MISSION

The Whatcom Peace & Justice Center promotes lasting peace, social justice, and a culture of nonviolence at home and worldwide. We accomplish this through partnerships, education, and direct action.

VISION

The Whatcom Peace & Justice Center works to create a voice for peace and social justice in Whatcom County through partnerships with local community and religious organizations, direct action, public witness, and education on alternatives to violence and war. We call on our government and society to disavow policies of violence and seek a culture of peace.

HISTORY

The idea for the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center (WPJC) came about in early 2002 among participants of the Bellingham Peace Vigil, the nation’s longest-running weekly peace vigil (1967-present). WPJC began under the sponsorship of the Bellingham Quakers and received its own non-profit status in February 2005.

The center was formed not only to address U.S. aggression against the people of Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq, but to establish an organization fostering nonviolence as a way of life and as a tool of domestic and foreign policy.

STAFF & BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Our Executive Director collaborates closely with our working Board of Directors.

ALINE PRATA

Executive Director

Aline is the director of the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center. For 13+ years, she has organized on a variety of intersectional issues, both locally and globally: from immigrant rights to police demilitarization and taking money out of politics. Born and raised in Brazil, Aline was involved with student's movement since high school. In College, she co-founded a local chapter of the World March of Women in Sorocaba, SP. After moving to the U.S. in 2015 for grad school, Aline has worked as a writing mentor at Northwest Indian College and became one of the first members of the Environmental Studies Equity and Diversity Committee at WWU. Aline’s work is grounded in popular education, transnational solidarity and she is devoted to connecting peace activism in Whatcom County to a perspective from the global South. When she's not at the PJC's office, you can find her cooking delicious food, watercoloring or dancing salsa with Rumba Northwest.

MATTEO TAMBURINI

President
​Board of Directors

I grew up in Pistoia, Italy. My father and all his family were Italian. My mother’s family was primarily composed of Irish immigrants to the United States. Lucky to have dual citizenship, I moved to the United States in 1999 to go to college. Since 2009, I have been teaching (and learning) mathematics at Northwest Indian College, a college chartered by the Lummi Tribe. I have served on the board of the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center since 2010. My primary cultural commitment is my dedication to study the Afro-Brasilian artform Capoeira Angola, under the guidance of my teacher, Mestre Silvio Aleixo dos Reis, of the International Capoeira Foundation, who I have been learning from since 2008.

KAT DAVID

Member
​Board of Directors

Kat David was born and raised on the Kitsap Peninsula and moved to Bellingham in 2012 to attend Western Washington University. With a Masters of Science from WWU in Mental Health Counseling, Kat has been practicing counseling for over 6 years. She is passionate about supporting healing in oppressed communities, understanding ancestral and racialized trauma, and studying different systems of healing. She also loves spending time with her cat, creating, singing karaoke and reading graphic novels.

JOSH CERRETTI

Secretary
​Board of Directors

​​YOAV LITVIN

Member
​Board of Directors

RENA PRIEST

Member
​Board of Directors

Josh Cerretti is an organizer and educator who has lived on Coast Salish territory since 2014. He is a co-founder of the prison abolition organization Imagine No Kages and works as an Assistant Professor of History and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Western Washington University. Prior to moving to the Pacific Northwest, Josh earned his PhD in Global Gender Studies in Buffalo, NY where he also worked in LGBTQ health. His writing has appeared in Radical History Review, Gender and History, WIN: The War Resisters League Journal, The Feminist Wire, and Peace and Conflict Monitor.

Yoav Litvin is a doctor of psychology, a photographer and writer. In his work, he investigates the intersections of science, the arts and politics and aims to promote creative and radical causes with a focus on the natural environment, urban culture, social movements and peoples.

Rena Priest is a poet and an enrolled member of the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation. She has been appointed to serve as Washington State’s Poet Laureate for the term of April 2021–2023. She is the recipient of a Vadon Foundation Fellowship, and an Allied Arts Foundation Professional Poets Award. Her debut collection, Patriarchy Blues was published by MoonPath Press and received an American Book Award. Her second collection, Sublime Subliminal is available from Floating Bridge Press. She holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. Learn more and link to publications at renapriest.com. Upcoming events can be found here: https://wapoetlaureate.org/events/

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KEY VOLUNTEERS

Volunteers power the work of the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center.

