2013 democracy convention, madison wi

8/22/2019 2013 Democracy Convention, Madison WI

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Welcome to DemocRAcY coNVeNtIoN 2013

The rst Democracy Convention took place two years ago in the convulsive

time of the Wisconsin uprising and in the weeks leading up to Occupy WallStreet and Freedom Plaza.

This second national gathering of the U.S. democracy movement convenes at a

time greater clarity. Events have matured since 2011. Austerity, poverty and the

climate crisis have worsened, and impacted us all. Meanwhile, we have moved

forward in building the new society and in uniting our movement. You will

see evidence of the maturation of the democracy movement in the pages of this

program and everywhere around you this week in Madison.

At Liberty Tree, we have been laying the foundations for these national

Democracy Conventions since our origins in 2004. But a gathering such as

this and the movement it represents requires the participation of many more

people and resources than any single organization, large or small, may muster.

We thank especially our partner conveners and the many organizations, unions,

businesses, and individuals that stepped forward to sponsor and support thissecond Democracy Convention. Please read about them on pages 57-61.

Our continuing crisis gives urgency to this gathering, but it also has been

traumatic for many, and is a reminder that our common purpose here is to

celebrate each others work and to nd inspiration for our eorts in the coming

months and years.

You will nd much of what you need to know about the DemocracyConvention in the pages of this program. The overall agenda is on page 3. The

full program begins onpage 4. Biographies of our artists and presenters are to be

found beginning atpage 34. A list of local food options and services is onpage 62.But please also be sure to look to the website at DemocracyConvention.orgfor the most

accurate information, and to see specic schedules for each of the nine separate

conferences taking place.

Thank you to Adam Porton, National Director at Liberty Tree, for his

incredible work under pressure, and to Jolie Lizoe and Laura Brickman for their

hard labors. Thank you to Gregory Bradley for stepping forward to execute the

documentation of this gathering. And thankyou for bringing the radical promise

of American democracy this much closer to reality.

In Solidarity,Ben Manski

Liberty Tree Foundationfor the Democratic Revolution


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DEMOCRACY CONVENTION | AgENDA

WEDNEsDAY, AugusT 79:00am4:00pm Sessions4:30 pm Openin Ceremony in Capitol Rotunda with Head-Roc and Call or Peace Drum Dance Company7:00 pm Openin Keynote: gar Alperovitz with Medea Benjamin and Bryan Kennedy9:00pm11:00pm Evening Social

ThuRsDAY, AugusT 8

9:00am5:30 pm Sessions5:30 pm WILPF Peace & Freedom Dinner7:00 pm Plenary Rondtable with Jill Stein, Victoria Collier, Rich Monje, George Friday,

Margaret Flowers, Roshan Bliss, Leah Bolger, Norman

Stockwell, and Leland Pan with moderator Ben Manski9:00pm11:00pm Evening Social

FRIDAY, AugusT 9

9:00am8:00 pm Sessions9:00pm11:00pm Evening Social

sATuRDAY, AugusT 10

9:00am5:30 pm Sessions1:00 pm Rally to stop te TPP! on Capitol Steps4:30 pm Local Food Democracy Reception9:00pm11:00pm Evening Social

suNDAY, AugusT 11

9:00am12:30 pm Sessions2:00pm4:00pm Call to Action Keynote: Debra Wite Plme

Followed by a acilitated discussion to give eachconerence a chance to share the big ideas that came outo their gathering as well as the next steps we all can take

to urther the democracy movement in the times ahead.4:00pm6:00 pm Open Space or Meetings

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DEMOCRACY CONVENTION | FuLL PROgRAM

Due to the wide variety o sessions oered at the Democracy Convention, session locations, content,and timing may change. The convention website is always the best place to get the latest inormation.

The specic program or each conerence is available on the website; just click on the conerence o yourchoice at www.DemocracyConvention.org

9:00 am 10:30 am | WEDNEsDAY, AugusT 7

Edcation or Democracy Conerence Openin Plenary

Flapoint in te Year Aead in Pblic EdcationMadison College Downtown, D229Speaker(s): Maxwell Love, Julie Woesteho, Kimberly King, Bryan KennedyWhat do you need to be on the lookout or in the coming 2013-14 academic year? We all need tosee the whole picture, as well as the parts we each play in it. This opening plenary sets the stage orthe Education or Democracy Conerence by raising up key emerging struggles across the U.S. in thecoming year or our public schools, colleges, and universities.

Conerence: EDuCATION FOR DEMOCRACY

11:00 am 12:30 pm | WEDNEsDAY, AugusT 7

Plannin to Repond to scool Cloin in a Time o Aterity and Mayoral ControlMadison College Downtown, D227Speaker(s): Todd Price, Justin Wedes with Alliance or Educational Justice members

This roundtable will include stories rom the rontlines where mayoral takeover and an austerityagenda have devastated school and communities leading to the current phase o massive,sweeping restructuring, takeovers, outsourcing and oten literal closing o neighborhood schools.Participants will oer their insights and solicit eedback in how to make sense o this phenomena,the recent attacks on public education, and how to move our struggles orward in the interests o

parents, students, teachers and the broader community.

Conerence: EDuCATION FOR DEMOCRACYOne Bi union, One Bi strike: stdent, Labor and Edcation unionim in te strleor Control o te Knowlede EconomyMadison College Downtown, D229Speaker(s): Ben Manski, Leland Pan, Jolie Lizotte, Katie Zaman, Jackson PotterEducation unions are in struggle all across this country. They are rising and they are getting busted,

sometimes at the same time. And the stakes or education keep getting more serious. What will ittake to organize unions o students, aculty, sta, and community members that can, when needed,take total control o production in our schools and colleges?Conerence: EDuCATION FOR DEMOCRACY

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2:00 pm 3:30 pm | WEDNEsDAY, AugusT 7

Attack on Tenre, sared governance, and Academic Freedom in hier Edcation:Adjnct and te Academic Labor ForceMadison College Downtown, D227Speaker(s): Todd Price, Ana Maria FloresThis session will consider the key vital legs upon which the university stands (or alls): promotionand tenure, shared governance, academic reedom. The session presenters will discuss lessonslearned in struggles around these issues and include a discussion on the role o ull time aculty,adjunct aculty and organizing or the uture.


