RTT ADVISER & MEI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Benetick Kabua Maddison is the Executive Director at the Marshallese Educational Initiative (MEI), a nonprofit in Arkansas, where the highest concentration of Marshallese reside in the continental United States. Born in Majuro Atoll, Maddison migrated to the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas with his family at the age of six. His work at MEI includes raising the educational attainment levels of Marshallese residents. He regularly speaks about the ongoing consequences of the nuclear legacy and climate change on his homelands at conferences and events in the US and internationally. Benetick is also an Arkansas State University student pursuing a political science degree. Benetick is the project lead for the Youth for Nuclear Justice project, funded by Ploughshares, and is also an adviser for RTT.

CAMPAIGN MANAGER

Mere Tuilau is an anti-nuclear advocate, human rights defender, facilitator, and youth leader from Fiji. Her professional engagement in advocacy spaces comes with over seven years of experience. As an advocate, she believes in the value of a people-centered approach whereby we connect people and build movements to determine the direction, autonomy and integrity of our region and global development, particularly regarding our strength to weave our struggles together on self-determination, socio-economic, climate change resistance, and nuclear justice. In 2017, her role expanded to coordinating and strengthening the Youngsolwara Pacific movement — a regional movement made up of Pacific students, artists, poets, writers, academics, and activists, who are passionate about safeguarding our Oceans and self-determination. Additionally, Mere Tuilau continues to support other youth groups such as the Disarm Pacific (Fiji chapter) with ICAN Aotearoa/ New Zealand through the strengthening of our collective work on a free and independent Pacific. In 2022, Mere Tuilau initiated the forming of the Pacific Youth for TPNW and led the conversation on our collective implementation paper at the 1st Meeting of State Parties in Vienna.

As stewards of the vast Pacific Ocean, Mere Tuilau believes that we are called to safeguard, guide, and determine our destiny, as well as to navigate our narratives until we the people of Oceania are fully free.

Jellyfish babies may have died as a result of the nuclear testing, however we believe their spirits and their voices are alive in us and in the ocean; the same ocean that birthed them is the same ocean rising to speak up for them. We carry the same spirit and voice as Oceanian young people to hold nuclear-armed states accountable and responsible for their crimes against humanity.

SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR

Franscine Anmontha Malieitulua is a descendant of survivors of the catastrophic Bravo Shot that was detonated in the Marshall Islands and is a strong advocate for nuclear justice. Franscine actively participates in the Utah Marshallese Association and assists the youth in her community. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Dixie State University.

Franscine previously worked with the Republic of the Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission as a Communications Officer where she designed a social media campaign to raise awareness of the nuclear legacy in the Marshall Islands.’She hopes to build awareness of nuclear and climate change in the Pacific region through more civic engagements.

YOUTH CAMPAIGNER

Claire Bartolome works as an advocate for her school’s community, while residing in Fiji and Australia. Claire is a member of Reverse The Trend’s Pacific branch, which works on initiatives that promote a range of social causes and elevate the voices of young people. These projects address modern challenges in the Pacific, such as climate change and nuclear weapons..

YOUTH CAMPAIGNER

Maverick Peter Seda is a Solomon Islands-born youth activist who formerly served as Secretary for the Interim Board of the Guadalcanal Youth Council. Maverick began his advocacy in high school when he advocated for strict regulations on national exams to prevent cheating.

Maverick was appointed the Leader of the Solidarity Youth Movements for West Papua in 2017 by the Solomon Islands Solidarity Movements, after his graduation from high school. Maverick joined the Youngsolwara Youth Movement in 2017 and became a member of it as well.

When the Solomon Islands Government switched its alliance from Taiwan to Mainland China in 2018, Maverick became more active in activism. He was one of the youth leaders who was detained by the police for staging a silent protest at the Henderson International Airport when the Solomon Islands Foreign Affairs Minister left for China.

Maverick joined Oxfam Solomon Islands, Development Services Exchange and the Forum Solomon Islands International in 2019, as a volunteer with the Solomon Islands Social Accountability Coalition. He traveled throughout the provinces to educate people in rural areas about how to hold service providers accountable.

Maverick remained low-key and returned to his activism on USP in 2020, the year he was elected as the Vice President of the USPSA Solomon Islands Campus, a post he has held for two terms.

Maverick was appointed as the Solomon Islands' ambassador in 2021 by U-Report.

Later, Maverick resigned from USPSA Solomon Islands in order to concentrate more of his efforts on youth development work in the rural areas with the President of the Malaita Provincial Youth Council and the Young Entrepreneurs Council Solomon Islands.

YOUTH CAMPAIGNER

As a Melanesian Pacific Islander, Gina has chosen to dedicate her time and life to continue to fight for a better Pacific and protect her people. She has chosen to live her life by combating human rights violations, to become a voice of the voiceless in the spaces of West Papua self-determination, nuclear disarmament, ocean protection, and a brighter Pacific, where the destructive issues we are currently facing in our region become resolved and eradicated. Gina is Melanesian and she will always choose to protect her people of the Pacific region.

