2023 WWFOR Fall Retreat
The Human Right to a Livable and Just World
Sat Nov 11, 9 am – 12:30 pm Pacific time, Zoom
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See below for brief bios and information about presenters and organizations
Western Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation’s 2023 Fall Retreat conference with theme The Human Right to a Livable and Just World!
Our program will include:
- “Youth Panel on Climate Issues” – panelists from WWFOR’s Mike Yarrow Peace Fellows Program and the Thurston Youth Climate Coalition, moderated by Sarah Pham
- “Held v. Montana: A Discussion of the Historic Youth Climate Win,” Melissa Hornbein, a Senior Attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center (WELC)
- “Effects of the War Economy and Ecological Devastation on the Poor.” By members of the WA Poor People’s Campaign Core Committee
- WORKSHOPS
- “Climate Change, War on Civilians, War on the Earth” presented by Jim Janko who works with the Veterans for Peace (VFP) nationwide Climate Crisis & Militarism Project from his home in Albuquerque. Jim will include examples from the war in Gaza/Israel in his presentation. VFP is whole-heartedly supporting a ceasefire, as are WWFOR and national FOR.
- “Coalition Building for a Just Transition to Environmental and Economic Justice” presented by Aurora Martin, Co-Executive Director, Front and Centered. Front and Centered is a coalition of communities of color, people with lower incomes, and Indigenous peoples on the frontlines of environmental and economic justice.
Youth Activist Presentation. Introduction to WWFOR’s Mike Yarrow Peace Fellows Program by Sarah Pham with several current MYPF students describing their projects for the school year
INQUIRIES TO gantj_750@msn.com or WWFOR at 206-789-5565 or wwfor@wwfor.org
MORE INFORMATION including schedule, presenter bios, and program details will be coming soon
Suggested registration donation $25 general, $10 low income and students.
ONLINE REGISTRATION: Go to Fall Retreat 2023 (brownpapertickets.com) [https://wwfor2023fr.brownpapertickets.com/] This registration site is for people who are registering online AND prefer to pay online at one of the above levels. This registration site also offers the option of making a donation beyond the levels mentioned above, or just making a donation.
MORE OPTIONS If you would like to attend and are unable to contribute to our costs, please register by phone 206-789-5565, email wwfor@wwfor.org, or postal mail WWFOR, 225 N 70th St, Seattle WA 98103. If you are making a donation you can also register by postal mail; please send your check to WWFOR (any amount, “fall retreat” on the memo line). However you register, we request your name(s), email(s), workshop choice(s), and phone number(s) and we will provide the Zoom connection information.
EVERYONE IS WELCOME regardless of ability to pay!
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FALL RETREAT SCHEDULE
8:45 Open doors
Music videos
9:00. Welcome
Tech introduction – Vindhya Adamala
Land Acknowledgement – Regon Unsoeld
Introduction to program – Mary Hanson
9: 15 Youth Panel on Climate issues
Justin Yang
Elsie Sabel
MODERATOR – Sarah Pham
9:45—10:45
Held v. Montana: A Discussion of the Historic Climate Win By Melissa Hornbein at the Western Environmental Law Center (WELC)
1045-10:50. Break.
10:50 – 11:10. BREAKOUT ROOMS
11.10 – 11:25 Effects of the War Economy and Ecological Devastation On the Poor. By members of the WA Poor People’s Campaign Core Committee
11::25 – 12:05. Workshops. (participants choose one):
1. Climate Change, War on Civilians, War on the Earth by Jim Janko, VFP Climate and Militarism Project
2. Coalition Building for a Just Transition to Environmental And Economic Justice. By Aurora Martin, Front and Centered.
12:05 – Mike Yarrow Peace Fellowship Program-by Sarah Pham
With MYPF students:
Anela Aauae Decker
Anova Satar
Vindhya Adamala’
MODERATOR – Sarah Pham
12:20. Participant responses (evaluation) methods. – Vindhya
!2:25 Music video – The Times they are A’Changin’ by Bob Dylan
12:30 Goodbye – Jean Gant Delastrada
12:30 – 1:15 Informal Discussion Time – Mary Hanson
MODERATOR– David Lambert
More Information about Presenters and Affiliated Organizations
Melissa Hornbein is a Senior Attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center. Her presentation will be “Held v. Montana: A Discussion of the Historic Youth Climate Win” Melissa helped represent 16 young Montanans in the first-ever U.S. constitutional climate trial in Held vs. Montana in June 2023. Melissa has been involved in this case as local counsel and plaintiffs’ attorney since 2021 and will continue defending the plaintiffs’ district court win as it is appealed to the state Supreme Court.