Yot Oranizin and te National stdent Bill o RitMadison College Downtown, D229Speaker(s): Alliance or Educational Justice membersWhen it comes to educational justice, young people are the group most heavily aected. So whyshouldnt youth be at the ront and center o our campaigns? This workshop led by members

o the Alliance or Educational Justice will explore the importance and practice o youth-ledorganizing. We will talk about how making space or youth to organize shapes policy as well as themembership on the ground and in the eld. In this workshop, well discuss the growing campaignor the National Student Bill o Rights, that can empower youth in their schools and communities.Conerence: EDuCATION FOR DEMOCRACY


OPENINg CEREMONY or te 2013 DEMOCRACY CONVENTIONThe Rotunda o the Wisconsin Capitol BuildingPerormer(s): Head-Roc and the Call or Peace Drum Dance Company


CONVENTION OPENINg PLENARYMadison Masonic Center, 301 Wisconsin AveKEYNOTE: gar Alperovitz on Te Next American Revoltionwith MC Medea Benjamin and Wisconsin Welcome by Bryan Kennedy


Evenin social at the Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W Main St, hosted by the Green Shadow Cabinet

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9:00 am 10:30 am | ThuRsDAY, AugusT 8

Democracy v DroneMadison College Downtown, D331Speaker(s): Medea Benjamin, Joe Scarry, Dave MitchellCan a democracy use drones abroad or domestically? Do drone murders uphold the rule o lawor destroy it? Do surveillance drones make us ree or strip away our rights? Are alse belies aboutdrones leading us down a dangerous path? How can we bring drones under control? And is thereany place or good or harmless uses o drones? Join a discussion o what is being done and whatcan be done to put the interests o humans ahead o those o killer ying robots.

Conerence: DEMOCRATIZINg DEFENsE

Te Emerin sape o te Next sytemMadison College Downtown, D333Speaker(s): Gar AlperovitzIs there an America beyond capitalism? Something is brewing beneath the social and economicdistress including thousands o worker-owned companies, co-ops with millions o members, states

taking up public banking, and other new orms o single-payer health care. Throughout the U.S., wehave already seen nationalizations, and likely uture crises will produce more some in a much moredemocratized direction. This may be the prehistory o the next American revolution, one that coulddemocratize the current system and make it both morally meaningul and ecologically sustainable.Conerence: ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY

Edcation or Democracy Conerence Plenary

unity in Action Makin plan or collective action in te comin yearMadison College Downtown, D306Speaker(s): Isabel Nunez, Leland Pan, Jackson Potter, Kimberly King, Sangita NayakHow will we work together in the coming year to strengthen each others campaigns and to unitethem urther in a common push or democratic education? This plenary will task us with identiyingspecic actions and opportunities or solidarity in the coming year.


11:00 am 12:30 pm | ThuRsDAY, AugusT 8

home Rle: uin Local government to Bild a stroner Democracy MovementMadison College Downtown, D433Speaker(s): Ben Manski

This session will explore the history and practice o using local governments to achieve socialprogress, strengthen local democracy, and to deeat corporate power, racism, and militarism.We will also learn more about how and why state, ederal, and global legislatures and courts arebeing used to suppress and destroy local democracy. The struggle between local democracy and

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corporate capitalism is becoming more important every day. Get ready and get more engaged.Conerence: CONsTITuTIONAL REFORM, LOCAL DEMOCRACY

Framin te Move To Amend Meae: speakin to People heart and MindMadison College Downtown, D429Speaker(s): Kaja Rebane, Egberto WilliesThis training will ocus on how our minds work, and the implications o this or communicatingeectively with the public, elected ofcials and others. We will learn about how public issuesare ramed, as well as the roles that narrative, emotion, tone and statistics play in successulcommunication. Our main ocus will be on improving how we talk about corporate personhood

and other Move to Amend-related topics, but the tools well learn can be applied to any issue. So, allare welcome to attend.Conerence: CONsTITuTIONAL REFORM, MEDIA DEMOCRACY

A Call to Action or a NclearFree Ftre by 2020Madison College Downtown, D331Speaker(s): Carol Urner, Ellen Thomas

Nuclear abolition is an urgent necessity. Lets nd ways to work together, each in our own ways. 1)WILPFUS promotes HR 1650 and U.S. Conerence o Mayors 2012 and 2013 Resolutions calling orabolition by 2020. 2) Acts to stop U.S. nuclear missile testing and nuclear industry expansion. 3)Urges U.S. participation in current creative international initiatives o 134 non-nuclear powers. 4)Believes whole nuclear chain is killing us and our planet. Acts locally to close nuclear power plants,end uranium mining, waste accumulation, DU and nuclear weapons production.Conerence: DEMOCRATIZINg DEFENsE, EARTh DEMOCRACY

ReImainin NOW: Takin Te Next step Toward A New societyMadison College Downtown, D333Speaker(s): Lilia and Herb FrantinIts clear things are not going well or any but the 1%, but what to do about it is the undamentalquestion we now need to ace. While the present system is obviously ailing us, a movement oeringno coherent vision to replace it is no less doomed to ailure. Presented by People For A New Society,this workshop will include a short powerpoint presentation and ocus on how the changes alreadyunderway can create an eective strategy to transorm and build a new vision o society based ona sustainable, grassroots democracy: post-capitalism, post-prot and post-wage. Imagination andcreative thinking is invited; serious interest in building a new society is welcome.Conerence: ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY

