Men As Peacemakers Staff
Frank Jewell
Executive Director
Frank is one of the founding members and became Executive Director in 2000. Before coming to Men as Peacemakers Frank was the Violence Prevention Specialist for St. Louis County and has held a number of human service jobs working with adolescents, the mentally ill and the elderly.
From 1987 to 1991 Frank was a Duluth City Councilor representing the Third District. He has also served on a variety of community organizations, but is most proud of his work in the area of low income housing with Center City Housing and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation. Frank is married and the father of three daughters.
Daniel Fanning
Mentoring Works Program Coordinator
As the Mentoring Works Program Coordinator at Men as Peacemakers, Daniel oversees In-School Mentoring Programs in six schools and Reading Partner Programs in three schools.
Before joining Men as Peacemakers, Daniel served as a volunteer coordinator for Five Points, an in-school tutoring program based out of the Duluth YMCA, as a True North AmeriCorps Member. Prior employment includes the Boys and Girls Club in Superior, WI and AICP in Farmingdale, NY- as well as serving in the WI Army National Guard. Daniel is currently a graduate student in the Master of Advocacy and Political Leadership program at UMD and is active in the community including volunteering as a tutor, mentor and reading partner.
Mary Skillings
Restorative Practices Program Coordinator
Mary has been with Men as Peacemakers since August of 2005. She is responsible for coordinating the restorative justice programs at Men as Peacemakers and has developed a number of education and training opportunities in Restorative Practices. She has previous experience in developing Restorative Justice programs from her years with Rice County Community Corrections in Faribault, Minnesota where she worked in Juvenile Probation for six years. With a Master's degree in Education and Youth Development, Mary also works closely with schools, advocating for healthy learning cultures.
Mike Meyer
Staff
As an Americorps volunteer, Mike is working with Men As Peacemakers to assist in coordinating restorative justice programming and Peacemaking Circles. Mike is also involved in both mentor recruitment and volunteer organizing. Mike is currently a graduate student in the Master of Social Work program at UMD and has worked in many different areas of community service prior to his work with Men As Peacemakers.
Laurel Hyvonen
Girl’s Restorative Program
Laurel dedicates her time to assisting girls and young women in creating a positive self image, repairing harm they have caused to themselves and others, and helps them in building healthy relationships. She approaches her work through the lens of Restorative Justice believing that healing broken relationships and learning to work from an understanding of personal strengths is the key to healing our communities. Laurel is currently in the process of building a gender-specific girls group that will incorporate Restorative Practices to help girls along a positive life path.
When she is not working with girls, Laurel is a busy mom experiencing life with her toddler son, Jonah, and his dad. She loves to be outdoors and spends much of her time by (if not in) Lake Superior. Laurel is inspired greatly by music, plants, good food, spiritual explorations, family, friendships and the great adventure we call life.