The Man Up Campaign is proud to have the guidance of innovative researchers, philanthropists, nonprofit leaders, educators, and entrepreneurs through its knowledgeable and compassionate Board of Directors and Advisors. Through their experience, research, ideas, and community, we are able to build an international movement activating adolescents and youth to end gender-based violence.
Jimmie Briggs
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR EMERITUS, FOUNDER
Over the past two decades, Jimmie Briggs has earned a reputation as a respected human rights advocate in the field of journalism, lecturer, and educator.
Through extensive travels to countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, the St. Louis, Missouri-native, and a graduate of Morehouse College has produced seminal reporting on the lives of war-affected youth and children soldiers, as well as survivors of sexual violence. A National Magazine Award finalist and recipient of honours from the Open Society Institute, National Association of Black Journalists and the Carter Center for Mental Health Journalism, his book on child soldiers and war-affected children Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go To War won him accolades in 2005, and took readers into the personal journeys of war-affected youth. Further, Briggs has served as an adjunct professor of investigative journalism at the New School for Social Research and was a George A. Miller Visiting Professor in the Department of African and African-American Studies at the University of Illinois: Champaign-Urbana. His upcoming book Blood Work narratively examines personal transformation and manhood through his own life and that of several recognizable figures from around the world.
For his work with Man Up Campaign and the issue of violence against women, Briggs was selected as the winner of the 2010 GQ Magazine “Better Men Better World” Search, as well as one of Women’s eNews’ 21 Leaders for the 21st Century in 2011.
Renee Waage
An advocate for human rights with a focus on women and children. At the Anti-Defamation League, her work centered around fighting extremism and hate, the protection of religious freedom, and the defense of civil rights. Waage has worked closely with foster care and school systems to help ensure that every child is surrounded by positive influences and afforded the opportunity to excel and be empowered to live out their full potential. She also works with international aid societies that enhance the education and care of orphans and children living in poverty in developing countries throughout Africa and South America.
Waage brings her passion for social impact, along with expertise in executive leadership, to the Man Up Campaign.
Carlo Schaaij
Carlo is Chief Technology Officer and Product Manager of the Man Up Campaign US Inc – an NGO with Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) – which brings together NGOs around the globe where do-gooders connect to discover what’s happening around the globe, exchange meaningful initiatives and contribute to building a better world.
His experience ranges from working within the areas of UIX Design at international companies such as Apple, freelance web development projects, to working as a product manager for a global NGO with Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
He has worked with over 15 countries, especially in Latin America, Central America, and Europe. Carlo works with enterprise leaders, investors, UN agencies, international NGOs, foundations, and volunteers around the globe.
Jennifer Buffet
NoVo Foundation co-president with her husband, Peter. She is responsible for the creation and oversight of the Foundation’s vision, strategy, and program development. Also, Jennifer is co-chair of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Jennifer works passionately advocating for girls and women worldwide and to end violence and exploitation against them, promoting “whole-child” education practices, and supporting balanced, sustainable communities. Jennifer currently serves on the Board of V-Day. She began her work in philanthropy in 1997 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, primarily as a funder of social service organizations, with a focus on early childhood education for at-risk children and families. Jennifer and Peter named in Barron’s list of top 25 most effective philanthropists in 2009 and 2010.
Karla Bonne
Karla is passionate about creating a better world and has dedicated her professional and personal life to mission-driven causes and helping others thrive. She believes this is possible through education and advocacy and is committed to promoting civil rights and gender equality, taking a stand against anti-Semitism, racism, hate, and extremism, and advancing anti-bias education and inclusion. Hope in the future is believing that everyone has the ability to learn and change. Karla is an expert in operational strategy and execution; a leader with extensive experience in the social impact arena across non-profit organizations, universities, and the government.
