Seeds of Peace

Bobbie Gottschalk

Bobbie joined Seeds of Peace when it was an idea. She was a clinical and school social worker for thirty years, who had created several on-going programs for people with disabilities and their families, including the first mental health clinic for deaf people and the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes. In 1993, John Wallach asked her to help him create Seeds of Peace. She was its only staff person for the first two years. She and John expanded the original concept of an Arab and Israeli conflict resolution camp to include nine Middle East countries, three South Asian countries, ten Balkan states, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey and the USA. Bobbie began the education fund and inspired the creation of follow-up programs. Using the idea of Aseel Asleh, the only Seed who has been killed in the conflict, Bobbie set up SeedsNet, a daily digest of letters written by Seeds, and has monitored it since 1998. Bobbie strongly believes that by expanding each person's circle of concern beyond his/her own kind, human beings are capable of evolving to a life without war.

Community Leadership:

Board member and Past President, Bethesda Academy of Performing Arts, 1985-present.
Budget Liaison, Montgomery County Commission of People with Disabilities,1988-1994.
Board Member, United Jewish Appeal Federation, 1993-5
Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow, 2002-present
Board member, Friends of Erevna International Peace Center, 2003-present

Awards:

Community Partnership Award,1989, UJAF Campaigner of the Year, 1993
Earlham College Outstanding Alumni Award, 1996
Medal of Honor, presented by King Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, 1997
Peacemaker Award, Earlham College, 1997
Lehrman-Pikser Professional Award, Jewish Social Service , Washington, DC, 1997

Education:

Earlham College, BA, 1964
University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration, MSW, 1966
Franklin Pierce University, Honorary Doctorate of Human Letters (PhD), 2005