Meet the Team

Michael Poffenberger, Executive Director
michael(at)resolveuganda.org
Michael co-founded the former Uganda Conflict Action Network after studying and conducting research in Uganda in the spring of 2004. Prior to launching Resolve Uganda, Michael also served as the Associate Director of the Africa Faith and Justice Network, a Catholic advocacy NGO and the host organization of Uganda-CAN. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he studied anthropology and international peace studies.

Peter Quaranto, Senior Researcher and Conflict Analyst
peter(at)resolveuganda.org
Peter was the co-founder and director of the former Uganda Conflict Action Network. He first traveled to northern Uganda in February 2005 to research the international dimensions of the conflict and has since written and spoken extensively on the topic. Peter is currently a Marshall Scholar, studying the role of diplomacy in African peace processes at Oxford University. He received his master's last year from the University of Bradford's Peace Studies department, where he researched the role of U.S. policy in the recent Somali conflict.

Alison Jones, Director of Advocacy
alison(at)resolveuganda.org
Alison is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where she studied political science. She became involved with Uganda-CAN in the summer of 2005 and spent the past year in New York, where she worked at the Africa Desk of Franciscans International, a Catholic NGO, doing advocacy at the United Nations.

Jesse Eaves, Director for External Relations
jesse(at)resolveuganda.org
Jesse has a long history with Uganda. After living with his family in southern Uganda in 1994, he returned to do research in Soroti, eastern Uganda in 2001. It was there that he broadened his first-hand knowledge of the effects of the war. In both 2006 and 2007, Jesse worked in eastern Uganda on the Teso-Karamoja border and in northern Uganda rebuilding schools and infrastructure in the war-affected regions. Jesse has a Masters degree in African History from Northwestern University, and a Bachelors in History from Denison University.

Kenny Ferenchak, Researcher
kenny(at)resolveuganda.org
Kenny graduated from Ohio State University with honors degrees in political science and international studies. He completed a senior thesis on post-conflict reintegration and peacebuilding that came as a result of two months of field work in Uganda. Kenny was formerly a student coordinator for Resolve Uganda's predecessor organization.

Stephen Okello, Researcher
stephen(at)resolveuganda.org
Stephen is an Acholi from northern Uganda and studied International Relations and Diplomacy at Nkumba University. He is collaborating with the Justice and Peace Center in Kampala being established by five Catholic Religious orders, and has been closely working with the Kampala-based Center for Conflict Resolution as a Program Officer. Stephen is currently attending the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

Paul Ronan, Researcher
paul(at)resolveuganda.org
Paul, from Rushford, NY, recently graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in geography and international relations with an interest in political ecology. In the spring of 2005, he spent six weeks in northern Uganda studying the tenuous land security of people displaced by the war from their rural farms into crowded camps. Seeing firsthand the intense suffering of northern Ugandans led to his involvement with Uganda Conflict Action Network. Paul is currently based in New York City, where he is involved in advocacy efforts at the United Nations.