Barry Truchil

Mark E. Lomax, MBA, M.S.

With more than 40 years of experience in law enforcement, leadership, and education, Mark is the CEO of Lancer Cobbs, a consulting firm he founded that provides strategic guidance to governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. His work spans leadership, organizational systems review, business management, police training and education, and critical incident response. He currently serves as a subject matter expert for the U.S. Department of Justice and the New York State Attorney General’s Office, advising on use of force, crisis response, and community-police relations.

Mark has led and advised multiple nonprofit organizations. He is the Founder and President of Bridge to Unity, Inc. and has served on boards and committees dedicated to public safety, violence prevention, energy psychology, and law enforcement reform. He previously served as Executive Director/CEO of the National Tactical Officers Association, representing more than 40,000 members of the international law enforcement special operations community.

Internationally, Mark worked as a United Nations Program Manager in Liberia, overseeing training and operational readiness of the Liberian National Police’s Emergency Response Unit (SWAT) and Police Support Unit (crowd control) in preparation for national elections. He also managed global training programs for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).

Mark retired as a Major from the Pennsylvania State Police after 27 years of service, culminating as Director of the Bureau of Training and Education, where he oversaw training and professional development for more than 6,000 personnel. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy (200th Session) and holds a B.A. in Psychology from LaSalle University, an MBA in Management from Eastern University, and an M.S. in Higher Education from Drexel University.

Susan Safranek

Susan Safranek served on the Board of Directors for two nonprofit organizations in Westchester County, NY for nearly twenty years while also teaching Yoga part time and raising her three sons full time before relocating to Bucks County in 2018. Susan returns to serve on the board of The Peace Center after working for The Peace Center most recently as Associate Director of Administration/Communications/Programs.

Susan holds a BA from Barnard College, Columbia University (Cum Laude) majoring in Political Science, and is expected to complete a MS in Nonprofit Leadership from La Salle University in May 2026.

Catherine Ann Porter

Rabbi Anna Boswell-Levy

Rabbi Anna Boswell-Levy is the spiritual leader of Congregation Kol Emet, an inclusive, diverse, and vibrant Reconstructionist Jewish community in Yardley, PA. She is a creative educator, service leader, and ritual maker, infusing song and spirit into her services and teachings. Rabbi Anna places a high emphasis on relationships based on trust and mutual respect.

Rabbi Anna has lived in Bucks County since 2008. In that time, Rabbi Anna built important ties to larger Bucks County Jewish, multifaith, and community organizations. In the wider region, she serves on the regional advisory council for Keystone Planned Parenthood, and is a proud member of the Pennsbury school system’s District Equity Leadership Team (DELT). She currently serves as Vice President of the Philadelphia Board of Rabbis.

Nationally, Rabbi Anna served as the Board Co-Chair of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Voice for Human Rights from 2013-15, and served on its board since 2005. She was a board member of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association from 2015-21 and served on its Executive Committee from 2018-21.

Rabbi Anna graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 2006 and is also a proud alumna of Smith College.  She resides in Yardley with her family.

Honorable Gary B. Gilman

Tim James

Tim James holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in business management, having spent most of his career managing small and middle market businesses.  For more than 20 years Mr. James oversaw the post-secondary education for tens of thousands of at-risk youth and young adults living in resource challenged environments from Maine to Florida, at the diploma, undergraduate, and graduate degree levels. In this role, he managed more than a thousand employees operating in nine states and as many as 30 campuses, and was directly responsible for student engagement, performance, and educational outcomes. Mr. James currently owns a number of small businesses in Bucks County, where he resides with his wife and young family.

Petra Jiraskova

Petra Jiraskova is a certified mediator and conflict resolution specialist dedicated to transforming workplace tension into trust and fostering a positive work environment. As the owner of Olive Branch Services, LLC, her consulting company, she helps organizations eliminate costly communication breakdowns that drive employee turnover, while coaching individual professionals to navigate difficult conversations with confidence.

Petra holds a Master’s degree in International Peace & Conflict Resolution from Arcadia University (Magna Cum Laude) and has trained over 2,000 professionals across multiple industries and sectors. Her expertise spans mediation, facilitation, and communication training, with a particular focus on practical tools that work in both professional and personal settings.

