On Our Team:
Donna Baranski-Walker
Founder
Donna Baranski-Walker, is an M.I.T. engineer who believes that human rights cannot wait for peace agreements. She began her work in the Middle East in 1990 with a New York Times op‐ed, “Small Lights in the Darkness,” which pressed for a peaceful resolution of the stand-off with Iraq. To avoid future wars, Donna spent 10 years developing Project Dialogue, visiting schools and teachers in the West Bank, Gaza, Israel, and Jordan. In 1999, she completed a Compassionate Listening course in Palestine and Israel, and launched Rebuilding Alliance in 2002.
In 2008, Donna was awarded Special Congressional Recognition by Rep. Barbara Lee for legislation that she drafted along with Carol Sanders that passed the House unanimously, HRes 3691 In Recognition of Israeli and Palestinian Peace Makers. She received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from Rep. Anna Eshoo, and Rep. Loretta Sanchez. In 2016, she was awarded Rotary District 5150’s Service Award and was also awarded the Rachel Corrie Conscience and Courage Award from American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee of Orange County. In 2010, on the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Polish Solidarity Movement, she was awarded a Medal of Gratitude at the Gdansk Shipyard before 27,000 people for organizing the Support of Solidarity Committee in Chicago, a pivotal group, when she was 24 years old.
