Monthly luncheons are generally held on the second Monday of every month, unless advised to the contrary, at Chez Marcel restaurant in the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine.
Rick McDowell and Mary Trotochaud, Rick McDowell and Mary Trotochaud, Senior Fellows For Iraq at Friends Committee on National Legislation
January 2007
Topic: What is happening to Iraqi Civil Society
Mary Trotochaud first traveled to Iraq with a U.S. religious leadership delegation. In March 2003, Mary joined the international staff of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) as Iraq Country Representative. Living in a Baghdad residential neighborhood, she worked with emerging Iraqi civil society organizations while coordinating relief and development projects for AFSC. Mary has also worked as a policy advocate on Capitol Hill and throughout Iraq. Mary continues to write for AFSC and facilitate projects in Iraq.
Rick McDowell
Rick McDowell has been involved in Middle East-related issues since 1988. Between August 1996 and December 2002, Rick led or accompanied fifteen delegations to Iraq, including a Fellowship of Reconciliation delegation of Nobel Peace Laureates and an AFSC/Quaker delegation. He has worked with AFSC as an Iraq Country Representative, and with FCNL as a policy advocate. Rick continues to write for AFSC and facilitate projects in Iraq while maintaining contact with Iraqi friends and associates in Baghdad and throughout Iraq and the Diaspora.