It’s been ages since I’ve updated this blog. I’ve been running non-stop since the first of the year. Work has been quite busy, with me doing a little writing, a little organizing, a little planning, and some political stuff. We ran a talk on 8 January that covered the crisis in Sudan and the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was well-attended and we had Brian Thompson, our resident JD and International Law and Justice Manager and Leila Sadat, a professor of international law talk on the Commission of Inquiry investigating the potential genocide in Sudan and potential judicial approaches after the report is released. We’re going to follow up that talk with another one on 8 March on Sudan. It’s a hot topic in both the US and the world.

Staff changes have been the norm lately. Sadly, Brian left the organization in January. Also, Becca, our program assistant left too. She’s going to work for a year, perhaps more, in Tanzania. She’s going to be a program director for Jifunze . As a tribute to the amount of work that Becca did for our organization, she’s been replaced by two people, and that doesn’t even cover all the work she did! Unfortunately, while others can pick up the projects she worked on, no one can replace her great personality and happiness. We’ve also hired a ton of new folks, primarily new Fellows. Each of the main components now has at least one fellow: Programs, Government Relations, and Communications. We’re running out of office space quickly, but the cube farms are coming.

On the personal front, I still am struggling with what I want to do with my life. Staying here, starting my own nonprofit, working for a member of Congress, working at another NGO, moving to Ireland to open a pub, and other thoughts have crossed my mind in recent months. Damn INFJ personality type! I’ve been here for almost a year now, starting as Research Associate in March 2004 and becoming their Grassroots Program Manager in May.

Diane is doing great and finished her first year at Constellation Energy. 2004 was a year of major changes in our lives and 2005 looks to be a little calmer, if not totally planned out yet. Vacations are also on the horizon: Ireland, Greece, Jamaica, New Orleans, Chicago, and Rehoboth Beach are all in the mix.