Peter Buffet
NoVo Foundation is co-president and co-chair of its Board of Directors. In partnership with his wife, Jennifer, he helps to guide NoVo’s vision, strategic mission, and program development. Peter is a well-established musician, composer, and producer. Peter & Jennifer guide NoVo Foundation is dedicating it to catalyzing a transformation in global society, moving from a culture of domination to one of equality and partnership. They support the development of capacities in people—individually and collectively—to help create a caring and balanced world. They envision a world that operates on the principles of mutual respect, collaboration, and civic participation, thereby reversing the old paradigm predicated on hierarchy, violence, and the subordination of girls and women
Abby Disney
Filmmaker and philanthropist, her longtime passion for women’s issues and peacebuilding culminated in her first film, Pray the Devil Back to Hell. She went on to co-create the acclaimed documentary series Women, War, and Peace. Abby has played a role in many film projects and is currently at work on a new documentary that highlights the key roles women played in the Arab uprisings. She is the founder of Peace is Loud; co-founder of the Daphne Foundation, which works with low-income communities in New York City; and co-founder with Leymah Gbowee of the Gbowee Peace Foundation USA.
Rana Husseini
An active journalist and activist since 1993, when she began working for The Jordan Times. Her writing catalyzed the 1998 formation of the National Jordanian Committee to Eliminate so-called Crimes of Honor. She then authored Murder in the Name of Honor: The True Story of One Woman’s Heroic Fight Against an Unbelievable Crime. She has served as a regional coordinator for the United Nation’s Development Fund for Women UNWomen and as an advisor to the U.S. government-funded human rights organization Freedom House. She has received multiple local and international awards including a medal from Jordan’s King Abdullah II in 2007, the Ida B. Wells Award for Bravery in Journalism in 2003, the Human Rights Watch Award in 2000, the Reebok Human Rights Award in 1998.
Jill Iscol
Activist, Educator, and Author, Jill Iscol, EdD, is President of the IF Hummingbird Foundation, a family foundation established in 1989. For the past two decades, Jill has supported and participated in numerous organizations enabling them to become stable, sustainable and successful, impacting lives around the globe. Jill’s current endeavor, the Hearts on Fire Visionary Program launched following the release of her nonfiction book, Hearts on Fire: Stories of Today’s Visionaries Igniting Idealism into Action Heart on Fire puts the spotlight on inspiring leaders and the work they are doing to improve the lives of others. The program’s mission – to inspire people from all walks of life to join the social change movement.
Kavita Ramsas
Ford Foundation Senior Advisor, Global Strategy president, She assumed the position in 2015 after serving for three years as Ford’s India country representative, representing the office in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Before that, she was Executive Director of the Program on Social Entrepreneurship at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. She is the former President and CEO of the Global Fund for Women. She has received many awards for her service, Woman of Substance Award, African Women’s Development Fund 2005, Juliette Gordon Low Award, Girl Scouts of the USA 2005, Leaders for the 21st Century Award, Women’s eNews 2003, and many others.
Zainab Salbi
She founded Women for Women International, a grassroots humanitarian and development organization dedicated to serving women survivors of wars by offering support, tools, and access life-changing skills to move from crisis and poverty to stability and economic self-sufficiency. Under her leadership (1993-2011), Women for Women International grew from helping 30 women upon its inception to more than 447,000 in 8 conflict areas, leading to a distribution of more than $120 million in aid and loans. Salbi is also the author of three books: the national bestseller “Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny, Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam” (with Laurie Becklund); Also “The Other Side of War: Women’s Stories of Survival and Hope”; and “If You Knew Me, You Would Care.”
Gloria Steinem
Nationally recognized as a leader and a spokeswoman for the American feminist movement. As the founding president of the Ms. Foundation for Women, a national multi-racial, the multi-issue fund that supports grassroots projects to empower women and girls, and also a founder of its Take Our Daughters to Work Day, a first national day devoted to girls that have now become an institution here and in other countries. Her writing also appears in many anthologies and textbooks, and she was an editor of Houghton Mifflin’s The Reader’s Companion to U.S. Women’s History. Ms. Steinem helped to found the Women’s Action Alliance, a pioneering national information center that specialized in nonsexist, multiracial children’s education, and the National Women’s Political Caucus, a group that continues to work to advance the numbers of pro-equality women in elected and appointed office at a national and state level. She also co-founded the Women’s Media Center.