OUR
TEAM
Our Team is dedicated to building an Antidote to the poison of psychological manipulation
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
— Diane Benscoter
Diane Benscoter is the founder of Antidote.ngo and the author of Shoes of a Servant – My unconditional Devotion to a Lie. She is a speaker and workshop facilitator. She owned and operated a business serving the technology industry much of her adult life.
Drawing from her own experience inside a religious cult and later as a deprogrammer, Diane came to realize the need for an organization that recognizes psychological manipulation as a public health problem. Her experience in the technology industry informs her understanding of the need to utilize technology, and especially social media, to reach those who are most at risk of being taken advantage of. Antidote is the result of her many years of effort to find a comprehensive solution to the problem of psychological manipulation. Diane is determined to build a solution that is proportional to the dangerous and harmful effects these deceptive tactics have on individuals, families and society at large.
— Yael Flusberg
Yael Flusberg is a yoga therapist, writer and coach who helps people find resiliency and relief in the midst of transition and loss, and in the aftermath of trauma. Prior to becoming a full-time yoga educator, Yael spent 20+ years working with hundreds of grassroots, philanthropic, and creative communities through capacity building, community development and strategic planning consultation. The daughter of Holocaust-surviving immigrants and the first in her family to earn a college degree, Yael began her nonprofit career engaging in community organizing and social justice advocacy with refugees. Yael is thrilled to bring together her interest in what causes ordinary people to be attracted to extremist or ideological doctrine with her start-up savvy to her role as chair of the Antidote Board of Directors.
— Paul Jensen
Paul Jensen is a strategic communications consultant who supports executives of leading nonprofit organizations, corporations and international agencies to have a positive influence on public affairs. He also serves as Director of Policy and Strategy for The Union, the world’s oldest global public health organization. His research and analysis has earned coverage from more than 100 major news media outlets worldwide, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, Reuters among others, and he has conducted field research in more than 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. He grew up in the Pentecostal movement. He lives in Washington, DC.
— Lisa Kohn
Lisa Kohn is an accomplished leadership consultant, executive coach, author, and keynote speaker with over 20 years of experience partnering with a broad range of Fortune 500 clients, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Citigroup, Comcast, New York City Department of Education, Verizon, and World Wrestling Entertainment. By emphasizing the importance of thoughtful, intentional leadership, Lisa helps clients to dig deep and uncover fundamental issues in order to implement real change, and successfully communicate with others to ensure the changes stick. Lisa’s latest book is To the Moon and Back (Heliotrope Books), a memoir of being raised as a “Moonie”—a member of the Unification Church, sharing the story of her tumultuous youth, growing up in the church’s inner circle, close to the so-called Messiah, Sun Myung Moon, and his family.
— Tanya Silverman
Tanya Silverman is the Active Citizenship Programme Manager at the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) in London where she is policy lead on Hate Crime, and previously worked on developing a joint public engagement plan with the Met Police. She has worked with the National Police Chief’s Council assisting with strategy for digital policing, with the Met Police on experimental change, and as a consultant for the UK government designing and delivering training on community resilience building. Tanya is also a member of the Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) Centre of Excellence expert’s group. Previously, she worked at ISD Global managing the Against Violent Extremism (AVE) network – the world’s largest network of former extremists – and led some of the organisation’s global work on counter-narratives in Indonesia and Kenya. She has published works on the topic of foreign fighters. Miss Silverman graduated from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, with an Msc in International Relations.
— Julie Kohtz
Julie Kohtz has worked in Information technology, as a college instructor, for the past 20 years. She previously worked in the banking and insurance industries. Julie brings her IT knowledge as well as her meticulousness to the role of treasurer of the board. Julie knows firsthand what it is to be a family member of someone in a religious cult. She is Diane Benscoter’s sister. She empathizes with those needing support, from the perspective of its effect on the family. Julie has been an advocate of the goals of Antidote since its inception. She lives with her family in Nebraska.