Powerin p wit Renewable Enery and green Job or People and te PlanetMadison College (MATC-Downtown Campus), D229Speaker(s): Don FerberWe know we need to get o ossil uels, but progress is lagging well behind that awareness. Whats

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behind this resistance, and what are our opportunities to move away rom ossil uels to cleanenergy? This session will discuss our current dilemma, and look at where our best prospects are toreduce demand and nd clean energy alternatives that will also create a green economy and good

jobs. We can learn rom the standards other countries are setting, and also examine our energy

trends here, our best avenues or progress, and the opportunities or people to make a dierence.Conerence: EARTh DEMOCRACY, ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY

Woe scool? Or scool!:Te Radical Poibilitie o sarin te Crriclm wit stdentMadison College Downtown, D306

Speaker(s): Jolie Lizotte and Roshan BlissThis workshop will encourage participants to explore the ways in which students can and arebeginning to make demands on the content o their educations, and thereby shiting the dynamico how content is selected and learning is negotiated. Join us or a discussion o how studentscalling to be taught content that they truly need to be prepared to live in our society can be turnedinto a paradigm shiting power move that stands to change the ace o our schools and our society,and leave with a new exciting strategy or how to change the conversation on the unction o our

schools and the role o the students they serve.Conerence: EDuCATION FOR DEMOCRACY

Mltiracial Oranizin in Or sereated Edcation sytemMadison College Downtown, D303Speaker(s): Alliance or Educational Justice membersThis workshop will be ocused on discussing challenges and opportunities o multi-racial

organizing. We will talk about the impact current school conditions have with our leaders and ourcampaigns. In this interactive workshops participants will get an opportunity to explore their ownexperiences and leave with strategies that work in their communities.Conerence: EDuCATION FOR DEMOCRACY, RACE AND DEMOCRACY

sttin te Camber: Te national t aaint te u.s. Camber o CommerceMadison College Downtown, D406Speaker(s): Carl Gibson, David Schwab, Omkar Sawardekar, Laura BrickmanThe U.S. Chamber o Commerce is the largest lobby group in the U.S. and spends hundreds omillions o dollars each year to advance a platorm centered on cutting public services, dismantlingworkers rights, and denying climate science. Learn how you can get involved in Liberty Trees Shutthe Chamber Campaign by taking part in days o action where you live and by encouraging yourneighborhood small businesses and local chambers o commerce to divest rom the U.S. Chamber

(and its state afliates) and instead join a business alliance that supports strong communities.Conerence: LOCAL DEMOCRACY, ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY

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12:30 pm 2:00 pm | ThuRsDAY, AugusT 8

PreK to PotDoc:Bridin te gap between te hier Ed and K12 Pblic Edcation MovementMadison College Downtown, D229Facilitators: Bryan Kennedy, Roshan Bliss, and Alliance or Educational Justice membersIn recent years, we have seen an increase in the number o teachers, students, parents, and otherstaking action to deend and improve the public education system in our country. But or manyreasons, those working to grow the movement or educational justice have ound themselvessiloed into working in either the K-12 sphere or the higher education sphere, with surprisingly little

collaboration. Join us or lunch and share your ideas during this roundtable discussion on how wecan work to uniy and strengthen the public education movement across the graduation line inways that will develop robust youth leadership and empower teachers and parents at every level toachieve our common goals. Lnc provided or a $5 eted donationConerence: EDuCATION FOR DEMOCRACY


Te Rit Race: An Interactive Exercie Expoin Wat happen Wen a Corporationi a Peron wit Contittional RitMadison College Downtown, D429Speaker(s): Daniel Lee, Egberto WilliesThe Rights Race is a popular education exercise designed to get people literally moving (a kineticexercise) while learning about human rights, corporate rights, and the U.S. Constitution. It is based

on the work done by Brazilian activist scholar Augusto Boal, ounder o Theater o the Oppressed.Conerence: CONsTITuTIONAL REFORM

givin te People Contittional Power Over War:Redicoverin te War Reerendm AmendmentMadison College Downtown, D425

Speaker(s): Ben Manski, David SwansonWhat can we learn rom the history o the 1930s-era campaign or a War ReerendumAmendment, together with the 1970s-era People Power Over War Amendment, both o whichwould have established a deliberative national reerendum process on war?Conerence: CONsTITuTIONAL REFORM, DEMOCRATIZINg DEFENsE

Commnity Action Toolkit or Eart Democracy

Madison College Downtown, D229Speaker(s): Randa Solick, Carolyn RaenspergerWe cant wait or Federal and State action to protect our communities. We are not powerless andcan take action now. Carolyn Raensperger will discuss how Guardianship o Future Generations

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and the Precautionary Principle can be adopted as local policy to prevent passing on a toxicenvironment to our children and to ensure that the ecosystems essential or all lie are protectedand thrive. Randa Solick, using Santa Cruz, CA as a possible model, will open the discussion onhow to use the Toolkit in workshop setting so that they can eectively advocate that their elected

representatives adopt Guardianship and the Precautionary Principle as local policy.Conerence: EARTh DEMOCRACY, LOCAL DEMOCRACY

B Corporation: Brinin Pblic Benet into te Corporate strctreMadison College Downtown, D333Speaker(s): Jim ArmstrongCorporations are legally responsible to create maximum prot or their investors without regardto impact on people or the planet. That is changing with a new kind o corporate charter, theB Corp or Benecial Corporation requires that businesses meet higher standards or social andenvironmental perormance and accountability. Nineteen states have passed laws to permit BCorps so ar. Learn more about B Corps, and how to make them a reality or your state or business.Conerence: ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY

