August 29. Dr. Andreana Clay. The Hip-Hop Generation Fights Back: Youth Activism and Post-Civil Rights Politics

Andreana Clay is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at San Francisco State. Her book, The Hip-Hop Generation Fights Back: Youth Activism and Post-Civil Rights Politics (NYU Press, 2012) explores how youth of color organize and identify as activists in the post civil rights era. Her articles on hip-hop culture, queer sexuality, youth activism, and hip-hop feminism have appeared in several anthologies and academic journals. She is also the author of the blog QueerBlackFeminist.

September 12. Dr. Breeze Harper. Creating Critical Consciousness through Veganism 
Dr. A. Breeze Harper is a Research Fellow with the Department of Human Ecology at the University of California, Davis and the Director and Founder of The Sistah Vegan Project. Her research focuses on critical geographies of food and race, with an emphasis on black feminism and critical race theory. She is also the editor of Sistah Vegan which is the first anthology of its kind to look at how race and gender shape the vegan experience in the USA.

September 26. Alicia Walters. Uplifting the Voices and Perspectives of those on the Margins

Alicia Walters is a social justice organizer and communications strategist, policy advocate, and performing artist. Her vision is to transform social justice movements and radically improve the lives of women of color and their families with strategic collaborations that alter the dynamics of power. A few of Alicia's most recent projects include: passing a law to prohibit most dangerous shackles from being used on pregnant women in CA jails and prisons and a campaign in response to racist anti-abortion billboards in her community of Oakland, California where she served as a primary spokesperson.

October 3. Dr. Julia Allen. Passionate Commitments, or, How I Got Hooked on Writing a Biography and Learned About Language, Power, and Lesbian History

Julia M. Allen, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita of English at Sonoma State University, where
she taught courses in writing, women’s studies, and rhetorical history and theory until
2004.  She is the author of Passionate Commitments: The Lives of Anna Rochester and Grace Hutchins, State University of New York Press, 2013. To learn more about the
book, go to:  www.passionatecommitments.com.

October 10. Rob Diaz. Partnering with the Community to Eliminate Sexual Assault and Violence

Rob is Prevention Manager at Verity: Sonoma County's Rape Crisis & Counseling Center. He also served as Prevention Education Specialist and My Strength facilitator educating youth on sexual assault prevention. He has particular interest in encouraging boys and men to become active partners in the work of violence prevention across all of Sonoma County through education, outreach, and youth group facilitation.

October 24. Amy Chevrolet. Circle of Sisters: Empowering Girls and their Families

Amy Chevrolet is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the Program Director for Circle of Sisters (an after-school program for young girls in Sonoma County ages 10-14). Circle of Sisters seeks to empower adolescent girls in Sonoma County and reduce violence in the community by enhancing social skills and self-esteem while helping to encourage healthy lifestyle decisions.

November 7. Kate Weber. The Invisible War: Addressing and Eradicating Military Sexual Trauma

Kate Weber, a U.S. Army Veteran, is an advocate for Military Sexual Trauma survivors and Women Veterans. She is a Volunteer at Military Rape Crisis Center (MRCC) and Protect Our Defenders, two separate organizations founded to eradicate Military Sexual Trauma. Kate also works with Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) to raise awareness and amend legislation currently requiring military rape victims to initially report the attack to their chain of command instead of law enforcement.

November 21.  Dr. Cynthia Boaz. Global Women-Led Struggles and Creating Non-Violent Change

Dr. Boaz joined the faculty of Sonoma State University in Fall 2008. Her expertise is in strategic nonviolent action, civil resistance, quality of democracy, and political communication and media.   Dr. Boaz is an Academic Advisor to the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, a Washington DC- based human rights foundation that collects and disseminates knowledge on civil resistance. Dr. Boaz continues to work alongside notable veterans of the struggles in South Africa, Serbia, Burma, and the US Civil Rights Movement. 

 

 

 

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