Johan and Judy Maurer are members of
Reedwood Friends Church, Portland, Oregon, USA. Starting early in 2008, they hope to make their home in Elektrostal, Russia, as part of the Quaker community in Elektrostal.
In fall 2007, Johan moved to Elektrostal to begin consulting and teaching at the
New Humanitarian Institute and putting down roots in the community.
Johan's first visit to Russia was in 1975, near the end of his studies of Russian language and literature at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. Around 1991 he first heard about Elektrostal through members of the Quaker US-USSR Committee. In 1994 he made the first of many visits, supporting and learning from the local community of Friends, and volunteering at two independent schools.