Claire Schaeffer-Duffy

Program Director  

Claire is the former Chair of the Board of Directors for the Center and has been part of the organization almost since its inception. She earned her bachelors in Social and Political Thought at the University of Virginia and is a 2013 graduate of the Fletcher Summer Institute for the Advanced Study of Nonviolent Conflict at Tufts University. She and husband Scott are co-founding members of the SS. Francis and Therese Catholic Worker, a lay community that has worked for peace and justice and offered hospitality to Worcester’s homeless for more than thirty years.  The Schaeffer-Duffys have participated in numerous local and international peace campaigns and are the recipients of the Paulist Center’s  2007 Isaac Hecker Award for Social Justice. A free-lance journalist, Claire has reported from various conflict zones including Bosnia, Afghanistan, Haiti, Burundi and the Middle East and received awards for her writing.  Her travels have allowed her to observe first-hand war’s devastation as well as the courage of many global peacemakers. These experiences, along with a reverence for children and their future compel her commitment to peace-building.

Matt Shorten

Education Facilitator

Matt grew up on Long Island, NY. He came to Worcester in 1970 to attend Holy Cross College and then complete a M.Ed. from Worcester State College. His career spanned 35 years teaching Special Education, most recently at Quabbin Reg. High. He has been a peace activist for 50 years, since he was old enough to file as a conscientious objector. Mostly retired now, Matt has time to pursue his passions for nonviolent conflict resolution at Claremont High and AVP (Alternatives to Violence Program) at the Gardner Prison. He also serves as Clerk of the Worcester Friends Meeting.

Roxanne Bruno

Volunteer Web Administrator & Technical Support

Roxanne provides volunteer web administration and technical support for the Center for Nonviolent Solutions. She is a retired software engineer with over 30 years of experience designing systems to protect worker health and safety in industrial manufacturing, guided by a core belief that technology should serve, empower, and uplift people. She also serves as Secretary of the Board for Community Alliance for Peace and Justice.

A lifelong advocate for justice, Roxanne’s work began in the 1980s within the animal rights movement and has since expanded to include coalition organizing, educational outreach, and congressional engagement in support of Palestinian human rights.  She holds a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Duquesne University.