Te global stdent Movement:Leon and Perpective rom stdent Movement Arond te WorldMadison College Downtown, D306Speaker(s): Mo Schmidt, Vukasin Grozdanovic, Frank Lvesque-Nicol, Roshan BlissSince the Arab Spring and in years prior, students around the world have built powerul movementsto demand quality, accessible, democratic educations - and won. These movements stand instark contrast to the relative calm that has pervaded over U.S. schools and colleges, despite

unprecedented escalations in costs, declines in student voice, and outright attacks on the rights oyouth to an education. From Canada, to Chile, to Serbia, and beyond, there are many lessons to belearned rom recent and ongoing movements o students and youth standing up or their uturesand their place in society, and this panel eatures student and youth leaders rom such movementswho will share their reections and perspectives on how these struggles became so successul andwhat we can take rom them to build a more robust movement or education here in the USA.Conerence: EDuCATION FOR DEMOCRACY

Te New Aparteid in hier Edcation: Ie o Cla and RaceMadison College Downtown, D303Speaker(s): Kimberly KingThe Caliornia State University (CSU) system was once a shining example o access to qualityhigher education or working class students. As part o the CA Master Plan, the CSU, along with the

Caliornia Community Colleges and the University o Caliornia, originally oered higher educationto all Caliornians or very low ees. However, in recent years, student ees have skyrocketed,admissions and course oerings have been gutted and new barriers have been constructed. This

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presentation will expose how cost-saving schemes such as overreliance on online education andrestrictions on remediation, have resulted in a new system o academic apartheid in which Black,Latino/a and low-income students o all colors are being excluded rom the opportunities thatall people deserve. Well also look at eorts o education worker unions/aculty in coalition with

students to resist the new apartheid and create an education system air and accessible to all.Conerence: EDuCATION FOR DEMOCRACY, RACE AND DEMOCRACY


how to Bild a Movement to End War and Retore Liberty Werever Yo Live

Madison College Downtown, D331Speaker(s): Shahid Buttar, Debra Sweet, George FridayEvery day, the national security state degrades democracy in America, claiming that war justieswantonly abusing constitutional rights. Every branch o government, including the courts andCongress, is complicit - as are each o the establishment parties. What can a reedom-loving

American do in the ace o this institutional consensus on authoritarianism? This workshop willgo beyond policy criticism to share skills through which grassroots organizers can build diverse

grassroots coalitions and orce policy change at the local and state level. Drawing rom recentexamples including campaigns to stop local police rom using surveillance drones, it will strengthen

participants and identiy a range o opportunities to anyone concerned about civil liberties.Conerence: DEMOCRATIZINg DEFENsE, LOCAL DEMOCRACY

National Election Interity Coalition (NEIC) stratey seion Movement BildinMadison College Downtown, D436

Facilitator: Victoria CollierHow can Election Integrity activists consolidate our gains rom many years o on-the-groundexperience, and use our knowledge to envision and build an eective long-term movementor election reorm? Using the MAP ramework o movement building, we will brainstorm andstrategize together on the uture o election integrity.Conerence: REPREsENTATIVE DEMOCRACY


Planet Eart a an ATM: Fitin Commodication o te CommonMadison College Downtown, D229Speaker(s): Rachel Smolker, Julie Byrnes Enslow, Chris WilliamsWith distribution o wealth grossly unequal, corporations and the 1% gain unprecedented access

to governments and policymakers to promote policies that assign dollar values to everything romcarbon to biodiversity, water, seeds, and ecosystem services. Money is made by control, ownershipand ree trade in the commons, believing that through the miracle o the market, conservation onature can simultaneously be guaranteed. In this context, climate geoengineering and urther

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nancialization o nature are disastrous. Panelists examine carbon and biodiversity markets, landgrabs, and public-private partnerships in energy and agriculture, the need or analysis, resistanceand a new mindset toward nature.Conerence: EARTh DEMOCRACY, ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY

Wy Are We in Debt? Wat Are Or Tre Debt to One Anoter?Madison College Downtown, D333Speaker(s): Thomas GokeyThe costs o our basic needs like healthcare, housing, and education are all rising rapidly, yet ourmeans to meet these needs have at-lined. This orces us in debt. Debt is a tool o oppression, and

part o its power to oppress is that it isolates and atomizes us. We need to work collectively. Whatare our true debts to one another? We are deaulting on the real debts because we are orced to payillegitimate debts to the 1%.Conerence: ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY

In te Croair:how Corporation and Aterity are Tranormin Edcation and Work in America

Madison College Downtown, D306Speaker(s): William Watkins, Kimberly King, Todd Price, Ben ManskiThis panel discussion will examine the relationship between the changing conditions o theeconomy and our public education system, at all levels. Our panelists will discuss how thecorporate assault attempts to dismantle the educational system, and to remake it under corporatedesigns in order to conorm to conditions o austerity via: turn around schools, school closures,voucherization and charterization o neighborhood schools, cuts to electives and remedial

programs, vocationalization o adult education, and corporatization o research universitiesdriving the transormation o education which leads to the disenranchisement o aculty and sta,and students, especially rst generation college students o color. We will discuss eective ways tonot only ght back against this assault, but to ght orward with critical ideas and actions.Conerence: EDuCATION FOR DEMOCRACY, ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY

strateic Campain Plannin or Edcation Fit: A Cae stdy on ti Year hierEdcation Act ReatorizationMadison College Downtown, D303Speaker(s): Jolie LizotteIn this skills building workshop, learn how to create a strategic direct action campaign plan on acollege or high school campus using the Midwest Academy organizing model. Together we will usethis years Higher Education Act Reauthorization as a case study or discussing what would need to

be in a campaign plan to tackle national student issues on an individual campus.Conerence: EDuCATION FOR DEMOCRACY

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Tird Party Acce, graroot Campain, and Proportional RepreentationMadison College Downtown, D436Speaker(s): Jill Stein, Cindy Sheehan, Lori Grace, Bob FitrakisConerence: REPREsENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

