Stasa Morgan-Appel is a Pagan Quaker with the gift of leading & sharing music and her feminist-pagan identity puts her at a particular spot on the wide Pagan spectrum. She co-authored A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual book & CD. She led a workshop on "Singing the Goddess" at the 2011 FGC gathering and is accompanied by 3 members of the workshop - Sandy Moon, Peggy Bright and Denise Madland - for this program.
Wendy Call spent 3 years with organizers in southern Mexico, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, facing the threat of globalization in the form of a Megaproject to develop the area. With her book, No Word for Welcome: The Mexican Village Faces the Global Economy, and drawing on her experience as a community organizer, Wendy brings deep insight to the process and the work, as well as a sensitive ear to the experience of the local folks facing loss of their lifestyle & livelihoods.
Sally Barris is pure Minnesota-raised, but she found her musical home in Nashville, first as a music writer, and now as a singer/songwriter. With a beautiful voice and a loving spirit, her music is both moving and meaningful.
Don Pardee has a life-long love affair with music, from the symphony trumpet of his earlier years, to the finger-picking guitar of the past decades. Though music is not his day job, much of his life is sung through his songs
John Calvi was led to found QUIT (Quaker Initiative to end Torture), in part, because of the profound healing work he has done over the decades with victims rape and other sorts of torture, including refugees from Central America. John knows the external facts of torture, including statistics, laws and motivations, but because of his work as a healer, he knows the suffering from the inside as well.
QUIT (Quaker Initiative to end Torture) will hold a consultation meeting November 12, 2011 in Durham, NC.
Copies of his plenary presentation about ending torture can be purchased here. It is called "To Go Where There Is No Light".
Pat Humphries is half of Emma's Revolution, a powerful, moving and fun collaboration aimed at making our world better. Inspired by all sorts of music, including hymns, gospel, folk and more, Pat has produced musical gems featured on "All Things Considered" and "Democracy Now". Here she shares the music that led her where she is, including a song by one of her mentors and inspirations, Pete Seeger
Bill Harley is a singer/songwriter with something more - powerful/funny/insightful storytelling capturing glimpses of the human condition. Whether singing of our greed and hunger, of tossing a TV out the window, or of the compounding complexity of juggling reality and virtual reality, Bill's music and stories open up the listener.
Azher Usman is an author, artist, activist, philanthropist, lawyer, but most of all he's a very serious comedian. He gave the keynote address at the Ways of Peace II Conference on Nonviolence in the Islamic Tradition sponsored by FNVW. He's been part of the Allah Made Me Funny - Official Muslim Comedy Tour, The Laughing Peace Tour and The Make Chai, Not War Tour.
See an example of his stand-up humor here.