Dr. Vilma “Nina” Balmaceda is a scholar-practitioner whose work focuses on civic leadership development and education for peace and reconciliation. She is the Irene and William McCutchen Associate Professor of the Practice of Reconciliation at Duke Divinity School, where she also directs the Certificate in Conflict Transformation and Reconciliation program (CTRP); the Americas Initiative for Transformation and Reconciliation (AITR); and the Certificate in Faith-based Organizing, Advocacy, and Social Transformation (FBOAST).

Nina is the president and CEO of Peace and Hope International (PHI), a faith-rooted peace-building organization dedicated to preventing violence and cultivating just peace through local teams serving in marginal communities in Latin America.

Les Gilbert was born in Cleveland, Ohio and raised in the suburbs of Dayton, Ohio. He holds a bachelor's degree in organizational management. For over 30 years, while based in New York City and Fairfield County, Conn., he provided creative and technical leadership in a wide range of communications and marketing services for leading institutions around the world.

Valerie Helbert is a program coordinator for the Center for Reconciliation at Duke Divinity School. She earned an M.A. in conflict transformation in 2008 from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va. Before moving to Durham, Valerie worked on the staff of the Summer Peacebuilding Institute at CJP for eight years. An active lay leader in her local congregation, Peace Covenant Church of the Brethren, she currently also serves as a board member for DurhamCares and believes in living into the scriptural call to “love our neighbors.”

Claudia is originally from Mexico and has worked for more than 20 years in the U.S. with immigrant families, supporting them in their emotional and spiritual wellbeing as a family support specialist and parental coach. She is a member of a United Methodist Church in Apex, N.C. Claudia feels a strong call for the work of justice and believes in the impact of nurturing relationships as a way to become a better human being while we learn from each other. She is a community-oriented person and is a lifetime learner.