Leon rom Pat Movement tat Inorm or Crrent Movement: Abolitionit, senecaFall, Poplit, ERA trleMadison College Downtown, D429Speaker(s): Senay Goitom, Greg ColeridgeConerence: CONsTITuTIONAL REFORM, RACE AND DEMOCRACY


Dimantlin te scooltoPrion PipelineMadison College Downtown, D302Speaker(s): Ananda MirilliSince the introduction o zero tolerance policies in public schools, student suspensions have

skyrocketed. The percent o students suspended each year has doubled rom the early 1970s to now,and the presence o police ofcers in public schools has dramatically increased. Black, Latino/aand poor students o all colors are disproportionately suspended and arrested, with Black studentsbeing our times as likely as White students to be suspended in some school districts. Studentswho have been suspended are more likely to be arrested and incarcerated later. The workshop will

present the historical impact on racial disparities in schools and discuss Restorative Justice as astrategy to derail the School-to-Prison Pipeline while building empathy and community in schools.

Conerence: EDuCATION FOR DEMOCRACY, RACE AND DEMOCRACY


WILPF Peace and Freedom Dinner at Bethel Lutheran Church, 312 Wisconsin AveFresh local ood prepared with love by Madison WILPF (Womens International League or

Peace and Freedom) in honor o Democracy and Veterans or Peace.


CONVENTION ROuNDTABLE PLENARYOne deleate rom eac o te nine Democracy Convention conerence join in ananimated dicion o te year aead in te u.s. democracy movement

Inn on the Park, 22 S. Carroll, Wisconsin HallSpeaker(s): Jill Stein, Victoria Collier, Rich Monje, George Friday, Margaret Flowers, Roshan Bliss,Leah Bolger, Norm Stockwell, Leland Pan with Ben Manski

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Evenin social at The Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W Main St ~ Hosted by Move to Amend

9:00 am 10:30 am | FRIDAY, AugusT 9

Daner o Corporate Peronood: It Way Beyond Jt $ in ElectionMadison College Downtown, D429Speaker(s): Daniel Lee, Sierra Pope, Shahid Buttar, Michael Greenman

An examination o how the inuence o corporate power extends well beyond the electoral realm

and why the xes which ocus only on elections are inadequate steps towards ensuring that wehave a unctioning democracy.Conerence: CONsTITuTIONAL REFORM

Enain Conre wit Interity & Atenticity: Learnin to Coalece and ExerciePeople Power to hold Elected Ocial Accontable to te MovementMadison College Downtown, D433

Speaker(s): Joan Stallard, Steve Spitz, Lee KetelsonOver 500 jurisdictions have now passed resolutions and initiatives to call or a constitutionalamendment to overturn Citizens United. In this session we will discuss using resources to bringthis issue to our members o Congress, including, but not limited to, using town hall meetings in

August, appearances by the member in the district, and meetings with the member and usingdigital cameras, videos, and tweets to gain support or a constitutional amendment declaring thatcorporations are not people and money is not political speech.

Conerence: CONsTITuTIONAL REFORM

Eart Democracy Plenary: hman, Civil, Labor, and Eart Rit Not Corporate RitMadison College Downtown, D229Speaker(s): Cheri Honkala, Lauren Regan, Sherri Mitchell, Jill Stein, Ruth Caplan, Richard MonjeTodays misnamed ree market economy dominated by multinational monopolies, corporate-

controlled trade, and Wall Street speculation - has pushed people and the planet to the breakingpoint. The Trans-Pacic Partnership is a poster child o this ree market economy. It will send jobsoverseas to exploit the cheapest labor, urther depress wages; increase dirty uels extraction andaccelerate harm to eco-systems; and allows corporations to invalidate health, labor, and eco-

protections by declaring them barriers to trade. Panelists will lay out principles o an alternativeeconomy ounded on Human, Civil, Labor, and Earth Rights - that provides a true climate o justice.Conerence: EARTh DEMOCRACY, RACE AND DEMOCRACY

Democracy Witin te Military: Wat Wold it Look Like?Madison College Downtown, D331Speaker(s): Robert Fantina, Michael Prysner

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How has the U.S. military, rom its inception, deprived its soldiers o the basic human rights everyliving individual is entitled to, and the civil rights that the U.S. Constitution guarantees its citizens?Specic examples with be given, showing that this has been a constant throughout U.S. history.Evidence o the impact this has had on soldiers will be presented. Additionally, undamental

changes that would ensure the preservation o these rights to the members o the military will bediscussed, and nally, the Our Lives, Our Rights campaign will be explained and discussed.Conerence: DEMOCRATIZINg DEFENsE

Model or Permanently Afordable hoin: Commnity Land Trt and CoopMadison College Downtown, D333Speaker(s): Greg Rosenberg, Michael Carlson

As the housing market has revealed itsel to be subject to the arbitrary winds o Wall Street andraud in the banking industry, people are creating alternative ways to provide permanentlyaordable housing. Greg Rosenberg, Executive Director o the National Community Land TrustNetwork, will describe how land trusts across the country are promoting sustainable developmentthrough permanently aordable housing and the protection o working lands. Michael Carlson othe Madison Community Cooperatives, a ederation o housing cooperatives that ormed in 1968,

will describe how co-ops create aordable housing or people with low-incomes and gives themgreater control over their living environment.Conerence: ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY

uin Local government to Advance DemocracyMadison College Downtown, D406Speaker(s): Leland Pan, Michael Johnson, Matt Kozlowski, Adam Porton

Local governments are some o the most important yet oten overlooked tools available to thedemocracy movement. In this workshop we will explore how campaigns or local living wageordinances, municipal participatory budgeting processes, county-level immigrant sae harbor

policies, among many other policy ideas, can take the ght or social justice to the local level.Conerence: LOCAL DEMOCRACY

