Naita Saechao Chialvo brings an emergent approach to the art of teaching and facilitation, honoring the beginner’s mind with each learning opportunity, community, and course. Equipped with a Master’s in Peace Education from the United Nations established University for Peace (UPEACE) in Costa Rica, Next Economy MBA Certificate, Diploma in Social Innovation from the University for Peace Centre for Executive Education in Costa Rica, professional Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship from INSEAD’s Singapore campus, she brings a joy-centered approach to learning and leadership. She also holds a bachelor’s in Economics, minor in Asian American Studies from UCLA, Leadership Certificate from the UCLA Center for Asian American Studies.

She is an experienced global leader at the intersection of education-for-change, youth-for-change, women-led empowerment building, and the community-led development sector, deeply committed to lasting transformative change, and large-scale mobilization initiatives to improve opportunities centering global majority communities and communities at the margins. She meditates on systems and frameworks for expanding education as the equalizer for improving the wellbeing of global communities with a nuanced and curiosity filled approach to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging for social justice worldwide. Her deep lived experiences as a hilltribe refugee from Laos/Thailand, as the daughter of a Mien shaman, and as a global leader with experiences spanning APAC and the Americas region with Rural Education and Development Global (READ Global) and The Asia Foundation, teaching & learning experiences with Stanford d.school’s Design for Extreme Affordability & Stanford Graduate School of Education’s Teacher Education Program, United World College (Thailand), WorldTeach (Republic of the Marshall Islands) and the University for Peace (Costa Rica) helps to bring humility and appreciation for multiple ways of seeing the world we live in, and also a heart-filled vision to transform for possibilities future generations of right living with plants, people and our home planet.

Taylor O’Connor is a youth peacebuilding specialist and peace educator passionate about peacebuilding innovation and participatory approaches. Early in his career, he worked with arts-based programming for children and youth, then earned his Bachelor’s in Child Development from San Diego State University in 2005. After completing his Master’s in Peace Education from UPEACE in 2009, he spent nearly a decade living and working with youth peacebuilders and community-based organizations in Myanmar.

Taylor also worked with UNICEF headquarters to develop resources supporting youth peacebuilding initiatives and spent several years facilitating participatory processes to plan programming with and for adolescents and youth in conflict-affected contexts worldwide (one key resource - www.adolescentkit.org). Recommendations from a global evaluation he conducted now form the foundation of UNICEF’s current global youth peacebuilding strategy. When COVID hit, Taylor created virtual trainings and eCourses with UNICEF that have reached participants in 100+ countries.

Taylor is a massive "peace nerd." He is obsessed with peacebuilding strategy and exploring creative ways to build peace. He spent years of his free time researching and mapping global peace initiatives and approaches. Recognizing gaps in global peace systems, he launched a blog called Everyday Peacebuilding in 2020, dedicated to making peacebuilding more accessible and practical for people from all walks of life (www.everydaypeacebuilding.com). There, he creates resources, content, tools, and eCourses for his network of experienced and aspiring peacebuilders from over 100 countries around the globe.

Taylor divides his time between developing his blog, consulting with international agencies, and supporting grassroots peacebuilders. Through his professional work and blog, he seeks to address systemic inequalities, decolonize peacebuilding, and foster grassroots innovation for peace. His goal is to empower people to dismantle systems of oppression, transform the social issues they care about most, and build peace in their communities.