TRAINERS

AMALIA ANDERSON was born in Guatemala and she has been a community organizer and educator for over nine years, focusing on international advocacy, youth leadership development, teen dating violence prevention, human rights education, and anti-racism work. Amalia is currently the Director of Political Education and Action with the League of Rural Voters.

RUTHALICE ANDERSON is Western States Center Administrative and Financial Manager. She has also worked as the Financial Manager for Oregon Fair Share and Basic Rights Oregon. Ruth is President of the Board of Oregon Action and serves on the boards of USAction, Progressive Action Network and Fair Share Research & Education Fund.

JO ANN BOWMAN is Associate Director of Oregon Action and led OA’s civic engagement program that registered over 40,000 new voters in Oregon. Jo Ann was a state representative in Oregon from 1996-2001 and has extensive community and political organizing experience on issues ranging from police accountability to funding for social services.

MOIRA BOWMAN is a Field Organizer/Trainer at Western States Center working in both our Research and Action for Change and Equity (RACE) and Gender Justice Programs. She has 14 years experience working in progressive organizations and as a trainer.

DEVIN BURGHART is Director of the Building Democracy Initiative of the Center for New Community, based in Chicago. The Building Democracy Initiative is a national effort to defend civil and human rights by countering racism, anti- Semitism, homophobia, and anti-immigrant activity. Burghart is an internationally recognized expert on white nationalism. Prior to joining the Center’s staff in 1997, he was a research analyst with the Coalition for Human Dignity.

PAMELA CHIANG is a Field Organizer with the Center for Community Change (CCC), where she works on education reform issues and capacity building of organizing groups in the Rural Northwest. She joined CCC after 13 years of organizing with low-income people of color and immigrant communities around California and the Southwest on environmental and economic justice, human rights, women’s rights and workers’ rights campaigns.

EUNICE HYUNHYE CHO is a Korean American BRIDGE Project Coordinator at the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. She is the editor and co-author of “BRIDGE: Building a Race and Immigration Dialogue in the Global Economy,” which received the 2004 Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award. She is on the national steering committee of the Committee on Women, Population, and the Environment.

COALITION OF IMMOKALEEWORKERS is a community-based worker organization. Its members are largely Latino, Haitian, and Mayan Indian immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida. They fight for, among other things: a fair wage for the work they do, more respect on the part of bosses and the industries where they work, better and cheaper housing, stronger laws and stronger enforcement against those who would violate workers’ rights, the right to organize without fear of retaliation, and an end to indentured servitude in the fields.

MARIA CUEVAS is an instructor in the Department of Liberal Arts at Washington State University-Tricities in Richland, WA where she teaches Sociology, Rural sociology and Women’s Studies. She is a PhD candidate in Sociology at WSU Pullman and is currently completing her dissertation on Chicana/Latina women’s activism and leadership in the Northwest.

KRISHANTI DHAMARAJ is Executive Director and cofounder of Women’s Institute for Leadership Development for Human Rights. Krishanti develops strategies to affect public policy by utilizing international human rights treaties and grassroots advocacy, and designs and conducts training on human rights and leadership. With her leadership, San Francisco became the first city in the U.S. to pass CEDAW, an international human rights treaty to eliminate gender based discrimination against women.

KARYNN FISH is a Trainer and Director of Client Services for Astro Data Services, a leading provider of voterfile and list matching technology to Democrats and progressive campaigns and organizations. She has also worked as a Field Director for statewide and local races, and as a Legislative Aide in the Oregon State Legislature.

ROSALINDA GUILLEN is the Executive Director of Community to Community Development (C2C), an all woman social and environmental justice organization dedicated to building alliances for food justice. Rosalinda was the lead organizer for farm workers at Chateau Ste. Michelle that resulted in the first-ever collective bargaining agreement for farm workers in Washington state. She has worked with Cesar Chavez’s UFW as the NW Regional Director, the Legislative and Political Director out of Sacramento and was the National VP on the union’s Executive Board.

PATTI HAYES is a Community Organizer and mother of two youth leaders at Sisters in Action for Power. Her role there is to develop the leadership and organizing skills of low-income women and girls in order to influence institutions and reshape dominant culture to promote economic and social justice.

PATRECE HAYES has been a youth leader at Sisters in Action for Power for three years. She is currently involved in the organization’s advanced leadership program designed to develop the leadership and organizing skills of girls ages 11–17.

COURTNEY JONES has been a member of Sisters in Action for almost five years. Since graduating from the organization’s leadership program last year, she has been a Youth Intern, instrumental in organizing students around a new campaign designed to address the No Child Left Behind Act.

ROBIN KATCHER has over 10 years of experience working with nonprofit organizations as an activist, trainer, organizer, and board member. Before joining Management Assistance Group, she spent three years as the Legislative Director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence where she advocated for federal policy, developed a national coalition, and supported the development of local organizations.

FRANCES KUNREUTHER is Director of the Building Movement Project, working to support social change organizations in the United States. Housed at Demos, the project has developed strategies for movement capacity building and has conducted a study of generational differences in social change organizations. Before bringing the project to Demos, Kunreuther spent five years at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University where she was a Practitioner Fellow.

