The Steering Committee of the Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action has unanimously elected Irene Etkin Goldman of Ewing to become the new chairwoman of the organization.
She replaces the Rev. G.P. Mellick Belshaw, the retired Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of New Jersey, who had been chairman for five years.
She has been involved with the coalition for 15 years, during which she has served as chairwoman of its International Citizen Diplomacy Committee, representative to the United Nations, and Steering Committee vice chairwoman for outreach.
In November, National Peace Action, the largest peace group in the United States with some 100,000 members, recognized Ms. Goldman with the award for Outstanding Board Leadership at the grass-roots level.
Ms. Goldman, who majored in Russian language and literature at Douglass College of Rutgers University, also has been a prominent human rights activist.
She co-led efforts that secured the release from Russian prisons of two whistleblowers who revealed illegal activities regarding chemical weapons production and nuclear dumping, as well as release of private citizens who have been wrongfully imprisoned in Russia.
She also helped start one of the first nongovernmental organizations for women’s rights in the former Soviet Union.
Ms. Goldman also serves as vice president of the Nakashima Foundation for Peace. She is an advocate and past board member of Planned Parenthood of Mercer County.
Previously, she chaired the board of Artworks, the regional visual arts organization based in Trenton.
The Rev. Robert Moore, the coalition’s executive director, said, "We are very grateful for the five years of Bishop Belshaw’s excellent leadership. Now we are delighted to welcome Irene Goldman, a woman of great vision, talent and energy, as our new chair to help us meet the great challenges ahead.
"Irene’s dedicated commitment to peace and outstanding leadership abilities will help us meet those challenges as effectively as possible."
