and MA in Public Administration. She also has a degree in Fashion Design from Manhattan 7th Ave and was trained as a hair stylist in Puerto Rico- two passions she continues today. She is currently the Office and Administrative Manager where her work is informed by her passion to encourage and support young women to be leaders in their communities.

Sabrina Salahuddin - Administrative Assistant

Sabrina Salahuddin is currently pursuing her MA in Public Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. While completing her BA in International Criminal Justice, also at John Jay, her interest in women's rights and gender equality led to an internship with the Huairou Commission. She was hired as the Administrative Assistant and the opportunity opened a new world for her where she can learn the various angles of women's empowerment. Sabrina emigrated from Bangladesh in 2001 and is fluent in Bengali and English.

Li Zhong - Financial Officer

Li Zhong received her MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona and her BA in Accounting from the Capital University of Business and Economics. Her international finance experience working as an Accounting Department Supervisor in Beijing and her growing interest in women's empowerment and leadership informs her work managing the Huairou Commission finances. She is also fluent in Mandarin and English.

Interns/Volunteers