KALPANA KRISHNAMURTHY is Field Director with Western States Center. From 2002 to 2005, she was the Director of the Third Wave Foundation, which works nationally to support and strengthen the next generation of young women activists. Prior to Third Wave, Kalpana organized on women’s issues around reproductive health and justice and young women’s empowerment.

LUCILENE LIRA is a Field Organizer/Trainer at Western States Center. Before joining Western States Center Lucilene spent five and a half years as Labor Educator/Field Organizer for The Evergreen State College Labor Education Center in Olympia, Washington. She also does cross-border organizing and solidarity work by supporting resistance and autonomous peasants/indigenous movements and community and labor organizations in the fight against capitalist corporate power.

GLADYS MARTINEZ is the General Coordinator of CONFEMUCA from the Dominican Republic. CONFEMUCA translates to Confederation of Farmworker Women of the Cibao. Gladys’ efforts have built a strong base of empowerment and leadership for women’s livelihoods in over 30 cities and campos in the Dominican Republic.

PALOMA MEDINA was the Co-founder and Co-director of Art in the Streets in Olympia, WA, a public art collective that focused on using public art to address social inequities. She has been involved in anti-globalization, gender equity and antiwar organizing for 10 years and now lives in Portland, OR.

MARCO MEJIA ha trabajado a nivel organizativo y comunitario por mas de 25 años incluyendo el movimiento de jóvenes, pobladores, indígenas, trabajadores y de comunidades de base en Ecuador y América Latina. En los últimos 12 años ha trabajado con el American Friend Service Committee, que trabaja por la construcción de la paz y la justicia social. Es fundador de la “Escuela Magdalena Mora” que es una escuela de capacitación de líderes que influencia el cambio social y político, crea conciencia, educa, y eleva el nivel organizativo de nuestra comunidad y que usa la Educación Popular como su principal método.

MOVIMENTO DOS TRABALHADORES RURAIS SEM TERRA (MST) / LANDLESS RURAL WORKERS MOVEMENT is the largest social movement in Latin America. Though the Brazilian Constitution allows for government redistribution of unused land, 3% of the population still owns two-thirds of the arable land while 4.8 million farming families are landless. Since 1985, MST has pressed for enforcement of the Constitution by occupying unused land and establishing cooperative farms, schools, and clinics. More than 250,000 families have won land titles as a result of MST actions, and 70,000 other families currently live in encampments awaiting government recognition. In 2002 the MST helped elect the Worker’s Party (PT) candidate President of Brazil.

DR. LETICIA NIETO is a psychotherapist, dramatist, and educator specializing in inter-cultural relations, anti-oppression and creativity. A native of Puebla, Mexico, Leticia has worked with community organizations and service providers, and with workplace teams, providing training in Action Methods, including Playback Theatre, Psychodrama, and Theatre of The Oppressed.

THU HUONG NGUYEN is a junior at Garfield High School in Seattle. She has been involved with Seattle Young People's Project (SYPP) as a youth intern and organizer. Her passion is working to undo institutionalized racism in her community and school. Currently she is the Co-President of SYPP’s Board of Directors.

HEBA NIMR is Program Manager for Educational Resources & Documentation at Partnership for Immigrant Leadership in Action (PILA). She heads a project to document and disseminate innovative approaches to immigrant leadership development, and has been working on packaging key tools and curricula from PILA’s training programs, many of which emerged from work on the Mobilize the Immigrant Vote capacity-building program.

YASMEEN PEREZ, a fierce queer Filipina Jewish organizer, graduated from the Evergreen State College in 2004 with a focus in cultural studies, popular education, and international feminism. Currently Yasmeen is a Co-Director at Seattle Young People’s Project, a youth led, adult supported, non-profit that empowers youth to express themselves and take action on the issues that affect their lives.

DOUG PHONSAVANH serves as Fiscal Manager of Nonprofit Assistance Center in Seattle. Doug received his B.A. in Economics and Accounting from University of Aix-Marseille in France and has 20 years experience in higher education and nonprofit finance and accounting.

MONICA REGAN is Director of Programs for Partnership for Immigrant Leadership and Action (PILA), where she has spent the past five years developing and leading innovative capacity building programs for community based organizations focusing on immigrant civic and political activism. She co-facilitated PILA’s Mobilize the Immigrant Vote Capacity-building program.

ANDY ROBINSON has worked since 1980 as an organizer, trainer, and grassroots fundraiser. He is the author of “Grassroots Grants” and “Selling Social Change.” When he’s not on a plane, Andy lives in Plainfield, Vermont. He is honored to be CSTI’s longest running trainer.

KATHRYN RODRIGUEZ is the Coordinating Organizer for Coalición de Derechos Humanos/Alianza Indígena Sin Fronteras based in Arizona. Kathryn’s responsibilities for Derechos include promoting respect for human/civil rights, countering the militarization of the southern U.S. Border region, documenting and responding to human rights abuses by law enforcement officials, businesses, institutions, and individuals that affect U.S. and non-U.S. citizens alike.

