Speakers (Keynotes and Panelists)
Gopal Dayaneni, Movement Generation Staff Collective Member, Movement Generation Planning Committee Member
Gopal has been involved in fighting for social, economic, environmental and racial justice through organizing and campaigning, teaching, writing, speaking and direct action since the late 1980’s. Gopal is an active trainer with and serves on the boards of The Ruckus Society and the Center for Story-based Strategy (formerly smartMeme). He also serves on the advisory boards of the International Accountability Project, and Catalyst Project. Gopal works at the intersection of ecology, economy and empire.
Gopal has been a campaigner for Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition on human rights and environmental justice in the high-tech industry and the Oil Campaigner for Project Underground, a human rights and environmental rights organization which supported communities resisting oil and mining exploitation around the world. Gopal has been active in many people powered direct action movements, including the Global Justice/Anti-Globalization Movement, Direct Action to Stop the War, Mobilization for Climate Justice, Take Back the Land, and Occupy.
Gopal is the father of two young direct action junkies, Ila Sophia and Kavi Samaka Orion, and lives in an intentional community with 9 adults, 8 kids and a bunch of chickens.
Natasha L. Simpson, A master’s candidate in the Community Development Graduate Group at UC Davis, and also earned her BA in Women and Gender Studies from San Francisco State University.
Simpson’s research questions why disability is not often a consideration in intersectional social justice movements with a focus on the food justice movement, and makes the case for why fighting the oppression of people with disabilities is essential to all movements that seek to advance social justice. Currently, Simpson is Disability & Food Justice Fellow at Phat Beets Produce, a food justice organization in Oakland, CA where she creates and facilitates educational and consciousness-raising curriculum for the public as well as organizations.
Juliette Beck, Former Global Exchange Organizer and Sierra Club Clear-cutting Campaign Coordinator.
Juliette coordinates the Stop Clear-cutting Campaign which is part of the Sierra Club’s Resilient Habitat Campaign. Juliette has led campaigns on a variety of environmental, human rights and economic justice issues in California over the past fifteen years. She was a lead organizer of the historic protests in Seattle against the World Trade Organization in 1999 attended by over 50,000 people. As a spokeswoman during global justice demonstrations in Washington, DC in April 2000, Juliette was featured in news stories in the New Yorker, Washington Post, Jim Lehrer News Hour, Charlie Rose Show, National Public Radio and Sunday Times of London.
Kriti Garg, Former ASUCD Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission Chair, SOCC UCD Delegation Coordinator, UCD REACH Retreat 2015 Convener, Former Campus Climate Coordinator at the CCC
Kriti Garg is a fourth-year undergraduate student at UC Davis from Cupertino, California. She is passionate about advocating for marginalized communities and is thankful for the opportunities to work on issues of equity and inclusion. Kriti also enjoys facilitating dialogues on social justice as a trainer for the Cross Cultural Center peer education program. Through this program she has facilitated a dialogue with the Student Environmental Resource Center at UC Berkeley on Ally Development. As a Community & Regional Development major, she is interested in working in higher education and public policy.
Stephanie Hervey , Co-Founder of the Artisan Hub, Member of Sunflower Alliance and Richmond Our Power Campaign.
Stephanie comes from a diverse background influenced by art and technology, woven together in the context of social justice. While studying Real Estate and International Business at Georgia State University she taught Master Certification classes as an Oracle instructor and developed curriculum exercises that facilitated learning in a variety of styles. Now she uses these skills to develop program frameworks for grassroots organizations who create high impact in the communities they serve. Stephanie’s work is delivered through The Artisan Hub a non-profit collaborative of professionals who provide support services for artisans and cooperatives utilizing creative principles to build resiliency.
Lynne Nittler, Cool Davis Initiative. Stop Crude By Rail.
Julia Ho, Organizer in Ferguson, Missouri. Speaker at the NYC Youth Climate Convergence.
Jessica Galvan, E3 at UCLA, UCLA Farmer’s Market
Crystal Marich, Program Coordinator at The UCD Cross Cultural Center
Rosalyn Harris, Alyssa Bradford, Christine Allen, The Artisan Hub
Teresa Jimenez, Sergio Solis, Urban Tilth
Amanda Ajisebutu, CURME
Colin Murphy, Sunflower Alliance
Najari Smith, Rich City Rides
Performers
Friday night the UC Davis Tri-Cooperative Houses will be hosting a concert featuring these two local artists!
Alicia Murphy: Alicia Murphy is a singer-songwriter from San Pedro, CA. Her all-original songs feature her fierce rhythm guitar, kick-drum, and unexpected harmonies. A recent graduate from UC Davis with a B.S in hydrology, Alicia’s passion for environmental conservation, particularly water conservation and clean water access, is a theme that is present in many of her songs.
Kayasun : This local group has been jammin’ out of the Sacramento area for about 2 years, and definitely know how to get a crowd dancing with their unique blend of reggae, hip hop, rock, and ska. Their lead singer also happens to be on the convergence planning team as the Sustainability Advisor for the Campus Center for the Environment at UCD!
Saturday night the UCD Sick Spits spoken word collective will be hosting an open mic night. That’s right, Saturday night performance will be provided by YOU! We are an incredibly talented, funny, lyrical bunch. This is your time to shine! If you are interested in performing a song/poem/stand up/dance etc please indicate so on your registration form!
Panels
Levels of Action: Saturday November 15th 12:00pm-1:00pm
Grassroots to Grasstops, different types and spheres of organizing, working together towards common goals. naming and breaking down barriers. What are the different avenues for social change? How can folks all the way from the grassroots to the grasstops work together towards a more just and sustainable future? What are the challenges with cross-discipline organizing/coexisting? This panel is comprised of folks who have worked in many different types of fields to address positive social change and action.
Juliette Beck, Gopal Dayaneni, Kriti Garg, Stephanie Hervey.
Intergenerational Organizing: Saturday November 15th 4:15pm-5:15pm
A discussion of activism over time and now. What people of all ages have worked on and are currently doing to address needed social changes.
Lynne Nittler, Jessica Galvan, Crystal Marich.
Research for Social Change: Saturday November 15th 4:15-5:15pm
UC Davis is a research institution. This comes with many ups and downs +s and deltas. This panel will be composed of community, grad student, undergrad, and professor researchers who will discuss what it means to research from the lens of activism and how research can work with and/or against the public good. This panel will also highlight the work of community activists who are using community mapping and monitoring techniques to expose corporations and highlight community resources statewide.
Natasha Simpson, tbd.