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Game Changer Founder Named 2018 Peacemaker of the Year

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (March 5, 2018) – On Wednesday, February 28, 2018, the San Diego Downtown Breakfast Rotary
Club bestowed Embrace Founder and Game Changer creator, Sean Sheppard, with the 2018 Peacemaker of the Year
Award. The award is given annually to a San Diego community leader who has made a significant difference in
promoting tolerance, understanding, conflict resolution and peace in the region. February is Peace and Conflict
Prevention/Resolution Month as designated by Rotary International. Sheppard also became the first person to be named
a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow by The San Diego Downtown Breakfast Rotary Club, in addition to being the
Peacemaker Award recipient.

The Peacemaker award has been given by the San Diego Downtown Breakfast Rotary Club for the past 10 years. Every
year, the Nominating Committee asks for nominations from 100+ club members. This year, the committee received
seven nominations – all worthy candidates – and Sheppard was selected as the top candidate based on all relevant
criteria. The selection process is a total club effort, led by Rotary Club Peace Committee Chairs Sandra Schrift and
George Shipp.
 Game Changer Founder Sean Sheppard is named the 2018 Peacemaker of the Year
and Paul Harris Fellow by the San Diego Downtown Breakfast Rotary Club at The University Club atop Symphony Towers

Past recipients of the Peacemaker Award include:

-Shelley Zimmerman, former San Diego Police Chief
-Todd Gloria, former San Diego City Council Member (and current California Assembly member)
-Patricia Marquez, Dean of the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies at the University of San Diego
-Morris Causto, retired member of the Professional Staff of the Anti-Defamation League
-Steve Brown and Fary Moini, Rotarians who built schools in Afghanistan

The Paul Harris Fellow recognition is the Rotary Foundation's way of expressing its appreciation for a substantial
contribution to Rotary’s humanitarian and educational programs. It is named for Rotary International’s founder, Paul
Harris, a Chicago lawyer who started Rotary International with three business associates in 1905.

Click here to donate.

“I’m beyond honored to receive recognition from such a distinguished group of humanitarians and philanthropists right
here in San Diego,” stated Sheppard. “To be honored in the name of Paul Harris is extremely humbling. The recognition
is a testament to what can happen when enough people consistently come together in the name of peace and
understanding. There is no peace without understanding,” Sheppard added.

Statement from the San Diego Downtown Breakfast Rotary Club: “Rotarians often designate a Paul Harris Fellow as a
tribute to a person whose life demonstrates a shared purpose with the objectives of The Rotary Foundation. Our club is
recognizing Sean Sheppard as a Paul Harris Fellow because of his commitment to one of Rotary’s most important goals:
peace and conflict resolution. Sean truly embraces Rotary’s broad mission of “Peace Through Service.”

Sheppard, the founder of the nonprofit organization Embrace, has mobilized thousands of college student volunteers to
serve low income children, the homeless and disabled veterans. The organization is rooted in the notion that community
service draws diverse groups of people together, creating the type of consistent exposure that tears down walls and
promotes understanding and peace. Embrace’s latest program, Game Changer, consistently brings together law
enforcement and civilian community members to discuss problems and devise solutions – together. The model’s mantra
is that a change in perception, leads to a change in behavior, which can lead to a change in outcomes - more peaceful
outcomes.

Over a 13-month period Game Changer has hosted 36 events with over 450 members of law enforcement and non-law
enforcement members of the community.

For more information on Game Changer and future events please visit
www.GameChanger1.org
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