Board of Directors

Gene DiazGENE DIAZ, PH.D.
Gene Diaz is an Associate Professor at Lesley University (www.lesley.edu) and currently serves as Interim Associate Provost of the University. She is a visual artist and ethnographer who teaches courses in curriculum theory and arts-based research methods. As a Fulbright Scholar in 2002 Dr. Diaz collaborated in research and teaching at the Universidad de Antioquia in Medellín, Colombia. In 2007 she conducted research on DESEARTE PAZ, an arts and pedagogy network of organizations working towards establishing a culture of peace in and around Medellín.

Dr. Diaz is a member of the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, the Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, and the Editorial Advisory Board of the International Journal of Education and the Arts. She is co-editor, with Martha McKenna, of Teaching for Aesthetic Experience (Peter Lang, 2004).

Dr. Diaz has two children and three grandchildren who light up her life and give her many opportunities to share her love of learning.

Why I support MCF
As an educator I know that learning through the arts opens up possibilities that can transform the lives of both children and adults. For lasting change to occur, change that creates more equitable, just and humane communities and a more peaceable society, children must be offered many examples of how to act peaceably. They need models who show them how to respect others in meaningful ways, artful ways. The mission of MCF is to provide these models and change lives for the better, to create more peaceable communities. The MCF proposes to enact the beliefs to which I have dedicated my professional career.

GOGIE MCCLEAN PADILLAGOGIE MCCLEAN PADILLA
Gogie McClean Padilla is co-owner of Lincoln 21st Associates, Inc., a dynamic fund raising and development firm founded in 1999. Over her extensive professional career she has worked for many politically active individuals and philanthropic organizations, such as the U.S Fund for UNICEF, Rudy Giuliani, Andrew Cuomo, HELP USA, and the National Eating Disorders Association.

During her participation in a three-year development project for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF she opened a new stream of income for the organization by creating and implementing the UNICEF Snowflake Gala. This event was first of its kind for UNICEF and raised millions of dollars for the organization.

Ms. Padilla is married and shares her enthusiasm for life with her two delightful children.

Why I support MCF
I support MCF because I feel it is an organization with an authentic purpose and a strong mission that focuses on the issues of violence against women and children. I welcome the opportunity to work with the organization in helping them achieve a purpose that will benefit generations to come. I offer my experience that has served children in the past to carry this effort forward.

JefferyJEFFREY H. SCHNEIDER
Jeffrey H. Schneider is a partner in the New York City law firm, Greenfield Stein & Senior, LLP. He is a transactional attorney, focusing on the negotiation and structuring of corporate, real estate and business transactions. His efforts to bring people together to successfully move them towards resolution reflect his enduring interest in helping others grow and develop in their personal and professional lives.

Mr. Schneider received his JD with Honors in 1969 from George Washington University. He did his undergraduate studies at New York University and received a BA in 1966 in French Literature with History and Political Science minors.

Mr. Schneider was born in the Bronx, New York and currently resides with his partner in Manhattan. He has two married children and two grandchildren that bring him great joy and make him laugh.

Why I support MCF
“Over the past number of years in exploring my own personal growth and development I have become very aware that one thing that really matters to me is that people – all people – are honored and respected and so an organization committed to ending abuse of women and/or children has my interest”.

HERNANDO A. VILLAMIZAR, MDHERNANDO A. VILLAMIZAR, MD
Hernando A. Villamizar is a pediatrician and neonatologist who currently serves as the President (2009-12) of the Latin American Association of Pediatrics (Asociación Latinomericana de Pediatria-ALAPE). ALAPE is made up of 23 members in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Spain, Italy and Portugal.

As a physician and teacher, Dr. Villamizar has published widely and presented at international conferences both in the public and private sectors, on the health of children in Colombia and Latin American and the Caribbean. He is an active member of an international initiative in Latin America that supports the recognition in health care of the Rights of Children and Adolescents (AEIPI) where he is a technical advisor as member of GATA (Grupo Asesor Técnico AEIPI). As an advisor to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), part of the World Health Organization (WHO), he advocates through the Neonatal Alliance for newborn health in Latin America and the Caribbean within the continuum of Reproductive, Maternal, and Child Health.

A native of Colombia, Dr. Villamizar is a member of the Colombian Society of Pediatrics (www.scp.com), the Colombian Society of Neonatology (www.scon.org.co), an the Colombian National Academy of Medicine (www.anmdecolombia.com). Dr. Villamizar founded PALS-COLOMBIA (Pediatric Advance Life Support-Colombia) and is a leader in pediatric emergency medicine, STABLE program Instructor and newborn resuscitation teacher.

Why I support MCF
This foundation offers me the opportunity, as a pediatrician and neonatologist, to work in the area of integrated health for women and mothers, including the prevention of abuse and family violence. The MCF is dedicated to reducing the problems that relate to newborn deaths and promotes the welfare of surviving children.