YOUTH CAMPAIGNER

Tamatoa TEPUHIARII is a Māòhi graduate student (Indigenous from French Polynesia), youth delegate of the Māòhi Protestant Church, and prospective Ph.D. student in Anthropology.

Tamatoa's involvement is mainly in religious gatherings in Māòhi Nui, in the Pacific, and in some countries around the world as a youth representative. As a Ph.D. student, his research deals with the consequences of nuclear testing in French Polynesia and particularly the relationship between radiation-induced pathologies and contemporary challenges.

His engagements allow him to be aware of Māòhi and Pacific issues and then act through conferences and his own studies.

A wise reminder to our youth people will be: "Now, we must speak up and advocate against injustices for our people who deserve justice and dignity! If we don't, who's gonna stand for us?"

NAPF Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, RTT Project Coordinator

Christian N. Ciobanu is the Policy and Advocacy Coordinator of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and the Project Coordinator of Reverse The Trend. He is one of the co-founders of the initiative as well. He has been involved in international relations and peace security affairs since 2010. He is currently the TPNW Advisor for the Mission of Kiribati. He is an MA in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies from the Middlebury Institute of International Affairs (Monterey, CA) and an MA in Political Science from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Geneva, Switzerland). He is passionate about youth activism.

MEI Executive Director | RTT Advisor

RTT Advisor | Executive Director at (MEI)

Benetick Kabua Maddison is the Executive Director at the Marshallese Educational Initiative (MEI), a nonprofit in Arkansas, where the highest concentration of Marshallese reside in the continental United States. Born in Majuro Atoll, Maddison migrated to the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas with his family at the age of six. His work at MEI includes raising the educational attainment levels of Marshallese residents. He regularly speaks about the ongoing consequences of the nuclear legacy and climate change on his homelands at conferences and events in the US and internationally. Benetick is also an Arkansas State University student pursuing a political science degree. Benetick is the project lead for the Youth for Nuclear Justice project, funded by Ploughshares, and is also an advisor for Reverse The Trend: Save Our People, Save Our Planet (RTT).

RTT New York Youth Coordinator

Alei Rizvi is the New York Youth Coordinator for Reverse The Trend: Save Our People, Save Our Planet (RTT). He graduated from New York University in 2021 with a B.A. in International Relations and Economics with a regional specialization in the Middle East and North Africa. He has an extensive history of disarmament and climate justice activism and has attended many international conferences with the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and Reverse the Trend, including the First Meeting of State Parties to the TPNW in Vienna (2022), the ICAN Youth Forum in Paris (2020), and the Global Youth Forum on the TPNW in Auckland (2018).

NAPF Intern | RTT Francophone Youth Coordinator

Anastasia Shakhidzhanova is an intern with the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and a Youth Coordinator for Reverse The Trend: Save Our People, Save Our Planet (RTT)’s Francophone Chapter. She is enrolled in Columbia University’s Dual BA program with Sciences Po Paris.

After finishing a Political Humanities major and International Finance and Trade minor at Sciences Po, she is now studying Environmental Science at Columbia in NY. Before entering nuclear disarmament activism, Anastasia interned at Fossil Free California and Climate Action Santa Monica, working on plastic pollution, regenerative agriculture, and climate change issues. She has a deep love of nature and is passionate about understanding how developing strong political and social communities can be a means of growing sustainability at the local, national, and international levels. Anastasia is from Los Angeles, California.

Masters Student at Asian Institute of Technology

Farheen Masfiqua Malek is a passionate and optimistic social activist pursuing her 3rd master’s degree in Gender and Development Studies at the Asian Institute of Technology. She believes having an equal world regardless of class, race, gender, community, etc. is possible only if the willpower of humans is engaged. She has a good understanding of multicultural and complex background environments by playing different roles in different projects including the government, corporates, and agencies (UN and other organizations). Additionally, her sound knowledge of gender mainstreaming, gender in emergencies, multi-sectoral coordination tasks, and disaster crisis management relevant responses add to her confidence to work for a peaceful world. She is currently a member of Reverse The Trend: Save Our People, Save Our Planet (RTT)’s Southeast Asia Chapter.

RTT Pacific - MEI Social Media Coordinator

Franscine Anmontha Malieitulua is a descendant of survivors of the catastrophic Bravo Shot that was detonated in the Marshall Islands and is a strong advocate for nuclear justice. Franscine actively participates in the Utah Marshallese Association and assists the youth in her community. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Dixie State University.

