Plenary Speaker
Thursday, April 11, 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT
AFSC is delighted to host Jose Antonio Vargas as our keynote speaker for the 2024 Corporation Program. Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, Tony-nominated theatrical producer, and a leading voice for the human rights of immigrants. He is the founder of Define American, an organization which empowers diverse and nuanced storytelling about immigrant experiences across a variety of different media. In 2020, Fortune named him one of its “40 under 40” most influential people in government and politics. After his keynote address, Vargas will be available to sign copies of his bestselling memoir, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen.
Panel with Staff Leadership: Weaving Peace and Justice in Practice
Friday, April 12th at 1 p.m. ET
- Sonia Tuma, Assoc. General Sec’y for Global Cohesion
- Amy Gottlieb, US Programs Migration Director
- Eunice Ndonga, International Programs Migration Director
- Lucy Roberts, International Programs Peacebuilding Director
- Lewis Webb, US Programs Peacebuilding Director
- Rick Wilson, US Programs Economic Justice Director
Workshops
Quaker Action for Ending Apartheid
Join us for a workshop focused on getting your community to take action to end Israeli apartheid. You’ll learn the foundations of Israeli apartheid, hear all about our Apartheid-Free initiative, and practice sharing this information with your community. We’ll also share a bit about the other movement building work which the Palestine Activism Program is engaged with this year.
Presenters: Jennifer Bing and Zoe Jannuzi
Emerging Leaders: How AFSC is engaging youth activists shaping our future
Join us to hear about how AFSC is supporting young adult Quakers from across the US who are working to create systemic social change. This workshop will cover the methodology of the Emerging Leaders for Liberation program as well as spotlight how ELL’s intentional community-organizing curriculum has already made an impact towards promoting peace and justice.
Presenter: Julián Andaya and Destini Perkins
Working for Global Policy Change in Turbulent Times
Representatives from AFSC’s Policy Department will speak about the organization’s efforts to develop more comprehensive policy change strategies across levels of government globally, and ways we can keep up momentum for change when times feel hopeless. They will also speak to AFSC’s preparations for multiple election scenarios in the U.S., drawing on the organization’s global experience as well as its organizing and training expertise. Aura Kanegis, Imani Cruz, and Mike Merryman-Lotze will share stories from their work and talk about ways to look beyond politically expedient strategies that may undermine long term goals, setting a course for deeper and more substantive long-arc change.
Presenters: Aura Kanegis, Imani Cruz, and Mike Merryman-Lotze
Stop Cop City: Organizing for Democracy, Environmental Justice, and Community Safety Beyond Policing
The city of Atlanta wants to build a $90 million militarized police training facility. If constructed, “Cop City” would be one of the largest militarized police training centers in the country—all built by destroying a vital urban forest. Join Tim Franzen, ATL Economic Justice Director, Jackie Nichols, South River Watershed Alliance, and Jacob Flowers, South Region Director.
Presenters: Jacob Flowers, Tim Franzen and Jackie Echols
Programmed Worship
Saturday, April 13, 9 a.m. ET
Led by Cherice Bock and Christy Randazzo
Cherice Bock is a member of North Valley Friends and Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting. She is the author of A Quaker Ecology: Meditations on the Future of Friends, co-author of Quakers, Ecology and the Light with Christy Randazzo, and co-editor of Quakers, Creation Care and Sustainability. She has served on the faculty at Earlham School of Religion, George Fox University, and the University of Portland. Cherice currently serves as the Climate Policy Manager for 350PDX, a non-profit based in Portland, Oregon, which seeks to build a diverse grassroots movement to address the causes of climate disruption.
Christy Randazzo is a member of Haddonfield Meeting (New Jersey) and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. They have written in a variety of both academic and popular settings, including the Quaker biblical studies series Illuminate, the Politics of Scripture project for the Journal of Political Theology (which they also help edit), two books for the Brill Quaker Studies series, including Liberal Quaker Reconciliation Theology: A Constructive Approach and an upcoming book, Quaker Theological Ecosystems: A Quaker Constructive Theology. Christy teaches at Montclair State University, where they offer courses on religious peacemaking, introduction to religious studies, and the intersections between theology and peace work.
Cherice and Christy co-chair the Quaker Theological Discussion Group, a body of academic and intellectually curious Friends seeking to explore the meaning and implications of Quaker faith and religious experience through discussion and publication.
We look forward to having Cherice and Christy lead us in what promises to be a dynamic worship experience with a focus on Quaker engagement with climate justice.
2024 AFSC Alumni and Friends Reception
Saturday, April 13, 5 p.m. ET
After five years, we are excited to once again welcome AFSC Alumni to the 2024 AFSC Corporation Annual Meeting. Join us on Saturday evening for an informal reception with light food and the chance to catch up with former colleagues and friends. At 6 p.m. we’ll move across the hall for a film screening and panel discussion. Sign up now if you plan to join us in Friends Center.
"The Movement and the ‘Madman” Film Screening and Panel Discussion
Saturday, April 13, 6 p.m. ET
“The Movement and the ‘Madman” examines how two major antiwar protests in 1969 stopped President Nixon from escalating the U.S. war in Vietnam, including a threat to use nuclear weapons. The film draws from firsthand accounts from movement leaders, including AFSC alumni. The film's executive producer is Robert Levering, and features David Hartsough, Stewart Meacham, George Willoughby, Ron Young, and Trudi Schutz.
Following the film, we’ll host a panel discussion featuring Robert Levering, Michael Simmons, Jerry Elmer and Wendy Batson, who took the courageous stand to object to war. Sign up to join us in person in Friends Center or online via Zoom. This event is open to the public.
Jerry Elmer was a Vietnam-era draft resister who publicly refused to register for the draft in 1969. He was involved in the public, nonviolent destruction of draft files at 14 draft boards in three cities in 1969 and 1970. He served on the AFSC staff 1972-1987. When he attended Harvard Law School, he was the only convicted felon in the graduating class of 1990.
Robert Levering, the Executive Producer of this film, spent six years on the national staff of AFSC and other peace groups organizing national and local anti-war demonstrations. A retired business journalist, he was part of the team of draft resisters who produced "The Boys Who Said NO!" a 2020 documentary about draft resistance during the Vietnam War.
Michael Simmons is a human rights activist who has been working in peace and justice activities for over 50 years. From his early organizing activities in the African American Civil Rights Movement, to anti-war and nuclear non-proliferation movements, to advocacy on behalf of women and Roma in Europe, Michael has been at the forefront of social justice and social change organizing in wide variety of contexts and issues.
After being mobilized by Vietnam Summer training, Wendy Batson spent a lifetime working for peace and justice. Wendy worked at AFSC for five years, serving in multiple roles—including as a youth antiwar organizer in Chicago and later with her husband Bob Eaton doing post-war reconstruction in Indochina—before moving on to lead humanitarian efforts with other organizations.
