Design for Peace nurtures an ecology of peace in Cascadia by accompanying communities of faith through culture-shift and systems change.
By “Peace,” we mean the divine vision of Shalom: true thriving, wellbeing, justice and wholeness for all. We approach this work through a place-based, spatial justice lens.
It’s a big vision, and thanks to generous support from the Lilly Endowment, our Design Team is growing. We have added two new roles to the Design for Peace Design Team to support our capacity for community organizing and communications. Join us in welcoming Zoe & Anna, our new Communications Lead and new Ecumenical Community Organizer!
Communications Lead
Zoe Forbes (she, her) has proudly called the South Sound home since she was eight, with Tacoma as her current home base. Zoe earned her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Social Work in 2021.
With three years of experience working in K-12 classrooms, Zoe is passionate about creative pedagogy that meets people where they are. Her work also extends to supporting unhoused neighbors in Pierce County and collaborating with faith leaders to increase funding for affordable housing in the region.
A proud local with connections internationally, Zoe is particularly interested in people’s relationships with the places and communities they call home. These days, she finds home among people of all faiths who are committed to facing the world’s pressures head-on.
Ecumenical Community Organizer
Vicar Anna Czarnik-Neimeyer (she,her) came to love the Church by way of outdoor ministry in her home state of Wisconsin. Daughter of a camp director, Anna grew up living and working at camps for 22 years before becoming the national programs coordinator at Holden Village, until 2013. Anna holds a B.A. in Communications and an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies synthesizing religion and social justice. Her first career was in higher education, helping to found an academic diversity center at a Catholic college. She is the founder of Bridgebuilder Consulting, for DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging), and has published with Sojourners, Religion News Service, Teaching Tolerance, Ms. Magazine, and Parker Palmer’s Center for Courage & Renewal. Anna is in her final year at Luther Seminary, in formation towards ordination as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Anna is a proud member of Proclaim, a collective of over 400 LGBTQ+ Lutheran ministers & seminarians, through Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries.