About Us

Mission

Stop Genocide Now (SGN) is a grassroots community dedicated to working to protect populations in grave danger of violence, death and displacement resulting from genocide. Through active education, advocacy and policy change SGN resolves to change the way the world responds to genocide. SGN is currently focused on creating awareness and action to stop the genocide in Darfur and deal appropriately with its aftermath. All of our projects focus on and utilize the strength and power in grassroots connectivity.

Key Objectives

  • Active Education: To educate the public about genocide through innovative, interactive events and media designed to bring them closer to crimes being committed as well as help them realize their own power to stop those crimes.
  • Advocacy: To support and guide citizens toward small, practical action that results in large, seemingly impracticable change.
  • Policy Change: Through the activities above we intend to create the public pressure necessary to generate the policy change (locally, nationally and internationally) that will lead to the protection of civilians in danger and the promotion of peace.

History

StopGenocideNow.org is a global community of dedicated individuals who share the common goal of protecting populations threatened by genocide.

StopGenocideNow.org consists mostly of volunteers. We are not a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and therefore all our supporters’ generous contributions reach us via our fiscal sponsor. There are only two paid staff. We are thankful to all our volunteers and partners that help make our work possible.

In recognition of the vast number of effective anti-genocide organizations already in existence, we wanted SGN to exist only to serve these groups and citizens by acting as their tool to connect victims to activists, activists to activists and organizations to organizations. We are proud to make our work freely* available to all.

Our pioneering campaigns aim to break the silence surrounding the crime and pave the way for a new age that lives up to the refrain, “never again.” We believe in the importance of enabling interaction between supporters and genocide victims. All our creative campaigns are uniquely interactive and educational.

We strive to show the world that there is no wall between victims and activists. We show how every person, no matter their background, can stop genocide.

* All our creative work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution. Such works may be distributed freely and used for any purpose, provided StopGenocideNow.org is attributed.

Advisory Committee

  • Chris Bessenecker is an international public health and development specialist. Over the last seventeen years his work has taken him to 13 countries around the world helping to address some of the most pressing problems faced by the global poor. He currently resides in San Diego, California. Mr. Bessenecker has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Sociology and a Masters in Public Health.
  • Milton Chen has two years work experience with VSee Lab at Stanford University, serving as Chief Technology Officer and five years with Intel serving as Research Scientist. He has deployed videoconferencing systems in countries ranging from Iceland, Iraq, Afghanistan, to Africa. Milton has a PhD in videoconferencing software and visual communication psychology.
  • James Davis is a professor of computer science at UC Santa Cruz. He has been acting as a technical advisor to VSeeLab for the past two years.
  • Michael Miller has over a decade of experience in the technology industry. In addition to being a software engineer, he is currently studying History at the University of San Diego. The intersection of technology and the humanities is of particular interest, and he is working with StopGenocideNow.org and the i-ACT Campaign to bring international attention to the genocide in Darfur.
  • Thomas Starko is Director and Principal of VISTAR LLC. VISTAR provides business advisory services with a focus on strategic change in the areas of strategy planning and implementation, succession, governance, organization development, and merger and acquisition integration. VISTAR and their associates have successfully created value for companies in the manufacturing, retail service, and technology industries in the U.S. and in Canada. In addition to his shareholdings in VISTAR LLC, Mr. Starko is a shareholder in PIXIT LLC, DHV Advisors and VISTAR Property Development. His wealth of experience, developed through years of owning and operating seven businesses, allows Tom to offer refreshing and practical advice to other growth-oriented organizations. He is a regular presenter to business forums, professional associations and conferences. Mr. Starko’s distinctive executive competencies include strategy development and implementation, business growth management, domestic and international marketing and specifically the protective apparel industry. Mr. Starko successfully completed the sale of one of his companies, Bulwark Protective Apparel Inc. to a Fortune 150 company in 1996. Bulwark was a start-up flame resistant apparel manufacturing business that, within six years, became one of North America’s largest protective apparel companies. It is still widely regarded as one of the most successful venture capital investments in Canada. Mr. Starko serves on several corporate and charitable boards, has been active in Canadian politics, founded the Canadian Coats for Kids Charity in Canada and is active in Junior Achievement, hospice, school mentorship programs, AIDS LA and Make A Wish Foundation.
  • Paula Tavrow, Ph.D., is Director of UCLA’s Bixby Program in Population and Reproductive Health and Visiting Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at UCLA’s School of Public Health. She has a longstanding interest in sub-Saharan African health issues. She has worked in about 10 African countries since 1984, mostly in East and Southern Africa. Currently, she is doing research on AIDS prevention activities among adolescents in rural West Kenya. She is extremely troubled by the situation in Darfur and feels strongly that the international community is not doing enough to protect vulnerable citizens there. In general, she is concerned that the current administration’s policies are hindering health and development in Africa.
  • David E. Veerman is an active member of StopGenocideNow.org. He is the official photographer of SGN.org in Los Angeles. His main focus is to reach out to high school students and teach youth to be upstanders to saying “Never Again” to genocide.