JOSH SEIDENFELD joined the SPIN Project in June 2004, where he brings experience communicating progressive messages. Most recently, he was a communications consultant for environmental nonprofits and small businesses in Austin, Texas, where he helped clients grow their brands and gain local and national media attention. Prior to that, Josh assisted with media relations, designed agitprop, and wrote newsletters and website content for Rainforest Action Network.

KATHY A. SEWELL is Executive Director of the Idaho Women’s Network and has been working in the field of women’s issues, youth, and human rights for over 30 years in Montana and Idaho. She is the past Executive Director of the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and the Center for Adolescent Development.

ESHAUNA SMITH serves as Program Manager for the Pro-Choice Public Education Project. At PEP she supervises the implementation of popular education research, media and outreach activities that reflect the needs of young people and foster the production of youth-oriented tools and resources for the broader reproductive rights community.

PEDRO SOSA trabajando con el Proyecto Voz. Proyecto Voz es una nueva iniciativa patrocinada por el American Friends Service Committee (AFSC—Comité de Servicio de los Amigos Americanos). Su objetivo es fortalecer las voces de las organizaciones dirigidas por inmigrantes al construir una agenda nacional sobre políticas de inmigración y derechos de los inmigrantes, con el fin de promover una mayor integración de inmigrantes y refugiados en sus nuevas comunidades.

CHUCK TANNER is a long time activist on social and civil rights issues and a strong supporter of tribal sovereignty and treaty rights. Chuck is the author of “The Northwest Imperative, Documenting A Decade of Hate”; “Guns & Gavels, Common Law Courts, Militias & White Supremacy”; and “Patriot Games, Jack McLamb & Citizen Militias.” Chuck is a graduate student at the University of Washington.

LEAH HENRY-TANNER recently served as coordinator of United Indians of All Tribes Foundation’s Native American Women’s Dialogue on Infant Mortality. She has extensive experience on issues ranging from violence against women of color to tribal sovereignty. Leah is a member of the Nez Perce Tribe, a graduate of Western States Center’s WILD program and currently serves as Treasurer of the Center’s board.

AIMEE R.THORNE-THOMPSEN currently serves as Executive Director of the Pro-Choice Public Education Project, (PEP). PEP’s mission is to educate young women and the organizations that serve them about reproductive justice, thereby developing a new generation of leaders. She has more than 10 years experience of advocacy and activism in the Latino community.

ROEY THORPE is Executive Director of Basic Rights Oregon, a statewide grassroots GLBT civil rights organization. Roey has been an activist for social justice for over 20 years and a nonprofit administrator for 15 years, with six years as an executive director. She is a former City Councilwoman and Acting Mayor of Ithaca, New York, and has extensive experience in all aspects of political campaign work.

JASON WALLACH is coordinator of the Portland Central America Solidarity Committee (PCASC) and Portland’s Cross Border Labor Organizing Committee (CBLOC). He has 12 years experience educating and mobilizing opposition to anti-worker, anti-environment trade deals, such as NAFTA and the FTAA. Jason served as National Grassroots Coordinator for the Mexico Solidarity Network (MSN) from 1999–2004.

ERIC WARD is the Field Director for the Center for New Community’s Building Democracy Initiative. CNC supported activists in Arizona battling the 2004 anti-immigrant initiative. He is the editor of three published works: “Conspiracies: Real Grievances, Paranoia and Mass Movements”; “Second Civil War: States Rights, Sovereignty and the Power of the County”; and “American Armageddon: Religion, Revolution and the Right.”

MARCY WESTERLING, Director of Rural Organizing Project (ROP), is a leader in organizing, educating, and mobilizing grassroots activism to promote inclusive democracy and justice in rural communities. She developed ROP in 1992 based on her immediate need to give voice to progressive values in her own small town community. She is a 2003 recipient of a Leadership for a Changing World award.

KRISTINA WILFORE serves as Executive Director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center (BISC). As director Wilfore works with state and national progressive organizations to reinvigorate the initiative process by lending technical assistance– including guidance on strategy and message–to key initiative campaigns, coordinating ballot language research and drafting efforts, training activists and placing them on targeted initiatives nationwide, and directing funders to critical initiative campaigns.

SCOTT WINN is active with the Seattle’s Coalition of Anti-Racist Whites and on the Newsletter Committee with the Northwest Labor and Employment Law Office (LELO). He is an educator who also works with organizations to strategically challenge racism, white privilege, and heterosexism within their organizations and society.

EMERY WRIGHT is Program Director at Project South: Institute for the Elimination of Poverty and Genocide, which does popular political and economic education for movement building with community groups and organizations. An Atlanta native, Emery has a background in youth development, community organizing and popular political education.

LEONARD ZESKIND, a writer and research activist, is completing a book on the white nationalist movement. He worked in heavy industry for thirteen years before turning his attention to the danger posed by conservative and white supremacist movements. He is president of the Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights in Kansas City.