Building Effective Movements and Coalitions
In order to genuinely tackle the looming climate catastrophe and achieve our dream of a more just and compassionate world, sustained broad-based grassroots-led movements that force necessary structural changes are needed. In this session, visionary leaders explore how hitherto disenfranchised groups are forging coalitions to achieve victories and make systemic change possible in our lifetime. With: Saru Jayaraman, President of One Fair Wage, Director of the Food Labor Research Center at UC Berkeley, one of our nation’s most visionary labor activists; Jade Begay, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the NDN Collective, one of the most effective activists working at the intersection of Indigenous Rights, Environmental Justice and Climate. In a conversation hosted by Rajasvini Bhansali, Executive Director of the Solidaire Network.
Freight & Salvage
April 6th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm
Panelists
Saru Jayaraman
President
One Fair Wage
Saru Jayaraman, President of One Fair Wage and Director of the Food Labor Research Center at UC Berkeley, co-founded (after 9/11) the Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC), which grew into a national movement of restaurant workers, employers and consumers. She then launched One Fair Wage as a national campaign to end all sub-minimum wages in the United States. Saru has won many prestigious awards for her advocacy, is frequently interviewed on major media and is the author of four books including: One Fair Wage: Ending All Subminimum Pay in America and Bite Back: People Taking on Corporate Food and Winning.
Jade Begay
Director of Policy and Advocacy
NDN Collective
Jade Begay, MA, a citizen of Tesuque Pueblo and also of Diné and Southern Ute ancestry, Director of Policy and Advocacy at NDN Collective, works at the intersections of storytelling, narrative strategy, climate and environmental justice, and Indigenous rights policy at the domestic and international levels. She previously served as the Creative Director and Climate Justice Campaign Director at NDN Collective but now directs its programs and projects that elevate policy and advocacy issues important to the self-determination of Indigenous Peoples and tribal nations. In 2021, Jade was appointed by President Biden to serve on the inaugural White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and is a recipient of a Ripe for Creative Disruption Environmental Justice Movement Fellowship.
Rajasvini Bhansali
Executive Director
Solidaire Network
Rajasvini Bhansali, Executive Director of Solidaire Network and Solidaire Action, a community of donor organizers mobilizing critical resources to the frontlines of social justice, is a passionate advocate for participatory grassroots-led power building. Her wide-ranging career devoted to racial, economic and climate justice has included work in Asia, Africa and the Americas in such domains as youth development, addressing the digital divide, community organizing, research, policy analysis and strategic planning. She is co-author of Leading with Joy: Practices for Uncertain Times, and is also a poet, essayist, educator, yoga instructor and leadership coach.
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