2024 Board of Directors
Darian Wyatt is the current chair of the Richmond Peace Education Center's Board of Directors. She joined the organization in 2015 as a Richmond Youth Peace Project participant before becoming a youth facilitator, adult facilitator, and then board member in 2018.
Darian Wyatt, Board Chair
Raidah Hudson was born in Dhahran, the oldest of four girls. She finished junior high school in the DH class of 1977. After
Aramco, her parents retired to Amman, Jordan and on her frequent visits, she has enjoyed being able to
connect with many Arab Brats there. She lives in Richmond, Virginia, where she has been a dentist managing a
solo practice for her entire career. She enjoys the fast pace of dentistry, helping people improve their health
and interacting across all demographics. She has two sons; both will be in college in the of fall 2023.
Raidah Hudson
Thad Williamson is Associate Professor of Leadership Studies and Philosophy, Politics, Economics & Law
at the University of Richmond, where he has taught since 2005. He has over three decades of experience
in peace and social justice movements, from protesting the first Iraq War as a college student to
supporting the voice and activism of college students today. His professional experience includes
working at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington for four years, serving on the editorial collective
of Dollars & Sense Magazine: Real World Economics in Boston for seven years, and serving as the
inaugural Director of the City of Richmond's Office of Community Wealth Building from 2014 to 2016. His
academic research, including seven published books, focuses on theories of social justice as applied to
economic structures and to urban politics and governance. A long-time supporter of the Peace Center,
he joined the board in 2022.
Thad Williamson
Jennifer Garvin-Sanchez has lived in Richmond, VA since 1986, and since that time has volunteered and
been on and off the board. She has served on the Program and communications committee and is a past
board chair. After moving to Richmond she worked at Freedom House, and served as their social justice
coordinator, then moved to CARITAS and served there for 5 years as Executive Director. She returned to
school and received a Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, and since then has been
teaching world religions and ethics at VCU. She enjoys traveling, hiking, kayaking, reading, and movies
and loves to spend time with her husband traveling and their two dogs, Maria and Donatello.
Jennifer Garvin-Sanchez
Grant Rissler is primarily a parent to two young children, a role that demands frequent (if imperfectly provided) conflict resolution/parenting skills. He is also an affiliate faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University's L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs where he completed his Ph.D. in 2017. His research explores public administration and policy in state and local governments, including responsiveness to immigrants and English Language Learners in their integration journey. In 2022 he coauthored with Dr. Salta Liebert the report "Barriers to Integration of Virginia's Immigrants: Challenges and Opportunities Identified through a Needs Assessment" on behalf of the Virginia Office of New Americans.
Rissler received an M.A. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, a graduate certificate in Conflict Transformation from Eastern Mennonite University and a B.A. in History from Goshen (Ind.) College. Additionally, Rissler completed the Minority Political Leadership Institute at VCU in 2018.
In the community, Rissler has served as board chair for Ten Thousand Villages – Richmond, a fair trade retailer; board member of the Richmond Peace Education Center; advisory council member for Hope in the Cities/Initiatives of Change and the outreach commission of First Mennonite Church. Prior to his doctoral work, Rissler also served for a decade with several non-profit organizations including Mennonite Central Committee, a relief, development and peacebuilding organization, and the Faith and Politics Institute in Washington DC, which inspires political leaders to reflect and engage with one another for the common good.
Grant Rissler
Nichole moved back to the Richmond area in early 2024 after teaching English and Conflict Resolution Skills at EARTH University (Costa Rica) for over 8 years. Before that, she served as a faculty member at VCU as an English Language Instructor and Assessment Coordinator for 15 years. She has undergraduate degrees in Elementary Education and Spanish from the University of Richmond and a Master's of Arts in Teaching Languages, with a TESOL emphasis, from the University of Southern Mississippi. She received a PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies at University for Peace (Costa Rica) with her research on the intersections of language and peace education. Her research explores the role empathy plays in intercultural communication and incorporating peacebuilding strategies in the language classrooms. She enjoys traveling, hiking, and reading. She is excited to be back in the Richmond area and is looking forward to exploring the city with her family.
Nichole McVeigh