We'll Save the World Again!
We would personally like to thank everyone who made our launch event on Thursday, February 21st a huge success! In particular, we'd like to thank our wonderful speakers who travelled from near and far to share their wisdom:
- Courtney Martin is an adjunct professor at Hunter College and an avid writer. She is currently on book tour for her debut book Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: The Frightening New Normalcy of Hating Your Body, which deals with the struggle that so many young girls in America face regarding the social pressures to be perfect. Her writing has appeared in anthologies such as A 21st Century Ethical Toolbox and Fifty Americans on Why Voting Matters, and she continues to be a contributing writer to Feministing, Crucial Minutiae, Alternet, Women’s eNews, the Christian Science Monitor, and Metro. She has won various awards, including the Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics, the Setting the Message Straight Award by ChoiceUSA, and a Clark Foundation Fellowship, among others. More information about Courtney can be found on her website: www.courtneyemartin.com
- Andrew Meade is the Training and Network Associate at Young People For. Before joining YP4, Andrew worked as the policy and field associate for People For the American Way, where he managed the organization’s northeast field campaigns and membership expansion programs. Prior to his work with People For the American Way, he spent two years teaching seventh- and eighth-grade social studies in the Bronx as a Teach For America corps member. Andrew attended Lewis & Clark College, where he played four years of varsity baseball and majored in political science, and Pace University, from which he received a M.S. in teaching.
- Jason West is the former mayor of New Paltz, NY. He was elected mayor in 2003, at the age of 25, and served as the village’s mayor for four years. He made national headlines in 2004 when he performed 25 same-sex civil unions in New Paltz; he was charged with 19 misdemeanor counts, but these were dismissed a few months later. The following year, he participated in the United Nations Urban Environmental Accords in San Francisco. He has also signed the United States Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement, and is a member of the international network Mayors for Peace. West is also one of the founding members of the Young Elected Officials Network, a nationwide network of progressive politicians under the age of 35, and he serves on the organization’s steering committee.
Unfortunately, our fourth speaker was unable to attend due to circumstances beyond her control, but we'd like to thank her for donating her time, and for being an all-around inspiration!
- Tamara Joachim, a Hunter student and a member of the Roosevelt Institution, has been an active participant in various public policy initiatives. As a 2007 Drum Major Institute Scholar, she has learned to turn activist efforts into progressive public policy. She is also the founding member of the Call to Consciousness Training Institute, which educates high school students on the political and social movements of minorities throughout history. Tamara is involved with Young People For, as well as being active in various groups on campus, including the Welfare Rights Initiative, the Anti-war Network, and the Darfur Awareness Coalition. She is currently spending the semester in Washington D.C.
Finally, we'd like to thank Roosevelt Institution Executive Director Nate Loewentheil for attending, Clifford from the Chanin Language Center for his help in planning the event, and Mumbles for their catering.
We hope that everyone who attended gained a deeper insight into our cause and has been motivated to make a difference! If you'd like to get involved, please contact us at roosevelthc@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
For photos of the event, please click here!