Cristina Arau
Founder & Executive Director

Cristina is a visionary creator and founder of the civil-society-organization LOVE FOR LIFE dedicated to creating conscious, sustainable change to empower people and protect nature. She studied ‘International Development’ and a ‘Master of Arts Program in Peace, Development, Security and International Conflict Transformation’. As a humanitarian and peace worker she lived in numerous countries around world. For the United Nations, she worked in the IDP camps in northern Uganda and participated in the documentation and codification of the traditional restorative justice system to (re-)discover voices of peace and reconciliation in the 2008 peace process. In 2014 she served on the congressional campaign of Marianne Williamson which initiated a new political conversation and called for a Politics of Love rooted in the challenges of the world today. Cristina is dedicated to bringing together the inner and outer work recognizing that our state of doing is informed by our state of being. She is a multiple-trained yoga and meditation teacher, ambassador of Off the Mat, Into the World® and a member of the ‘Safety, Security and Peace Constellation’ of Rising Women Rising World.

Thomas Pablo Hilker
Program & Fundraising Manager

Before joining the For Peace Initiative and LOVE FOR LIFE, Thomas worked for German development institutions, UN-ECLAC, as well as engaged with civil society organizations working in the areas of socio-ecological justice, conflict transformation, and youth empowerment. As Political Scientist he holds a M.A. degree in International Relations (FU/HU Berlin; Potsdam U.) and conducted his B.A.-Thesis on Conflict Transformation and Identity Politics. He is deeply interested in understanding the root causes and drivers of conflict, such as institutional and structural violence, postcolonialism, and more recently, transgenerational and collective trauma. During his work and field missions, Thomas has experienced and lived in different conflictive contexts of Brazil, Colombia, Haiti, Mexico, and Sri Lanka. As German and Spanish citizen, he critically engages with the roots of conflict and violence within his own bi-national as well as personal history and present. With For Peace he is shifting his various interests and experiences towards learning and transmitting individual and collective tools for everyday peacebuilding. Thomas is further committed to the co-creation of reflective spaces, social and institutional transformation, as well as to building new narratives, alliances, and activities towards a living culture of peace.

Rose Alvarez
International Project Coordinator

Rose, from Costa Rica, sees life as a journey to enjoy and to be thankful for, especially if we can spread love with everything we do. Prior to joining For Peace and LOVE FOR LIFE, Rose worked in her home country for the UNESCO and for other NGOs in the cultural, educational and environmental sector. Rose loves to learn languages and to get in contact with other cultures. She has a Master's degree in International Relations (focus on Project Management in International Cooperation) and enjoys to empower others to feel good about themselves and to expand their potential. She is convinced that we can make this planet a better place for all by starting to get to know ourselves and to take care about ourselves, so that we can embody the change we want to see in the world. At For Peace and LOVE FOR LIFE Rose coordinates international projects and communicates with her gift and passion around the globe.

Ayse Kalmaz
Project Coordinator

Ayse was born in Izmir in Turkey and has lived in Germany since the age of 11. She is the mother of two sons and has worked as a freelance director for 10 years. She loves to capture real moments in moving images with depth. Beyond her documentary work, it is very important to her to invent stories together with people from all walks of life; to stimulate people to dream, to raise the ceiling of reality,and to make this visible with cinematic narrative art. She likes to bring people together who do not come together under "normal" conditions and is always on the lookout for the WE. This also applies to her focus with For Peace. "I believe that peace is possible and that this driving force is our longing. History has proven time and again that what we can dream can also become reality. Imagine For Peace is the space in which precisely that takes place. Regional projects based on dialogical processes in intercultural and interreligious contexts are a part of the initiative. They serve to work with the NOW and to concretize what WE need to manifest a vision of a peaceful culture.”

Andrea Ebeling
Accountant

Andrea is a systematic thinker & number cruncher with a strong connection to the natural world & feminine values. Andrea studied Business Administration in Berlin. Since 13 years she’s working internationally in large, mid-sized and small corporations mostly in Accounting & Controlling. She already felt the need for change and transformation early at the beginning of her career. In her own journey of personal development this feeling became clearer and formed into a strong vision for life centered businesses. Life centered business serve all living creatures now and in the future by providing security for all participants along the circular value chain. These businesses take responsibility to encourage personal development and enable attachment parenting as a baseline for our peaceful future. Andrea’s commitment For Peace and for LOVE FOR LIFE comes from her heart and the wish to support the team in their wonderful and important work. Andrea is inspired by the projects and touched by the opportunity to contribute.

Advisory Board →