Cartoonin and Comix a a Form o OranizinMadison College Downtown, D401Speaker(s): Mike Konopacki & Paul BuhleConerence: MEDIA DEMOCRACY

so oe te sot, so oe te NationMadison College Downtown, D332

Speaker(s): George FridayThis session will discuss the history o the South rom Jim Crow Era to the Anti-racking protestswest o the Appalachian Mountains.Conerence: RACE AND DEMOCRACY

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Citizen Election Interity Activim: Citizen Overit o Election, Adit and RecontMadison College Downtown, D436Speaker(s): Karen McKim, Judy Alter, John Maa, Tom Courbat, Mimi Kennedy, Bob Fitrakis, SallyCastleman, Jonathan Simon

Leading activists in the Election Integrity movement will discuss real-world scenarios and bestpractices or citizen oversight o vital electoral processes, beore, during, and ater Election Day.Conerence: REPREsENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

11:00 am 12:30 pm | FRIDAY, AugusT 9

Jtice stepen Dient: A Teatrical MonoloeMadison College Downtown, D429Speaker(s): James Allison, Lois Sabo-Skelton

Actor Lois Sabo-Skelton will perorm James Allisons monologue, Justice John Paul StevensDissents! Based on Stevens 90-page dissent in Citizens United, Appellant v. Federal ElectionCommission (2010), the monologue will last about 40 minutes, present the basic legal and politicalissues raised by the ruling, and be ollowed by Q&A led by the author.


Enain and Relatin to te next united state social Form (ussF): Developin astratey to Move rom Converence to CoerenceMadison College Downtown, D433Speaker(s): George Friday, David CobbThe U.S. Social Forum is both an event and a process. As an event, it is one o the largest gathering

o social change agents in one place - over 20,000 olks in Atlanta in 2007 and again in Detroitin 2010. And it will be reconvening in 2015! As a process, it is lead by groups traditionallymarginalized in the U.S.-- people o color, women, indigenous peoples, queers, immigrants, low-income white olks. Come learn how to get involved in the work leading up to U.S. Social Forum III.Conerence: CONsTITuTIONAL REFORM

how Wain Peace Trainin Can save Or DemocracyMadison College Downtown, D331Speaker(s): Paul ChappellPaul K. Chappell, a West Point graduate, Iraq War veteran, and ormer Army Captain, will discussthe inspiring movements where American democracy was won through the art o waging peace.This art-orm was pioneered by Susan B. Anthony, Martin Luther King Jr., and other patriotic

Americans, and waging peace is simply another way o saying practicing democracy.

Chappell will discuss why waging peace is more important than ever, and how we can takeour understanding o waging peace to a higher level in order to solve our national and globalproblems. His latest book is The Art o Waging Peace.Conerence: DEMOCRATIZINg DEFENsE

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Enery Injtice and Environmental Racim: how Dirty Enery Impact CommnitieMadison College Downtown, D229Speaker(s): Mike EwallNuclear power, coal, oil, gas, hydroelectric, biomass and waste incineration, and biouels

production all damage the environment and tend to disproportionately aect low-incomecommunities and communities o color. Learn about the realities o environmental racism andhow its more than just classism. This workshop discusses the principles o environmental justiceand what is means to be involved in the environmental justice movement. We will explore thedierences between NIMBY not in my backyard and not in anyones backyard politics, thedierence between environmental equity and justice, and how corporate propaganda systemsundermine environmental justice through sophisticated divide and conquer tactics.Conerence: EARTh DEMOCRACY, RACE AND DEMOCRACY, LOCAL DEMOCRACY

Wen Inquiry & Collaboration Take On Eart Jutice in Elementary & hig scool Claroom

Madison College Downtown, D227Speaker(s): Erica Krug, Dan Walkner, and Susan FreissLearn how a 3rd grade students and their teacher grew ve months o rigorous reading and writing

work out o their passionate interest in the health o our water and oceans. This work emerged roma shared reading o Lie in the Ocean: The Story o Oceanographer Sylvia Earle by C. Nivola andexpanded to organizing a community drive to ban plastic bags, writing and publishing a book o

poetry and collaborating with a high school media class to make a movie on the topic. Explore thepossibilities o bringing earth justice to classrooms in your community.Conerence: EARTh DEMOCRACY

gardianip o Ftre generation and Writin Eart Rit into LawMadison College Downtown, D406Speaker(s): Carolyn Raensperger, Linda Sheehan, Sherri Mitchell, Ruth CaplanThe Earth is nite, not an innite source o resources or endless commodities produced while wedegrade the environment and withhold shelter, sae water, adequate sanitation and reliable oodrom hundreds o millions worldwide. Panelists will oer a new vision o our relationships with eachother and the Earth, based on both Indigenous wisdom and Western law. Can we embrace our

responsibilities today as guardians or each other and uture generations, recognize that naturehas an intrinsic right to exist and thrive, and act to protect the ecosystems essential or all lie?Panelists will describe how communities in the U.S. and worldwide are implementing guardianshipstrategies and writing Earth rights into law.Conerence: EARTh DEMOCRACY, CONsTITuTIONAL REFORM, LOCAL DEMOCRACY

Endin Foreclore and Creatin a stainable Local EconomyMadison College Downtown, D333Speaker(s): Nancie Koerber

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Ater Sept 2008, small businesses boarded up their windows all over America. The primary vehicleWall Street used to siphon health out o our communities was Real Estate Debt. To rebuild ourlocal economies, we rst stopped the rampant oreclosures. 80% o members losing their homeswere also small business owners. We kept thousands o amilies in their homes by orcing banks

to the table or sustainable solutions. In 2013 Project REconomy is launching many sustainablebusiness solutions including Barter, Borrowing local money, education on best business practices,eliminating unsustainable debt, developing a state bank and a CDFI.Conerence: ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY, LOCAL DEMOCRACY

