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Mediation is an art of practical peacemaking. Jennifer Beer, is co-author of the 4th edition of the The Mediator's Handbook, a skilled mediator and teacher of mediation, including teaching negotiation at Wharton. She has a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology.
Daniel Hunter vs The Casinos is a case of David vs Goliath, only more impressive. Daniel co-led that battle retold in Strategy & Soul: A Campaigner's Tale of Fighting Billionaires, Corrupt Officials, and Philadelphia Casinos. Ingenious, creative, & steadfastly principled, this is a tale of inspiration and adventure, and there's an immense amount of info about community organizing that is absorbed effortlessly!
Business can sometimes seem mostly exploitation and evil (though counter-examples abound, both current and historical). But how does one do good through business, instead of just doing well? Robert Pierson is an engineer who has seen small business from the inside, thoroughly. After years of diverse job positions, and rising to become a systems engineer, the spiritual side of that work led Rob to get a Master of Ministry degree from Earlham School of Religion.
George Lakey was a founder of A Quaker Action Group, Movement for a New Society and recently left Training for Change to do more direct action with Earth Quaker Action Team. With the experience & stories of 50 years of peace, justice and environmental activism, George is a treasure trove of inspiration.
Peterson Toscano, using wit, humor & theater, illuminates non-conforming gender roles in the Bible, reclaiming existence for a variety of folks ignored & silenced by the mainstream. With his winning humor and incisive vision, Peterson found acceptance for his revolutionary insights when presenting at the joint 2012 conference of the Society of Biblical Literature/American Academy of Religion. His newest theater production is Jesus Had 2 Daddies.
Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta's book, Refusing to be Enemies: Palestinian and Israeli Nonviolent Resistance to the Israeli Occupation delves deep into sides of the conflict that most US media never approach, and does it through the words of Palestinian & Israeli workers for peace, plus a few people outside of the Middle East. There's both more reality and hope in this work than we've been led to expect.
Paul Gilk co-edited the book, A Whole Which Is Greater: Why the Wisconsin Uprising Failed, looking at the range of societal values, politics, & spiritual issues which have determined Wisconsin's course, including the failure to prevent Gov. Scott Walker's radical shift in the state. Paul lives without electricity, close to the earth, & is the author of at least 6 books, all typed on his manual typewriter.
War tax resistance, immigration, Middle East, intentional community, books & plays, public office, divestment - Bill & Genie Durland have been called & led to address these concerns and many more. With the Center on Law & Pacifism, Pendle Hill, Christian Peacemaker Teams, the Virginia House of Delegates, and elsewhere, Bill & Genie have walked a faithful life of witness. Order their plays by email at durlandwe@gmail.com.
When building relationship with Earth, the best advice may be "don't just do something, sit there!", and 3 participants of a weeklong workshop did something like that, sharing their process, experience, and fruits in this program. eric maya joy, Mary Jo Klingel, and Mary Conrow Coelho speak of roots & fruits of a Quaker Earthcare Witness (QEW) experiment.
Madeline Schaefer hosts a variety of segments about AFSC's work concerning sustainable agriculture, water rights, divestment in illegal Palestinian occupation, immigrants, and her own investigation of intentional communities for change.