Mr. Sam Chittick is currently the international advisor for the Facility for Advisory Support for Transition Capacities (FASTRAC), a joint facility of the World Bank and United Nations in support of the peace process between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Sam has spent 18 years of his career in development works in China, Indonesia, East Timor, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. His work entailed long-term residence in Mozambique and in the Philippines for the past eight years now. Sam is a senior governance and peace and conflict specialist whose focus through the years has been the challenges of improving governance in conflict-affected areas, including peace building, social accountability, local economic development, decentralization, rural development, and public sector management. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in International and Community Development.

Atty. Laisa Masuhud Alamia is the executive secretary of the ARMM. She is one of the co-founders of  Nisa Ul Haqq Fi Bangsamoro, which means “Women for Justice in the Bangsamoro”, a network of Muslim women’s rights advocates in Muslim Mindanao involved in raising the level of awareness of open-minded Muslim women and men on Muslim women’s rights. As partner and trial lawyer at Pakam and Alamia Law Offices in Zamboanga City, she handled cases on family law with emphasis on violence against women and children, Shari’ah law, environmental and agrarian reform law, among others. Ms. Alamia was previously a senior economic development specialist with seven years of experience with the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). She is also a registered nurse and a product of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University, graduating cum laude and valedictorian. She finished her Bachelor of Laws at Western Mindanao State University.

Atty. Mohammad Al-Amin Julkipli works as part of the legal team assisting the Government (GPH) Peace Negotiating Panel for talks with the MILF. Prior to joining the legal team of the GPH Panel, he was a visiting lecturer at the Western Mindanao State University (WMSU) in Zamboanga City where he taught various courses in the social sciences, including Philippine Government and Constitution, Current Sociology, and Political Dynamics with emphasis on peace and conflict studies. Atty. Julkipli is a Tausug-Sama from Zamboanga City. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science cum laude at the University of the Philippines-Diliman in 2009 and proceeded to study law in the same university. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree from the UP College of Law in 2013 and was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2014. He also concurrently sits as an alternate member of the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

Fr. Eliseo R. Mercado, OMI is director and senior policy adviser at the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG).  He also chairs Kusog Mindanaw, a multi-sector coalition of Mindanao leaders advocating for peace and development that includes the campaign for greater autonomy. He was president of Notre Dame University in Cotabato City (1992-2002). He served as the director for Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation (JPIC) for the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) based in Rome (2003-2006). As congregational JPIC director, he was also the permanent representative of the OMI to the UN as an accredited NGO at the UN Department of Public Information and at the ECOSOC, both in New York and Geneva. A recognized expert on the role of Islam in Southeast Asia and the Philippines, Fr. Mercado was designated chairperson of the Independent Ceasefire Monitoring Committee of the Philippine government and the MILF. He was appointed chief peace negotiator with the Muslim fronts by Pres. Gloria Arroyo. He had lectured at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Singapore), the University of Sans Malaya (Kuala Lumpur), Georgetown University (Washington DC), U.S. Institute of Peace (Washington, D.C.) and at the EAPI, Ateneo de Manila University. Fr. Mercado has published papers on Islam and Mindanao that have been featured in leading publications in the Philippines and abroad. Fr. Mercado holds a doctorate in Divinity and Humanity, Master’s degrees in Theology and Philosophy, and Bachelor's degrees in Theology, Classics and Philosophy. He completed work in Islamic Studies and Arabic Studies at the Gregorian University in Rome and at the Oriental Institute in Cairo.