Ms. Christine Vertucci graduated from the University of San Francisco in the US with a BA in Sociology and a JD in Law. She practiced law at a Legal Aid Society before leaving for Hong Kong in 1978 where she served as the Co-Director of the Asia Monitor Resource Center. Her commitment to the Philippines brought her to Davao City in 1984 where she worked as an international volunteer with non-governmental organizations. She co-founded the Philippine International Forum and served with Mennonite Central Committee as its country representative. She served with the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor as its donor liaison and with Timorese organizations in a capacity-building role. She returned to Davao City in 2009 to lead the institutionalization of the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute which she co-founded with Filipino colleagues in 2000 and where she is currently the Director. Christine is a seasoned, detail-oriented and highly committed mentor, manager, and administrator offering over 40 years of experience in international development work in areas of peacebuilding, human rights advocacy, popular education and community development in various countries of Asia.

Queenilyn M. Liwat is a peacebuilding and education advocate and practitioner. She is a licensed professional teacher and has worked in private and public institutions from 2010-2014. She was actively engaged in college with the Kalinaw Youth Movement (KYM) at Central Mindanao University. She has spearheaded grassroots peacebuilding and educational programs and training, writen training manuals and modules for peace education, and facilitated community coordination and organizing, alongside the mobilization of resources, and partnership development with various organizations in Mindanao. Queenie served as a Regional Projects Coordinator of Just Projects Philippines Foundation (JPPF) from 2015 to 2019 and served as a Project Officer and then Program Officer in Community-based Peacebuilding with Pailig Development Foundation, Inc. from 2019 to 2021. She is an alumna of MPI, participated in the Grassroots Peacebuilding Mentors Training Program from 2020 to 2021, and served as a volunteer at MPI’s 2022 Annual Peacebuilding Training. Queenie’s present position is Peacebuilding Training Program Officer.

Marlies Roth graduated from the University of Cologne in Germany with a Master of Arts in Social and Cultural Anthropology. She worked with Philippinenbuero, a documentation and information center on Philippine issues based in Cologne, Germany. In 1996, she went as seconded personnel of Service Overseas (now part of Bread for the World) with her family on a three-year contract to Iligan, Mindanao, where she worked with the Ranaw Community Development Network (RCDN) as an adviser for gender mainstreaming. After her return to Germany, she worked for 18 years as program manager in the Africa Department with Service Overseas and was responsible for seconding professionals and where she built up three Civil Peace Service programs. In 2018 she returned to Mindanao as seconded professional of Bread for the World/Service Overseas  with MPI where she is in charge of the alumni outreach  in addition to being the Research, Documentation, and Learning Coordinator. She is married and the mother of two children. 

Anna Loren Gingco holds a BA degree in Anthropology from the University of the Philippines in Mindanao. Interested to pursue a career that will make use of her interest in media and human studies, she moved to Manila after finishing her degree and worked in advertising and media agencies in different capacities. She returned to her hometown in Davao City in 2019 to pursue creative writing and social science research. Anna currently serves as the Research, Documentation, and Learning Assistant for MPI.

Raised and born in the province of Davao de Oro and having her own family, Gina Lyn Adlaon moved to Davao City. She is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Southeastern Philippines. Gina moved to Manila after college and worked as a real estate staff and taught career experience. In 2006, she moved back to Davao and began to work in administration related to development, first working with JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency – project based) for almost 14 years. She served and worked with ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) now BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao). Now, her advocacy is with peacebuilding. Gina joined MPI September of 2019.

A development worker for more than 20 years in the field of finance and administration, Nancy Catulong obtained her degree in Bachelor of Science major in Accounting from the Notre Dame of Marbel University in Koronadal City, South Cotabato. She worked with the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines-Mindanao (TFDP-M), Mindanao Coalition of Development NGO Networks (MINCODE), and Coconut Industry Cluster Link (Cocolink). She also worked with other NGOs on a part-time basis. Working with non-government organizations in her field of expertise is her humble contribution to the welfare of underprivileged members of society.

Elaine M. Bacayo is an undergraduate from the St. John Paul II College of Davao with a BS in Education major in English. She volunteered for MPI Annual Training in 2015 as Logistics Assistant and 2019 as Annual Training Assistant. MPI than hired Elaine as cashier/bookkeeper. She is happy working at MPI where she is learning and understanding more about peacebuilding. Elaine is married and a mother of two children.

After graduating with a BS in Biology, Fred Goddard arrived in the Philippines in 1980 as a Peace Corps Volunteer assigned to work in fisheries education in Northern Samar. This was a transformative experience after which he pursued a Master’s in International Agriculture and Rural Development from Cornell University. Fred returned to the Philippines in 1986 and began a new career focused on human rights and social justice. He and his wife worked in the US and in Nicaragua before returning to the Philippines in 2012. Fred joined the MPI Team in 2014 where he also now serves as the Data Protection Officer.