Western Environmental Law Center https://westernlaw.org/ uses the power of the law to safeguard the public lands, wildlife, and communities of the western U.S. in the face of a changing climate. We envision a thriving, resilient western U.S., abundant with protected public lands and wildlife, powered by clean energy, and defended by communities rooted in an ethic of conservation.
Jim Janko, activist with the Veterans for Peace (VFP) nationwide Climate Crisis & Militarism Project, will give a workshop Climate Change, War on Civilians, War on the Earth. Jim is a member of the Albuquerque chapter of Veterans for Peace and the Climate Crisis & Militarism Project of Veterans for Peace. He was an infantry medic in the Viet Nam War in 1970. After his time in the war, he studied ecology at UC Berkeley and received a B.S. in Conservation of Natural Resources. Jim will include examples from the war in Gaza/Israel in his presentation.
Veterans for Peace Climate Crisis & Militarism Project https://www.veteransforpeace.org/take-action/climatecrisis is part of the world-wide movement to end the climate crisis and promote climate, environmental, racial, and economic justice. Our emphasis focuses on how US militarism, the single largest institutional source of greenhouse gasses on the planet, fuels the climate crisis.
Aurora Martin, Co-Executive Director of Front and Centered will lead a workshop Coalition Building for a Just Transition to Environmental and Economic Justice. Aurora shares the leadership of Front and Centered with a focus on supporting the team’s capacity building and community engagement efforts. She has been involved in social justice work as a nonprofit lawyer, community organization leader, and creative producer. Aurora brings an eclectic spirit to the Front and Centered team, and looks forward to advancing equity, environmental, and climate justice with our community coalition.
Front-&-Centered https://frontandcentered.org/ Front and Centered envisions a Just Transition to a future where our communities and the earth are healed and thriving, our people have dignified work, and our government values, respects, and represents us. We are working for sovereignty and self-sufficiency for our communities so that future generations can thrive. We strive to make racial inequities on all issues a thing of the past, and to ensure that people of color and Indigenous people are at the forefront of building equitable, democratic systems and policies that work for their communities. We are working for a future where all communities are healthy, safe, and resilient, and where everyone has equitable access to the building blocks of opportunity and prosperity like a healthy environment free from ecological destruction, affordable housing, and good careers based on safe work with livable wages.
Youth Climate Activists.
Members of the Youth Climate Issues Panel and the MYPF Presentation:
Vindhya Adamala is working as tech host for this Fall Retreat.student at Olympia High School and a 2023-24 MYPF student. Her MYPF project will be in the area of Food Justice and Anti-Racism.
Justin Yang (He/Him) is a 2023-24 MYPF student from Woodinville, WA., a senior at Innovation Lab High School. His MYPF project is working as part of his school’s Climate Action Club to push for the declaration of a state of Climate Emergency in Washington State.
Anela Auwae Dekker is a 2023-24 MYPF student, who attends high school in Seattle. Her MYPF project will be in the area of Native American Organizing and Decolonization.
Anoova Satar is a 2023-24 MYPF student in Olympia. Her MYPF project is on Artful Activism in the Bengali community.
Sarah Pham – PRESENTER and panel MODERATOR, has been the MYPF coordinator since 2022. Sarah was a 2017 MYPF student, and graduated from the University of Washington in 2023.
Elsie Sabel,she/her pronouns,I (not pictured) lives in Olympia and is a recent graduate of Avanti High School. This year she is working on building the Thurston Youth Climate Coalition, an activism organization that she helped co-found 2 years ago.
Washington State Poor People’s Campaign (WA-PPC), www.washingtonppc.org is the state chapter of the National Poor People’s Campaign—A Movement, not an Organization. It stands on the shoulders of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., building power for the justice and liberation of the poor and all of those impacted by the evils of Systemic Racism, the War Economy, Ecological Devastation, Poverty, and Our Distorted Moral Narrative. National Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR-USA) is a National Poor People’s Campaign (PPC) Mobilizing Partner, and the Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia chapters are Mobilizing Partners of WA-PPC. On March 2nd, 2024, we will be supporting a Washington Poor People’s Campaign action In Olympia to present their demands at the Capitol. Karen Austin and Romy Garcia represented WA-PPC.
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To see information about previous Fall Retreats, with select recordings, see 2022 Fall Retreat, 2021 Fall Retreat, or 2020 Fall Retreat