Erik Gustafson

Executive Director

Erik K. Gustafson founded EPIC in 1998 to improve humanitarian conditions in Iraq and defend the human rights of the Iraqi people. Under his leadership, EPIC has hosted dozens of policy forums and led Iraq-related humanitarian advocacy in Washington DC. In 2008, Gustafson organized Iraq Action Days, which generated $1.8 billion in funding to help war-affected Iraqis and other vulnerable persons worldwide.

In March 2009 – July 2010, Gustafson took a sabbatical from EPIC and spent time in Sulaimani, Iraq, where he directed a $1 million human rights training project for Iraqi NGOs. Since his return, Gustafson has focused on incorporating innovative youth and peacebuilding projects into EPIC’s work. EPIC’s first project on-the-ground in Iraq, the Iraqi Youth Hike, was crowd-funded by EPIC supporters and friends.

Gustafson served in the US Army during the 1991 Gulf War. Witnessing the consequences of war fueled a life-long passion for human rights, peacebuilding, and humanitarian work. Following military service, Gustafson attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison to pursue a degree in Education. While there, he led the Madison chapter of the East Timor Action Network, supporting East Timor’s right to self-determination and the protection of East Timorese civilians. Gustafson traveled to Iraq in 1997 and 1999 to investigate the deterioration of humanitarian conditions under Saddam Hussein’s regime and the most comprehensive economic sanctions ever imposed in the history of the United Nations.

Lauren Jenkins

National Coordinator

Lauren joined EPIC in March 2009. Lauren coordinates EPIC’s work in Washington, DC, to further human rights and sustainable peace in Iraq. She comes to EPIC with experience advocating for human rights with Amnesty International USA, Oxfam America, and the Genocide Intervention Network. She also interned with Congresswoman Barbara Lee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Lauren has a Bachelor’s degree from Howard University in African Studies.

Christine van den Toorn

Iraq Field Representative, volunteer

Christine’s interest in the Middle East region began as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco in 2004 where she worked on health and education projects in a small, rural village in the Er-Rachidia province.  After her service, she attended graduate school in Middle East History at the University of Virginia and studied Arabic in Syria at the University of Damascus and the French Institute of Near East Studies, and in the U.S. at Middlebury College and Georgetown University. After receiving her M.A. from UVa, she went to work at the American University of Iraq-Sulaimaniya (AUI-S) where she is in her second year of teaching an advanced reading course and coaching the women’s basketball team.

James Decker

Designer and communications consultant

James has been a communications consultant and graphic designer for EPIC since 1999.  He was a designer for an array of other progressive non-profits, including Public Citizen and Human Rights Campaign.  He also sits on the board of Cherry Fund, an annual charity dance event in Washington DC.  He attended Prescott College, where he studied political and environmental science, and is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University, where he majored in philosophy and graphic design.