Franscine previously worked with the Republic of the Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission as a Communications Officer where she designed a social media campaign to raise awareness of the nuclear legacy in the Marshall Islands.She hopes to build awareness of nuclear and climate change in the Pacific region through more civic engagement. She is currently the Social Media Coordinator for the Reverse The Trend: Save Our People, Save Our Planet (RTT) - Marshallese Educational Initiative (MEI)’s Pacific Campaign on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

RTT Pacific - Pacific Youth Campaigner

As a Melanesian Pacific Islander, Gina has chosen to dedicate her time and life to continue to fight for a better Pacific and protect her people. She has chosen to live her life by combating human rights violations, to become a voice of the voiceless in the spaces of West Papua self-determination, nuclear disarmament, ocean protection, and a brighter Pacific, where the destructive issues we are currently facing in our region become resolved and eradicated. Gina is Melanesian and she will always choose to protect her people in the Pacific region. She is a youth campaigner for Reverse The Trend: Save Our People, Save Our Planet (RTT) - Marshallese Educational Initiative (MEI)’s Pacific Campaign on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

RTT Southeast Asia Youth Coordinator

Hsin Yen Phoebe Mok is a Peace Scholar and a Social Activist who is currently pursuing her Doctoral degree in Value-Creating Education for Global Citizenship at DePaul University. She is a fellow and ambassador for the Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, and also a social entrepreneur, responsible for two companies; Be Human and Multiple X Choice, which she co-founded with her partner and friends.Phoebe is a Youth Coordinator for Reverse The Trend: Save Our People, Save Our Planet (RTT)’s Southeast Chapter, representing Singapore.

RTT Youth Activist

Kenneth Chiu is a Youth Activist with Reverse The Trend: Save Our People, Save Our Planet.. He is a senior at Williams College, where he is studying Political Science and Economics, with a particular interest in addressing global inequality and the consequences of the colonial legacy. As an activist in the field of nuclear disarmament, he helped to establish RTT and has attended a multitude of events and conferences, most recently the TPNW First Meeting of States’ Parties in Vienna and the 10th NPT Review Conference. In the latter, he served as the youth representative at the side event entitled "Nuclear Disarmament and Our Sustainable Future."

RTT -MEI Pacific Youth Campaigner

Maverick Peter Seda is a youth advocate and a community development worker in the Solomon Islands. In the Solomon Islands, Maverick works with many youth networks. He works closely with rural youths so their voices can influence decisions at the national level for the Solomon Islands. Maverick recently became a Youth Campaigner for Reverse The Trend: Save Our People, Save Our Planet (RTT) - Marshallese Educational Initiative (MEI)’s Pacific Campaign on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Maverick also serves as a coordinator for the Young Entrepreneurs Council of Solomon Islands.

RTT Pacific-MEI Pacific Campaign Manager

Mere Tuilau is an anti-nuclear advocate, human rights defender, facilitator and youth leader from Fiji. Her professional engagement in advocacy spaces comes with over seven years of experience. As an advocate, she believes in the value of a people-centered approach whereby we connect people and build movements to determine the direction, autonomy and integrity of our region and global development, particularly regarding our strength to weave our struggles together on self-determination, socio-economic, climate change resistance and nuclear justice. In 2017, her role expanded to coordinating and strengthening the Youngsolwara Pacific movement — a regional movement made up of Pacific students, artists, poets, writers, academics and activists, who are passionate in safe-guarding our Oceans and self-determination. Additionally she continues to support other youth groups such as the yDisarm Pacific (Fiji chapter) with ICAN Aotearoa/ New Zealand through the strengthening of our collective work on a free and independent pacific. In 2022, she initiated the forming of the Pacific Youth for TPNW and led the conversation on their collective implementation paper at the 1st Meeting of State Parties’ in Vienna. She is currently the Campaign Manager for the RTT-MEI Pacific Project on the TPNW.

RTT Pacific- MEI Youth Campaigner

Tamatoa Tepuhiarii is a Māòhi graduate student (Indigenous from French Polynesia), youth delegate of the Māòhi Protestant Church and a prospective PhD student in Anthropology. His main involvement remains in the Māòhi Protestant Church through various youth gatherings in Māòhi Nui, in the Pacific and some countries around the world as a youth leader. He is Youth Campaigner for Reverse The Trend: Save Our People, Save Our Planet (RTT) - Marshallese Educational Initiative (MEI)’s Pacific Campaign on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and an equity rises intern for RTT and MEI.

As a Māòhi representative, he strongly hopes for an engaged youth generation guided by both indigenous knowledge and faith regarding our Pacific issues and particularly nuclear injustices. His many adventures in his living experience awakened him to acknowledge, act and stand up for youth training and nuclear justice by providing accurate scientific contents about the radiation-induced pathologies related to thirty years of French nuclear testing in Māòhi Nui, French Polynesia.

As the wise proverb states, “It’s more blessed to give than receive”, Tamatoa wants to personify that statement through his involvement so as to learn, gain skills with the ultimate goal of returning home, serving and protecting his community.