Our Team
Elizabeth (Liz) Hume, Executive Director
Liz is a conflict expert and has more than 25 years of experience in senior leadership positions in bilateral, multilateral institutions and NGOs. She has extensive experience in policy and advocacy and overseeing sizeable and complex peacebuilding programs in conflict-affected and fragile states in Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa.
Michèle Piercey, Deputy Executive Director
Michèle Piercey is a seasoned conflict prevention and peacebuilding practitioner with over two decades of experience. She has worked in conflict-affected regions, including Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, where she witnessed the power of inclusion and dialogue. Leaving a stable government job, she ventured into roles in Iraq and later joined USAID in Baghdad. With extensive experience in Afghanistan, Tunisia, and Iraq, she has expertise in resilience, civil society, democracy, and stabilization projects. At Chemonics International, she guided technical experts and advanced innovation in foreign assistance. Now, as Deputy ED at AfP, Michèle is dedicated to fostering collaboration among diverse organizations to further the common goal of peace
Megan Corrado, Senior Director - Policy & Advocacy
Megan E. Corrado is an international lawyer and policy and advocacy practitioner working to promote human rights, peacebuilding, gender mainstreaming, transitional justice, and post-conflict legal and governance reform. She has extensive experience in international development, grant implementation, and political campaign management. Megan has worked on democracy- and peacebuilding programs and processes in conflict-affected and post-conflict states across the Middle East and North Africa region, South and Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe.
Dr. Emily Sample, Director - Research, Evidence & Learning
Dr. Emily Sample is the Director of Research, Evidence, & Learning at the Alliance for Peacebuilding. She earned her PhD from the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. Previously, she worked at The Fund for Peace as a Programs Director. She earned her M.A. in Human Rights and Genocide Studies from Kingston University London and her B.A. from The College of William and Mary. She currently serves on the Executive Board of the International Association of Genocide Scholars and co-founded the Women's Caucus of Genocide Scholars. Her research spans climate change adaptation, environmental justice, gender, and mass atrocity prevention.
Nick Zuroski, Manager - Policy & Advocacy
Nick’s interests lie at the intersection of peace and stability, gender equality, and grassroots-oriented understandings of human security. He has professional experience in strategic communications, investment research, political economy analysis, and international development. In 2021, Nick received his M.A. in International Affairs — concentrating in Global Gender Policy and International Law & Organizations — from The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, and his B.A. in Mandarin Chinese and World Politics from Hamilton College in 2017.
Rachel Levine, Senior Associate - Policy & Communications
Rachel Levine is a skilled researcher, advocate, and program manager with experience working on atrocity prevention, democracy, and human rights in the U.S. and Southeast Asia. Before joining AfP, Rachel worked at Human Rights Watch as an Associate for the U.S. Program Team, an Assistant for Development Operations, and an Associate for the Disability Rights Program. Prior to joining HRW, Rachel worked for Facing History and Ourselves, the International Crisis Group, Search for Common Ground, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Maria Tata, Senior Associate - Policy & Advocacy
Maria graduated from The George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs in May 2024 with an M.A. in Security Policy Studies and a concentration in Conflict Resolution. She previously graduated from Boston University in 2018 with a B.A. in International Relations and a minor in Business Administration and Management. During college, she studied abroad in Brussels, Belgium, and Geneva, Switzerland—where she interned at the NGO Graduate Women International.