Sandra Ionno Butcher is the Senior Program Coordinator for the International Secretariat of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, where she also serves as Director of the Pugwash History Project.
The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs is an international network that addresses the root problems of arms control and disarmament. Butcher helps to organize private “Track II” meetings around the world that explore the interrelated issues of nuclear disarmament, non-military resolution of conflict, and the role of scientists. These meetings involve current and former policy makers and experts who participate in their personal capacities. Pugwash projects focus on South Asia, the Middle East, and the US/Europe, seeking to decrease the salience of nuclear weapons and to create the environment for an eventual nuclear-weapons-free world. .
In addition, Butcher was asked by Joseph Rotblat to write the history of the Pugwash Conferences. Over the course of many years, she has conducted oral histories and research on the founding of the organization, from the famous Russell-Einstein Manifesto of 1955 (the last public statement from Albert Einstein calling on us all to “learn to think in a new way”), to the first meeting hosted by Cyrus Eaton in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, through to its sharing the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize with Joseph Rotblat. In addition to writing and public speaking on the Pugwash history, Butcher also maintains the Pugwash History blog.
She has a MLitt. in Strategic Studies from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and a BA in history from Colgate University (where she also was involved with the peace studies program). Butcher has extensive experience in seeking to engage young people in discussions on nuclear weapons issues, and other issues at the intersect of science and social responsibility.
Butcher grew up in New Jersey and spent nearly eighteen years in Washington, DC. She and her husband, Martin, and their two young boys currently live near London, England.
More information on Pugwash projects can be found at:
www.pugwash.org
www.pugwashhistory.blogspot.com.