Gibrán Rivera is a Senior Associate for the Interaction Institute for Social Change. His job is to help people work better together. He is committed to the development of leaders, organizations and networks and uses coaching, training, process design and facilitation in service of those who are committed to social transformation. His graduate studies were in diplomacy and [...]
Stacy Kono | Leading Heart First
Stacy Kono is the Director of Programmatic Partnerships at the Rockwood Leadership Institute. She oversees Rockwood’s trainings and fellowship programs which equip over 300 leaders a year with tools in collaboration and sustainable leadership. She joined Rockwood after having worked for ten years as an organizer with Asian Immigrant Women Advocates (AIWA) in Oakland. Stacy [...]
Eveline Shen | Reclaiming Our Bodies, Ourselves
Eveline Shen is the Executive Director of Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice. ACRJ leads the Strong Families Initiative, which is changing the way we think, feel and act in support of families, gender and race. Eveline serves on the board of the Reproductive Health Technologies Project and Movement Strategy Center, as well as the advisory [...]
Victor Lewis | The Mysteries of Radical Wisdom, Healing, Justice & Resilience
A nationally respected social justice educator, Victor has conducted seminars, workshops, keynote speeches, and “train the trainer” programs across the United States, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and Germany. He is best known for his inspiring leadership role in The Color of Fear, an unusually powerful video about racism, which received the [...]
Claude AnShin Thomas | The Art of Nonviolence
Claude AnShin Thomas, Zen Buddhist Monk and Author, born 1947. He served in Vietnam from 1966-67. Since that time he has been working to heal the wounds from that war: emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, using these experiences to help others. He was ordained in the Japanese Soto Zen Tradition in 1995. In 2004 his book [...]
Ai-jen Poo | Organizing Labor—With Love
Talk to Ai-jen Poo about her work and it won’t be long before you hear language you don’t often hear in the midst of intense social movement campaigning. For one, she does not shy away from talking about “organizing with love.” A 37-year-old organizer based in New York City, Poo is founder of Domestic Workers [...]
Tools for Being the Change
Giving a nod to the people we’ve interviewed over the past year for our agents, allies, and activist section, these resources are related to their organizations and the kind of changes they intend to create in the world. Link onto the name and organization to read the piece again–or for the first time. Check out [...]
Michael Nagler | Nonviolence, The Way Back
Michael Nagler is Professor emeritus of Classics and Comparative Literature at UC, Berkeley, where he co-founded the Peace and Conflict Studies Program in which he taught the immensely popular nonviolence course that was webcast in its entirety as well as PACS 90, “Meditation” and a sophomore seminar called “Why Are We Here? Great Writing on [...]
Majora Carter | Staying Green, Staying Home
Original article, “Majora Carter: How to break the cycle of environmental injustice and build happier communities,” by Joanna Gangi for YES! Magazine, posted May 11, 2011 Majora hosts the Peabody Award winning public-radio series: The Promised Land. She has a long list of awards and honorary degrees, including a MacArthur “genius” Fellowship. She founded Sustainable South Bronx in 2001 when [...]
Sarah Crowell | The Politics of Dancing
Sarah Crowell has taught dance, theater and violence prevention to youth and adults for over 20 years. She has run programs at Destiny Arts Center since 1990 where she currently serves as Artistic Director. Sarah received 9 California Arts Council Artist in Residency grants for her work at Destiny and a National Endowment for the [...]
Katchie Ananda | Doing Time, Doing Anusara Yoga
Katchie Ananda is an internationally recognized, certified Anusara yoga teacher whose leadership in yoga and social change prompted Yoga Journal to name her one of five top yoga teachers making change in the world. She is the co-founder of Yoga Sangha, now Yoga Kula, a studio in San Francisco renowned for its commitment to [...]
A Look Back at Forward Thinking Leaders
Every month transform. features outspoken, dedicated leaders. Here are a handful who’ve inspired us in their tenacity, love, generosity, and in their ability to hold the complexities of humanity.