Labor Media Bildin a Voice or WorkerMadison College Downtown, 401

Speaker(s): Frank Emspak, Ellen LaLuzerne, Norm StockwellConerence: MEDIA DEMOCRACY

Te End o DemocracyEmerency Manaer in MicianMadison College Downtown, D332Speaker(s): Reverend Edward PinkneyThis session will discuss the problems that the State o Michigan has been acing ater it was takenover by emergency managers.Conerence: RACE AND DEMOCRACY, LOCAL DEMOCRACY

Citizen Election Interity: Leal and Leilative strateie or Enrin TranparentDemocratic ElectionMadison College Downtown, D436Speaker(s): Ben Ptashnik, Tom Courbat, Bob Fitrakis, John Washburn, John Maa, Mimi Kennedy,Harvey BrainscombLeading activists in the Election Integrity movement will discuss the options or citizen-drivenactivism to reorm election laws, protect the vote count, and challenge election results.Conerence: REPREsENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

12:30 pm 2:00 pm | FRIDAY, AugusT 9

Know Yor Rit Activit TraininMadison College Downtown, D229Speaker(s): Lauren ReganThe Call: As the planet heats up on all ronts, now is the time or a Know Your Rights workshop toinstill you with the condence to make decisions about how you will engage your activism - whereis the line drawn between legal and potentially illegal protesting? What magic words should you

say to police to invoke your rights? Armed with knowledge, you and your ellow activists can makeinormed choices regarding interactions with government agents and can best protect your rightsshould you end up in handcus and in the legal system. Snacks will be provided.Conerence: EARTh DEMOCRACY

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Enain te Fait Commnity in Move To Amend: unitarian univeralit a Cae stdyMadison College Downtown, D429

Speaker(s): Michael Greenman, Colin SykesThe June 2013 General Assembly o the Unitarian Universalist Denomination (UUS) voted inPlenary in Louisville, KY to ofcially support and encourage appropriate actions towards anamendment to the constitution specically to eliminate corporate personhood and money asspeech. They voted to work at both the grass roots and national organizational levels. Given theact that endorsing a constitutional amendment to restore democracy is a trans-partisan issueand poses no threat to the non-prot status o supporting organizations, UUs elt it was timely tocreate such a coalition within the aith communities in the United States.Conerence: CONsTITuTIONAL REFORM

Wat i we pread Democracy to te united state?Madison College Downtown, D331Speaker(s): David Swanson, George Martin, Coleen Rowley

What would U.S. oreign policy look like in a government o, by, and or the people? How wouldthe United States view other nations? How would people in the United States view nationalism?What is public opinion now on war and war preparation? What could public opinion be broughtto be? How might a decision-making process unction? What risks and dangers are there? What

political alliances are possible among people and groups with divergent views on domestic policy?What keeps us rom getting there? How can we counter orces o propaganda, corruption, pooreducation, economic pressures, racism, xenophobia, and ear? How does current U.S. oreign policy

compare with a system that could generate sustainable and peaceul oreign relations?Conerence: DEMOCRATIZINg DEFENsE

Idle No More and Commnity Fitback to Corporate Crime: Bildin BierReitance Reionally and NationallyMadison College Downtown, D229Speaker(s): Patricia Popple, Peter Anderson, Sherri Mitchell, Carl Sack, Ruth Caplan, Alexandra

ThebertTime to ramp up the movement to ght corporate crimes? Panelists will share stories o theircommunity ghtbacks against the XL and Enbridge pipelines or tar sands oil, racking sand andother mining operations such as the Penokee open-pit iron and Rio Tinto Eagle Mines, and theEast-West SuperCorridor in Maine. They will discuss lessons learned or organizing grassrootscampaigns, media strategies, artul communication, and building collaborative, diverse networks

so we can build bigger coordinated resistance. The strategy o passing rights-based ordinances toassert community rights over corporate rights will be discussed and examples provided.Conerence: EARTh DEMOCRACY, LOCAL DEMOCRACY, RACE AND DEMOCRACY

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Invetin Locally: Movin Yor Money From Wall street to Main streetMadison College Downtown, D333Speaker(s): Rebecca RyanYouve heard o Buy Local, now there is Invest Local. As people recognize that Wall Streets motives

harm communities and the environment, they are turning to alternative ways to invest their money,ways that build and sustain their local businesses and economies. Rebecca Ryan will explain howthe Local Investment Opportunities Network (LION Investing) connects local investors with localbusinesses that need capital. This keeps money circulating in the local economy. For businesses andinvestors, it creates a relationship based on a mutual interest in the success o businesses and thecommunity. Learn how to create a LION in your area.Conerence: ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY, LOCAL DEMOCRACY

Pblic Bankin: Makin It happenMadison College Downtown, D406Speaker(s): Marc Armstrong, Ruth Caplan

Are you tired o reading articles about how Wall Street is bankrupting us? Do you despair aboutnancing the transition to a green economy? Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and start

changing the system but you dont know where to begin? Public banks are a way or us to takeback control and to nance the transition to a green, sustainable economy. You can organize tocreate a city, county or state public bank. This interactive workshop will give you a chance to askquestions and will suggest tools and resources to use in organizing. Lets begin!Conerence: ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY, EARTh DEMOCRACY

social Media a a Tool or Cane

Madison College Downtown, D401Speaker(s): Emily Mills, Kayla Blado, Kent WatsonConerence: MEDIA DEMOCRACY

Civil Rit Now Wat? Te Plit o Arican American American Men todayMadison College Downtown, D332Speaker(s): Shamako Nobel, JR Fleming, Galen Tyler

A panel o Arican American community organizers will talk about what the Trayvon Martin verdictmeans and the plight o Arican American men today in America. They will talk about the realitieso their lives, their childrens and what is being done and what needs to be done.Conerence: RACE AND DEMOCRACY