MARTINA BOYD

Volunteer

As a German immigrant, I learned early of the injustices perpetrated by the Hitler regime. I knew my passion would be to help, never harm, and make a difference. I have spent 45 years caring for all peoples as a registered nurse. In my retirement, I continue to serve by volunteering, which encompasses not only the WPJC but Lydia Place, the Friday peace vigil and NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Health). I enjoy spending time with my wonderful, loving family, hiking the trails around Bellingham and good friends.

MARIA "YEYE" UGAS

Volunteer

Maria "Yeye" Ugas is a mother and student completing a degree in Law, Diversity & Justice at Fairhaven College. Her interests include environmental justice, labor law, food equity, the decolonization of education, and supporting family systems - with special emphasis on the children within those systems. Nothing makes Maria happier than seeing children and families supported by their community while given access to the resources and opportunities they need to thrive. Maria "Yeye" Ugas es un madre y estudiante que está completando un certificado en Derechos, Diversidad y Justicia en Fairhaven College. Sus intereses incluyen la justicia ambiental, el derecho laboral, la decolonización de la educación, la equidad alimentaria, y el apoyo a los sistemas familiares, con especial énfasis en los niños dentro de esos sistemas. Nada hace a Yeye más feliz que ver a los niños apoyados por su comunidad mientras se les da acceso a los recursos y oportunidades que necesitan para prosperar.

DEVAN GUNTHER

Volunteer

Devan Gunther (they/them, she/her) is a Western student studying international relations with a focus on imperialism and nationalism. Besides volunteering at the center, they also partake in WPSR’s Youth Against Nuclear Weapons and are part of WWU’s Office of Sustainability’s Climate Leadership Program.

MARII HERLINGER

Volunteer

SOPHIE MANNING

Volunteer

Marii Herlinger was born in Denver, Colorado but grew up in the Bellingham area. She moved to Chicago for university but returned after two years to explore hands-on activist opportunities and organizing efforts at a local level. She is currently working on narrowing down her vision of what to study and what career path suits her. Marii has long been active in her community from fundraising for a local nonprofit managing nearby nature preserves to leading a peer-counseling group in high school to volunteering regularly at the Bellingham Food Bank and Opportunity Council’s CHORE program to participating in direct actions like delivering petitions and attending rallies. She has a passion for literature and art, and spends much of her time writing, reading political lit or fiction, taking pictures, baking and cooking, making music, and spending time with her family.

Sophie is a senior at Western Washington University pursuing degrees in Environmental Policy and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Growing up in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies, Sophie was surrounded by stunning natural spaces, and as she learned the natural history of the land, she has simultaneously watched it burn due to growing forest fires and overuse. These experiences in the outdoors have led to her enthusiasm for sustainability, equity, and environmental justice. Sophie is working with the center through Western's Climate Leadership Certificate Program in hopes of learning more about non-profits and organizing on a local scale.

RUKHSAR SADAT

Volunteer

Rukhsar Sadat is a senior at Western Washington University double-majoring in Political Science and Law, Diversity, & Justice (LDJ) and minoring in Sociology. Her concentration focuses on “The Intersectionality Between Immigration and Criminal Law”. Rukhsar has served as the President of the Muslim Student’s Association and as an ASWWU Student Senator. She is the first recipient of the prestigious Dr. Vernon Damani Johnson scholarship and hopes to continue her social justice work throughout her education and career. After graduating, Rukhsar hopes to take a gap year to intern for the WPJC and other local organizations, including the Whatcom County Public Defender’s office, before she heads off to law school. Born in the beautiful city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Rukhsar aspires to build schools for young girls and women back home as part of her non-profit work and sees herself serving her community and working in support of the public’s interest. Rukhsar's life-long commitment to establish peace and justice in Afghanistan is informed by the complexities of her minority Shia identity and solidarity with other marginalized identities.

JANET MARINO

Volunteer

Raised in the Pacific Northwest, Janet holds a B.A. in political science from Western Washington University and has over 18 years of experience in nonprofit management and operations. She is currently Program Director at a regional environmental nonprofit. She can be found volunteering for the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center, at the Subdued Stringband Jamboree, and for various campaigns throughout Whatcom County. In her spare time you can find her making music with friends, working in the garden, drawing, or coordinating some sort of delicious gathering.