Active Team

  • Gabriel Stauring is Co-founder and Director of StopGenocideNow.org. He has worked as a Family Consultant, providing in-home therapy for abused children and their families. He graduated from California State University at Dominguez Hills with a major in Behavioral Science. Gabriel became involved in the Darfur Genocide cause out of a sense of personal responsibility. He believes in the power of community and compassion, combined with personal empowerment, to bring about meaningful, positive change. Gabriel lives in Redondo Beach, CA with his two children. Some of the campaigns initiated and/or led by Gabriel include the 100-Day Fast for Darfur, 100,000 postcards to legislators, Darfur Freedom Summer Vigils, Camp Darfur, and i-Act, among many other grassroots actions and presentations. He has visited the refugee camps on the Chad-Darfur border four times.
  • Katie-Jay Scott is a community organizer from Portland, OR. She has worked with NGOs in Thailand, Guatemala, Egypt, and in the USA. She graduated from Portland State University with a BA in Sociology and a focus on Community Development. KTJ learned of the genocide in Darfur in April 2005 through the American Jewish World Service and has been the Coalition Coordinator for the Portland Coalition for Genocide Awareness since November 2005. Her motto is: Activate. Educate. Empower.
  • Stacey Martino is originally from Philadelphia where her family still resides. She currently resides in Los Angeles where she teaches, writes and performs. One of her passions is teaching a workshop at the nonprofit organization, Chrysalis. She will be performing her solo show about homelessness for them in the spring of 2007. Stacey is also excited to be part of a creative team that is writing a series of children’s books that teach youngsters about compassion and empathy. Stacey’s volunteer work includes efforts to create a US Department of Peace and Nonviolence, a project that is very close to her heart and directly connected with how our country could respond to future genocides. She is the proud aunt of Jordan, Anthony, Max and Gabriel. She enjoys spending time with her wonderful boyfriend, Rene, doing yoga, working on an assortment of projects with her amazing group of women friends, traveling with her beautiful mom and reading. She also loves to play scrabble with her brother.
  • Niny Khor grew up in Indonesia and Malaysia, went to Mount Holyoke College, and currently loving the Bay area as a graduate student in economics. She’s interested in economic development, sustainable social entrepreneurships, engaged Buddhism, rethinking non-profits as non-loss organizations, ways to foster a stronger civil society/democracy, peace efforts and other kinds of uplift patterns (gentle social revolutions). After a trip to Cambodia last summer, she was horrified to find out that the world is again standing silent while another genocide is happening.
  • Joanne Leslie is a deacon at Holy Faith Episcopal Church in Inglewood, and recently retired from the faculty of the Department of Community Health Sciences at the UCLA School of Public Health. She has a doctorate in international health from Johns Hopkins and a Certificate in Theological Studies from The Church Divinity School of the Pacific. She was a Co-Founder and one of the first Directors of the Pacific Institute for Women’s Health in Los Angeles. For the past two years she has been co-chair of the Peace and Justice Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. Joanne spent almost twenty years doing public health research and education in rural parts of Africa, where she developed a deep love and admiration for the resiliency of African people, especially African women. More recently, drawing upon her considerable international and domestic public health experience and the urban diversity of Los Angeles, she has developed an active local program of faith based education, promotion and advocacy around health, nutrition and fitness.
  • Javier Stauring is Co-Director of the Office of Restorative Justice for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles . Javier began his ministry as a volunteer at Central Juvenile Hall over 14 years ago. After 5 years as a volunteer, Javier was offered the position of full-time Chaplain. Since 1996 he has overseen the largest Catholic Detention Ministry volunteer program in the nation. As Co-Director of the Office of Restorative Justice, Javier oversees four programs. These include Ministry to the Incarcerated, Ministry to Victims of Crime, Ministry to Families of the Incarcerated, and the Resettlement Program. Javier is also the Policy Director for Faith Communities for Families and Children (FCFC). FCFC is an interfaith coalition of over 70 faith-based groups in Los Angeles County . The goal of the coalition is to provide community-based support for youth and families involved in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. In 2003, Javier was one of three people worldwide, honored by Human Rights Watch for his advocacy work on behalf of incarcerated youth. Javier is committed to the radical transformation of the Juvenile Justice System. He believes in the principles of Restorative Justice which calls for reconciliation and healing of victims, offenders and communities.
  • Rachel Veerman is an active member of StopGenocideNow.org. Her main focus is to teach others that by taking action, one individual can make a difference. Rachel has over 20 years of administrative background and is enthusiastic to share her knowledge to help SGN.org be successful in all their endeavors. Currently she works at the UCLA School of Public Health as a Sr. Public Administrative Analyst.
  • Tsai Yi Chan-Beal was born in Hong Kong and later raised in Singapore. She lives with her husband, David, and their cat, Jezebel in Santa Monica, CA. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in Comparative Literature.
  • Carolyn Au grew up in Malaysia and now works in the Bay Area. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon with a degree in Computer Science.
  • Yuen-Lin Tan is the tech-guru of the group and is a Software Engineer in the Bay Area, focusing on storage systems. He also grew up in Malaysia, and graduated from Carnegie Mellon with a degree in Computer Science.
  • Consuelo Stauring (Connie to friends and family) is Gabriel’s sister and fellow activist. She is self-employed in the jewelry business, living approximately half of the year in Monterrey, Mexico. She cares deeply about the plight of the native populations in Mexico and is personally involved in supporting those communities. She has worked in Mexico and the US on creating awareness and action for Darfur.
  • Cory Preston is a student at the University of Idaho, studying Graphic and Interface Design. He hopes to put what he’s learned here to good use helping people in anyway possible. Cory learned about the genocide in Darfur when Stop Genocide Now came to his school in 2007 and has been actively involved in working towards a safe Darfur ever since.
  • Tiffany Wheeler was born and raised in Idaho. She is a senior in college at the University of Idaho, where she is studying to be a Physician Assistant and is also finishing up getting her private pilots license. Tiff made the comittment to herself after hearing Camp Darfur speak at the university that she wanted to make a difference. She is the coordinator for the new project tent to tent. She is on the Committee Board for Tents of Hope to represent Stop Genocide Now. “I am going to work everyday with this until there is a safe Darfur. One of my goals is to be present when the people get to leave the camps and go home. I want to walk from the camps to Darfur and help move families back, when it is finally possible.”