Board Members
Board of Directors
Sadri Altinok
President
Sadri Altinok is a distinguished leader whose dedication to community, dialogue, and human rights has left a lasting impact. He earned his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Naval Post Graduate School in 1987 and built a successful career in high-tech companies in Silicon Valley and New York before becoming CEO of Signal Telecommunications.
For over two decades, Sadri has served in prominent civic roles, including Co-chair of LIWINS and Abraham’s Table of LI, board member of the Muslim Advisory Board of Suffolk County, and member of the Police Advisory Board. He is also the President of the Turkish Cultural Center NY and serves on the Brooklyn Amity School NY board.
A graduate of the FBI Citizen Academy NY, he has received many awards from the U.S. President, Congress, NY State Assembly, and local administrations. In 2022, he joined AST’s board and was elected President in 2025.
Eyyup Esen
Treasurer
Eyyup Esen, Ph.D., graduated with a doctorate in Higher Education from the University of Kansas in December 2014. Born and raised in Turkey, he earned a B.A. in Foreign Language Teaching from Black Sea Technical University, an M.A. in Educational Studies from the University of Cincinnati, and a second M.A. in Communication and Leadership from Park University. He completed his Ph.D. at KU with high honors and also holds a certificate in Peace Education.
Dr. Esen currently serves as a High School Scholar Advocate with KC Scholars and is actively involved with the Dialogue Institute, also known as the Movement of Global Warming of Hearts. Previously, he worked as a college access advisor at Metropolitan Community College and Wichita State University.
In 2014, he was named the Most Outstanding International Student by the University of Kansas. He published his first book, Global Warming of Hearts!, in 2018, followed by I Am Not Color Blind in 2020.
Aslihan Kas
Secretary
Aslıhan Kas was born in 1981, in Erzurum, Turkey. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Istanbul University. For 17 years, she worked as a teacher and held various leadership roles in educational institutions across Turkey. In 2018, she relocated to New Jersey, USA.
Since then, Aslıhan has been actively involved with Advocates of Silenced Turkey, where she serves as a board member and coordinates the Exhibition of Silent Screams project. She is also the director of two human rights documentaries, The Other Children and Metamorphosis.
Aslıhan is the co-author of the book Being the Other in Turkey, available on Amazon. She is married and the mother of two children.
Advisory Board
Jude Huntz
Chaplain at Ascend Hospice and Palliative Care
Jude was born in Buffalo NY where he graduated from Canisius College with a degree in Philosophy. He had a fourteen year career as a middle school teacher, earning Missouri Teacher of the Year award in 2005. He went on to earn a Master’s degree in Humanities from the University of Dallas and a Master’s degree in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University of Chicago. Jude then moved into a career in ministry and nonprofit work while continuing to serve as an adjunct professor at various colleges in the Kansas City area.
He has been married to his wife Cristen for 27 years and they have two children. Jude currently serves as hospice chaplain at Ascend Hospice and Palliative Care.
Rev. Ed Stevenson
Retired United Methodist Pastor
Ed is a retired United Methodist pastor living in Prairie Village, Kansas. He spent most of his
adult working career as a pastor with churches in the Kansas City area. In 2006, a group of Kansas City pastors visited Turkey to learn about Turkey and the Hizmet movement. The trip inspired Ed to become involved in interfaith work in Kansas City and when he moved to Montana in 2010. He has published several poems in Fountain magazine and filmed a short video for use in Hizmet work. Ed feels blessed by the friends he’s made through this work and by the humility, courage, intelligence and kindness he has witnessed.
Gretchen Cassel Eick
Author & Professor of History at Friends University.
After working fourteen years on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Gretchen moved to Kansas in 1993, earned a PhD in American Studies from the University of Kansas, and taught at Friends and now Wichita State Universities.
Her book—Dissent in Wichita: The Civil Rights Movement in the Midwest, 1954–1972 (University of Illinois Press, 2001/2007/2023) won the Richard Wentworth Award, K.U.’s Hall Center Award, and the William Rockhill Nelson award.
They Met at Wounded Knee: The Eastmans’ Story (University of Nevada Press, 2020) won the Coffin Award. She was KAC’s Prose Writer of the Year 2021. Since 2015 she has published six novels: The Set Up, 1984, Finding Duncan, Maybe Crossings, Dark Crossings, and Where is Ana Amara? #6 comes out in 2025.
Lew and Gloria Hinshaw
Retired Ministry from the United Church of Christ, Retired Early Childhood Special Education teacher.
Lew retired from ministry the United Church of Christ and Gloria is a retired Early Childhood Special Education teacher.
They love living in Washington state and the NW area of the United States. They have been actively advocating for elder rights, monitoring long-term care facilities. They are powerful examples of health and wholeness, demonstrating a consciousness of prayer, well-being and community. They have been participating with the AST Board since its inception.
Kari O’Rourke
Director of Collaborative Arts for Erguvan Art & Academy
Kari O’Rourke received her Ph.D. from UMKC in December 2023 in Education. She has been actively involved in various ministries in Kansas City and abroad for more than 4 decades with a focus on advocacy and service to those who are resource poor. She professed the vow of nonviolence in 1984 as a member of the Holy Family Catholic Worker community in Kansas City, Missouri. She is a member of Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral in the Episcopal Diocese of Western Missouri, and serves as the chairperson for their Interfaith and Ecumenical Committee. She is currently is a member of the Advocates of Silenced Turkey Advisory Board and is Director of Collaborative Arts for Erguvan Art & Academy. She was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and served in the US Navy for 5 years
Sat Bir Kaur Khalsa
Co-Founder of the Culture of Peace Alliance
Sat Bir Kaur Khalsa is a co-founder of the Culture of Peace Alliance (COPA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating peace in the Tucson area. She cares deeply about what happens on the internet, Facebook, and other social media platforms, as well as around the world. She holds a master’s degree in Women’s Studies from the University of Arizona. Sat Bir is a foster parent to women with disabilities and a strong advocate for peaceful dialogue and human rights for all people. She does what she can to help build a more peaceful and just society where everyone is encouraged to reach their full potential.
Taylor Qualls
Therapist
Taylor Qualls is a therapist who lives in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. He is the father of two kids and a dog.