With certifications in mediation and Psychological First Aid from Johns Hopkins University, Petra brings both academic rigor and real-world experience to her work. She has conducted numerous facilitations with The Peace Center since 2019 and is passionate about the work the organization brings to communities. She previously held leadership roles in developing training programs and managing teams.

Petra is dedicated to empowering individuals and organizations through strategic communication, collaborative problem-solving, and sustainable conflict resolution. Based in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, she brings a global perspective informed by her international education and multilingual background.

Laura E. Lomax

Laura Lomax brings over 35 years of leadership experience in organizational development, instructional design, and intercultural practice. For 18 years, she served as CEO of a healthcare management firm, leading assessment, analysis, and program implementation initiatives that strengthened organizational and systemic health outcomes for underserved communities. Her work has supported governmental agencies—including police and sheriff departments, jails, and prison systems—across ten states.

Since 2015, Laura has focused on designing customized workplace learning solutions that foster intercultural awareness, accountability, and belonging. As President of Intercultural Works and a Strategic Learning Architect, she creates courses, workshops, and professional development programs that advance emotional intelligence, inclusive leadership, and sustainable organizational culture. Her clients span government, education (K–20), healthcare, law enforcement, social services, hospitality, finance, and nonprofit sectors.

Laura holds a B.A. in Anthropology and Sociology and an M.S. in Instructional Design and Technology. She is a certified Coach, Intercultural Practitioner, and Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). In addition, she is a certified facilitator for Cultural Detective, Emotional Intelligence in Diversity, and Pathways to Racial Reconciliation programs, and is an active member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

In recognition of her commitment to building inclusive communities through leadership, Laura received the NAACP Pioneer Award in 2018. A lifelong learner and global traveler, she has studied and worked in Jamaica, India, Ireland, West Africa, and North Africa (where she lived from 2009–2010), experiences that continue to shape her intercultural and leaning-centered approach to leadership.

Alisa Myles

Alisa Myles joins The Peace Center Board with a rich background in education, service, and community engagement. She is currently an educator in the Pennsbury School District, where she works as a reading specialist dedicated to nurturing lifelong literacy and inclusive learning. Beyond her classroom role, Alisa is deeply committed to youth empowerment and social justice. She serves as a foster parent to unaccompanied refugee minors (URM), hosting youth in her home as part of her family.

In her faith community, Alisa serves as Clerk of Bristol Friends Meeting, providing spiritual and organizational leadership to the Quaker meeting Alisa holds two master’s degrees: a Master of Arts in History from the University of Edinburgh (UK) and a Master of Education from Holy Family University. She continues to educate herself in cultural competencies and is currently a graduate student at the American College of Education, a Fund for Teachers Fellow and a National Education Association (NEA) Learning and Leadership Grant recipient.

Throughout her career and volunteer work, Alisa has engaged in initiatives that bring together her passions for education, equity, and community building. She has been an active contributor to local literacy, environmental, and outreach programs, and has guided creative youth programs and skill-building workshops in her faith community. 

As she assumes her role on The Peace Center Board, Alisa brings an educator’s heart, a lifelong commitment to nurturing the potential of young people, and a grounded experience in faith-based service and cross-cultural reception.

Debbie Wachspress

Debbie has 25+ years of professional experience working in grassroots organizing, issue advocacy, and resource development in the non-profit community. She served as The Peace Center’s first development director from 2017-2019. She currently serves as development director with Students for Voting Justice, an initiative that trains students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities on how to get-out-the-vote in underserved communities in the South. In 2017, she co-founded Lower Bucks Indivisible to engage citizens in the democratic process. Debbie also served in elective office as a director on the Pennsbury School Board from 2013-2021 where she chaired the policy and education committees and was also a candidate for U.S. Congress in PA-01 in 2020. She currently serves on the steering committee for the Bucks County Interfaith Coalition for Refugee Resettlement, an all-volunteer initiative that has settled Syrian and Afghan families in the local community. Debbie is a graduate of Rutgers University/Douglass College with a BA degree in political science and of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers with an MA degree in public policy. She and her husband, Dan, have three grown children and a sassy cockapoo named Rosie.