Trixie Cordova,
> Peace Boat US Volunteer Staff and World Up Education Director
Trixie began volunteering with Peace Boat US in October 2013. At the same time, she served as Education Director for World Up, a non-profit organization based in Brooklyn that uses music (specifically hip hop) and technology education to explore local and global issues affecting youth today. Trixie graduated in 2011 from Teachers College at Columbia University with a Master’s in International Educational Development, concentrating on Peace Education. Prior to living and working in NYC, Trixie taught English in rural Japan for two years, where she first learned about Peace Boat while in the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program.
As a Peace Boat US volunteer, Trixie has been working towards creating opportunities for NYC youth to participate in the Music and Art Peace Academy (MAPA) Program on board the ship. This summer, she will work closely with Unique Waters of World Up’s after-school music program “WU School” at the Brooklyn Community Arts and Media HS. Together they will lead music and leadership-based activities to promote cross-cultural understanding and to collaborate on a musical soundtrack to MAPA this summer.
Sarah Halford,
> Theatre Activist and Peace Boat US Intern
Sarah has been a Senior Development Intern with Peace Boat US since September 2013.In that time she has helped to incorporate theatre into the MAPA program, has attended briefings at UN Headquarters and its Permanent Missions, and has worked to acquire visibility for the US division of Peace Boat. She is also an active member of the United Nations Youth Representatives, and in December of 2013 she spoke on a panel regarding communications and storytelling.
As an actor, Sarah has performed professionally with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (London), Big Noise and Ouroboros Theatre Companies (Chicago, IL), and with the Springfield Municipal Opera (Springfield, IL). She moved to New York City in 2009 to attend a conservatory program and received her Bachelor of Arts from the New School University in May of 2014. She is now a Master of Arts candidate at New York University’s esteemed Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where she will be self-designing a concentration in Political Theatre. As a writer, actor, and activist, she has combined her love of art and politics in order to create socially relevant work. Her focus is on expression through political spectacle and believes that it is important to use this type of visibility for social change. Sarah will be holding workshops with students on board the Peace Boat to introduce theatre activities as a form of political expression. She will also host a discussion on using theatre for human rights activism.
Stephanie Smith,
> Peace Boat US Intern and Photo Journalist
Stephanie is a Peace Boat US Intern for the summer of 2014 and a rising fourth year International Studies major at the University of Chicago. She is the Community Manager for the UChicago French Club, promoting cultural and linguistic exchange between students and Chicago residents. Last school year, she studied abroad at Sciences Po in Paris, France, taking classes on Peace, Politics, and International Security. While in Paris, she became involved with the French women’s rights movement, Ni Putes Ni Soumises in order to promote gender equality in Paris and around the world and is now working on creating a branch in Chicago. After graduation, she plans on joining the Peace Corps as either a community development or English teacher volunteer. She would like to work for a more peaceful world through cultural understanding and by securing human rights for all.
Stephanie was drawn to interning at the Peace Boat US and joining the summer voyage due to Peace Boat’s involvement in the local community and abroad, promoting cultural understanding and working for sustainable development. At the Peace Boat US, Stephanie attends and reports on conferences at the UN, fundraises for students to participate on the summer voyage, and collects instruments for children in El Salvador, among other responsibilities. While aboard the Peace Boat, Stephanie will be our photojournalist, documenting the voyage, as well as blogging about it.
Remi Takahashi,
> Peace Boat US Intern and bilingual Translator for the MAPA program
Remi is currently assisting in translation between Japanese and English while interning at Peace Boat US for the summer, and attending conferences at the UN to learn more about issues related to global peace. As a senior at Sophia University in Tokyo, she is majoring in English and International Relations with a personal focus in cross-cultural communication. In 2011, she joined a volunteer program in rural Turkey and helped organize an international festival promoting cultural understanding. In 2012, she visited six different local high schools in Poland as part of an internship to present Japanese culture and develop a good recognition of Japan. For the duration of her junior year of college, she studied abroad at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. From her experiences abroad, she has come to value personal interactions with local people of different cultures in creating a more culturally understanding world. Remi also has a love for dancing, especially modern ballet. She has been practicing since she was three years old and came in first place in Japan’s national competition as a high school student.
As a volunteer staff, Remi will take the role of a bilingual translator and reporter on the boat.