North Carolina Peace Peacemaker Awards – Friday, September 18, 2026
Highland United Methodist Church – 1901 Ridge Rd, Raleigh, NC 27607
Please plan on joining us for dinner catered by Amedeo’s (Italian) and an enlightening evening featuring awardees:
Douglas Ryder and Eisenhower Chapter 157 Veterans for Peace
and
Diana Powell – Justice Served NC
Featuring Guest Speaker:
Dr. Rania Masri
of the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network
Please Purchase Your Tickets and/or Donate HERE:
https://givebutter.com/peacemaker-2026-vs5kos
Douglas Ryder has served as the president of the Triangle’s local Eisenhower Chapter 157 of Veterans For Peace since 2015. A veteran of the U.S. War on Vietnam, he served in the U.S. Navy from 1964 to ’67. Now retired from a career as social worker and psychotherapist, Doug remains active in Veterans For Peace, and has participated in their efforts to create peace on a sustainable planet in such places as post-Katrina New Orleans, Standing Rock, and Occupy DC. He has served on the Board of Directors of North Carolina Peace Action, and provides mentoring to men as an elder in the Mankind Project’s New Warrior Training Program. https://www.ncveteransforpeace.org/
Diana Powell is a native North Carolinian and justice-centered community leader whose work has transformed lives across the state. As Founder and Executive Director of Justice Served NC, she supports returning citizens, strengthens families, and builds safer, more connected communities through a trauma-informed, people-first approach. With ten years in the Dept of Corrections, rising to Correctional Lieutenant, Diana’s lived experience fuels her commitment to helping others avoid remaining entangled in the criminal justice system. For over fifteen years, she has developed programs addressing the nutritional, educational, and social needs of low income and minority families, with a special focus on youth navigating the justice system. Her impact includes organizing the historic 2016 gang truce in Southeast Raleigh, sparking a movement for peace and unity. Diana is a certified Community Court Advocate, Statewide Outreach Coordinator for the Second Chance Alliance, and certified Ex-Offender Employment Specialist. Diana is a certified Community Court
Advocate, Statewide Outreach Coordinator for the Second Chance Alliance, and certified Ex-Offender
Employment Specialist. She is an advocate, mentor, and organizer on numerous Boards, and hosts a radio platform on HOT 97.9 FM.
Since 1990, Rania Masri has organized for justice and against systems of oppression and wars—through protests, teach-ins, and conferences; political organizing; public speaking training; and writings, research, and media work. She taught holistic environmental sciences (including environmental justice) at the university level for nearly two decades. She served as an expert in the Court of Conscience, where she presented testimony on the environmental impact of the 2006 Israeli War on Lebanon, and as a juror in the 2025 Merchants of Death War Crimes Tribunal. Rania joined NCEJN in June 2022 as Co-Director and Director of Organizing and Policy. She got her PhD from NCSU in 2000, and her Masters in Environmental Management from Duke University in 1995. Dr. Rania Masri is from the land of Greater Syria. https://ncejn.org/
TICKETS – Please use the ticketing link: https://givebutter.com/peacemaker-2026-vs5kos and purchase in advance so we can get a count for dinner. You can prepay with a check (instructions and mailing address included within ticket) or a card online, and NCPA’s Givebutter system also accepts PayPal and Venmo. We will accept cash donations of any amount at the door.
Tickets prices are $20 for a “Student Peace Activist,” and $50 for an “Adult Peace Activist.” **Or give what you can. Your presence is most important to us.
NOTE ON DINNER FROM AMEDEO’S – NCPA has ordered Spinach Lasagna* for dinner for ticket holders – please register soon, especially if you’d like to have some that evening.
*Spinach Lasagna – Layers of lasagna baked with ricotta, Parmesan, homemade marinara and sautéed spinach. Topped with shredded mozzarella cheese and baked until golden.
PEACE BOOK AND BONSAI SALE – We’re asking NC Peacemaker 2026 attendees to please bring any new or used books for donation September 18. We’d especially appreciate “Peace-Themed” books but will accept all books.