Vicente Garcia – vicente-at-911unitywalk.org

Executive Director

Vicente Garcia is currently the Executive Director of the Unity Walk, a nonprofit, interfaith organization based in Washington, D.C.  He was previously the Global Peace & Security Program Director at Americans for Informed Democracy, an international youth advocacy organization, where he organized summits and provided trainings throughout the United States and several European, Middle Eastern, and African regions to influence U.S. foreign policy.  From grassroots campaigns and townhall events to organized advocacy and lobbying Vicente has addressed issues of democracy development, nuclear nonproliferation, interfaith dialogue, civil society development, and peacekeeping.  Prior to AIDemocracy, he worked at the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office in Brussels, Belgium, which served as a platform of peacebuilding organizations to the European Union and has U.S. policy experience interning for Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz and the National Council of La Raza in Washington, D.C.   Vicente received his BA degree in Government and Philosophy from Georgetown University and MA degree in International Conflict Analysis, with a concentration on US and European foreign and security policy in the Middle East and North Africa from the Brussels School of International Studies-University of Kent (BSIS).

 
Aparna Kothary

Partnership Coordinator

Aparna Kothary graduated from the University of Maryland in 2007 with a BS in International Business and a minor in International Development and Conflict Management. She served as an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) at South Asian Americans Leading Together, a national civil and immigrant rights non-profit organization. Aparna is an alumnus of the Semester at Sea study abroad program and is currently the chair of the Semester at Sea Young Alumni Council. Aparna is also currently a core volunteer for the Karma Kitchen project in Washington DC and the host of a community radio show called "NaanSense Radio".

 
Kevin O’Briant

Database Manager

Kevin O’Briant is the Database Manger of the 9/11 Unity Walk.  With a private sector background in market research, statistical programming, and database analysis, Kevin has experience working in the international development field managing and coordinating aid for women survivors of war in places such as Nigeria, Sudan, and Afghanistan and has done data analysis and research for reports on the status of women in war in Kosovo and Iraq.  More recently, he has worked as an archaeologist in southwestern Colorado where he focused on leveraging new technology to collect data more efficiently, cheaply and accurately in the field. While living and working as a volunteer after the tsunami in Tamil Nadu, India, Kevin developed a deep appreciation of religious tolerance and mutual respect in the midst of great diversity.
 

Aiyah Saihati

Special Events Coordinator

Aiyah Saihati is a Saudi Arabian businesswoman and intellectual.  She has created and directed a multinational business with bases in three continents.  An analyst of religion, high forms of culture and diplomacy, Aiyah has also researched and worked extensively on areas pertaining to pluralism and Islam, including Islamic jurisprudence, women’s issues, and furthering pluralistic values in society.  As a global citizen, Aiyah has felt compelled to mobilize her various resources and knowledge of culture towards the aim of promoting cross-cultural and intercultural understanding playing a pivotal role in broadening perceptions and changing misconceptions.  Aiyah is actively engaged in civil debates and dialogues.  She was educated in Saudi Arabia, the U.S., Switzerland and France. She trained as an engineer and later received her business education at INSEAD.
 

Holly Shulman

Media Relations Associate

Holly Shulman has a wide range of communications experience – with campaigns, news organizations and non-profits. During the 2008 election cycle, Holly served as press secretary for Rick Noriega's U.S. Senate race in Houston, and before that worked to pass fair trade legislation at Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch division. She now works with a variety of faith groups and non-profit organizations.

 
Eda Ruhiye Uca-Dorn

Outreach Coordinator

Formerly a member of Jonah House in Baltimore and Dorothy Day House in Washington, D.C., Eda brings three years of social justice education, outreach, and organizing experience to the 2009 9/11 Unity Walk.  As a Turkish-American and woman of color, Eda is passionate about bringing diverse voices into the forefront in the work for peace and justice.  She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband Mike.

 
Shereen Zaid

Event Planner

Shereen Zaid was raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma and graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelors degree in Religious Studies.  During the summers, she pursued many internships in the Interfaith Movement in Chicago and Washington, D.C. After graduating in 2007, she went to India to join a conflict resolution non-profit, where she gained the skills necessary to eliminate religious conflict in an effective way.  After living abroad, she joined a U.S. Senatorial Campaign in Oklahoma during the 2008 election cycle.  When the campaign was over, she decided to move to Washington, D.C. to hone her community organizing skills.