Rick Rendon, Founder, Empower Peace

Mr. Rendon is the founder of Empower Peace and Senior Partner of The Rendon Group, a Boston-based communications firm that specializes in public affairs campaigns. Empower Peace was founded on the premise that young people, through communication and the promotion of cultural understanding, could help pave the way for peace. Mr. Rendon holds strong to the belief that our future generation has the ability to create change and that they hold the key to breaking down the cultural barriers that threaten to divide the Western, Muslim and Arab worlds. Throughout his career, Mr. Rendon has taken great pride in creating and developing innovative community-based initiatives and social campaigns. Working with community leaders and activists, Mr. Rendon helped create and organize the world’s largest school-based racial harmony campaign. For seven years “TEAM HARMONY” brought together over 15,000 middle and high school students from throughout New England to discuss the issues of hatred and prejudice and to develop programs to promote diversity and harmony in schools and communities region wide. Team Harmony’s keynote speakers have included former United States President Bill Clinton, United States Senator and former First Lady, Hillary Clinton, former United States Attorney General Janet Reno, and the Reverend Bernice King (daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.) Mr. Rendon was also the creator and co-founder of the school-based program, “UNITED WE STAND FOR AMERICA”. This program was developed post 9/11 to provide youth with an opportunity to express their emotions and feelings in the wake of the terrorist attacks. Students throughout Massachusetts were recruited to create individual messages of peace, hope, and patriotism on six-inch tiles of red, white and blue fabric. This fabric was then assembled to create a giant quilt of an American flag (nearly half the size of a football field). Over 700 schools and 50,000 students participated in this program. Mr. Rendon, working with the Islamic Society of Boston, the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General, and the Governor’s Task Force on Hate Crimes, developed the “OUTNUMBER THE HATE” campaign. This Massachusetts school-based campaign encouraged students to rally against hate, prejudice and intolerance experienced by Muslim and Arabs in the United States post-9/11. In response to the 1,700 hate crimes reported against Muslims and Arabs living in America, Massachusetts’ students responded by creating OVER 1,700 messages of respect, diversity and tolerance. In addition to over thirty years of experience as a senior communications consultant, Mr. Rendon served previously as a Public Information Officer for the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and as a member of United States President Jimmy Carter’s national political staff.

Tricia Raynard, Executive Director, Empower Peace

Tricia Raynard has served as Executive Director of Empower Peace since our inception in 2003. Ms. Raynard brings to Empower Peace over twenty years of experience in the field of strategic communications. Ms. Raynard specializes in the design and implementation of public information campaigns and has managed campaigns of all sizes focusing on numerous social issues ranging from environmental protection to public health to women’s rights. In her role of Executive Director, Ms. Raynard oversees the daily operation of Empower Peace. In this capacity she is responsible for the oversight of program design, program participant recruitment, alumnae communications, strategic communications and budgeting. Ms. Raynard is a key architect of the Empower Peace Women2Women (W2W) program. 

Kari Johnston, Outreach Coordinator, Empower Peace

Kari Johnston has been the Outreach Coordinator for Empower Peace since 2003. She has more than eighteen years experience in communications and special events. Kari has worked on public awareness campaigns and social events ranging from young women’s leadership, bullying, racial harmony and public health. As the Outreach Coordinator for Empower Peace, Kari is key in participant recruitment and alumnae relations. Kari has helped to coordinate the Women2Women program since its inception. Kari graduated from Northeastern University in Boston in 1997 .