Election Interity Panel: Fitin te hidden Treat to American DemocracyMadison College Downtown, D436Speaker(s): Bob Fitrakis, Mimi Kennedy, Victoria Collier, Ben Ptashnik, Jonathan SimonThe Election Integrity (EI) movement is working non-stop behind the scenes against loss o citizen

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control over U.S. elections and thereore sel-government. The right to vote and to oversee theballot chain o custody, the ability to watch the vote-count, has disappeared inside the electronic

processes o a privatized electronic elections whose accountability to elections ofcials, lawenorcement, or citizens is negligible. What is the state o EI today? How threatened are American

elections by insider/outsider raud and hacking? Why did Karl Rove insist thered be a GOP victoryint he 11th hour o Ohio in 2012? What does the plan or nationwide Internet Voting mean or

America? Leading EI activists will discuss their recent work, immanent threats to democracy, andbuilding the movement to demand transparency and citizen oversight o elections.Conerence: REPREsENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

4:00 pm 5:30 pm | FRIDAY, AugusT 9Article V Contittional Convention: A Blein, a Cre, or Bot?Madison College Downtown, D429Speaker(s): Dan Marks, David CobbThere are two ways to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution-- A) Two-thirds o both theSenate and the House o Representatives o the United States Congress can propose specic

language, or B) Two-thirds (at least 34) o the states can call or a national constitutionalconvention There is a growing movement calling or a national constitutional convention. Thissession will explore the pros and cons o such a convention and mechanics o how it might happen.Conerence: CONsTITuTIONAL REFORM

Lie Witot WarMadison College Downtown, D331

Speaker(s): Robert Koehler, David SwansonIs the next war inevitable? How do we begin organizing a world beyond it? What might a worldwithout war look like? What should we do rst?Conerence: DEMOCRATIZINg DEFENsE

Water or People and Natre: Local Ordinance and te Rit to WaterMadison College Downtown, D229Speaker(s): Linda Sheehan, Ruth CaplanThe UN has declared that access to water and sanitation are undamental human rights, but thatdoesnt stop corporations like Nestl, CocaCola, and Pepsi rom bottling water and selling it at thehighest price the market will bear. Nor does it stop the corporate privatization o municipal publicwater/sewer systems. How do we enorce the undamental right to aordable, clean water or all

people? And how about the rights o nature? This workshop will lay out approaches to answering

these questions by reraming in terms o earth jurisprudence and by passing local laws.Conerence: EARTh DEMOCRACY, LOCAL DEMOCRACY

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how to stop te World Laret Trade AreementMadison College Downtown, D333Speaker(s): Kevin Zeese, Margaret Flowers, Josh Wise, David NewbyThe Trans-Pacic Partnership will undamentally change the global economy in a way that urther

entrenches global corporate power and gives multinational corporations the power to challengenational environmental, labor and consumer protection laws in a rigged court system. The TPPwill aect every aspect o our lives rom wages to the environment to access to medicine andinternet reedom. Rather than a trade treaty, the TPP is a corporate property protection act. Aglobal campaign is underway to stop the TPP. Learn more about what it is and how you can join thecampaign to Flush the TPP.Conerence: ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY

Media Democracy, Media Acce: Net Netrality, Cenorip, Acce/Diital DivideMadison College Downtown, D401Speaker(s): Bob McChesney, John Nichols, Amitabh Pal and Sandy ReidConerence: MEDIA DEMOCRACY

Immirant Rit: Te strle or Eqality and hman RitMadison College Downtown, D332Speaker(s): Cesar Chavez, Deeq Abdi, Herlinda Hernandez

A panel o people will discuss their immigrant experiences in the U.S. and necessity o having lawsthat guarantee the human rights o immigrants.Conerence: RACE AND DEMOCRACY


Economic Democracy Plenary: Te End o Bi Finance, Creatin te New EconomyInn on the Park, 22 S. Carroll, Wisconsin HallSpeaker(s): Ellen Brown, Rebecca Ryan, Jacqui Dunne, Kevin Zeese, Justin WedesThis plenary will examine the big picture o our nancial system and why it results in a growingwealth divide, a race to the bottom in the wellbeing o most people and destruction o communitiesand the environment. A new system is growing within the current one that is based on values oshared prosperity, real democracy, cooperation and sustainability. Around the world, these newsystems are designed to put the interests o people and the planet beore prots. We will describewhat is happening and what is ahead.Conerence: ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY

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Money Ot, Voter In: Campain Finance Reorm PotCitizen unitedMadison College Downtown, D429Speaker(s): Ben Ptashnik, Mike McCabe, Lori CompasLearn about how shareholder activism, ull disclosure o election spending and public nancing

o election campaigns can eectively mitigate the impact o the Citizens United decision beoreanother election is bought by monied special interests and corporations.Conerence: REPREsENTATIVE DEMOCRACY


Evenin social at Osaka House, 505 State St ~ Hosted by the Economic DemocracyConerence and the Representative Democracy Conerence

9:00 am 10:30 am | sATuRDAY, AugusT 10

uin te WILPF Corporate Peronood Timeline and stdy gide a Edcation ToolMadison College Downtown, D429

Speaker(s): Marybeth GardhamBuilding on this rst step by UUs, participants will discuss how to approach the various aithcommunities represented among our national MTA coalition to orm a powerul collaboration thatwill accelerate progress towards a meaningul and eective amendment.Conerence: CONsTITuTIONAL REFORM

A Contittional Rit to Vote

Madison College Downtown, D436Speaker(s): David Cobb, Bob FitrakisConerence: CONsTITuTIONAL REFORM, REPREsENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

Enactin an Ecoloically sond Economy: Beyond Dirty Fel and Fale soltionMadison College Downtown, D229Speaker(s): Rachel Smolker, Chris Williams, Mike EwallDirty uels, coal, oil, gas, and tar sands, primary drivers o global warming, are devastating publichealth and accelerating the collapse o eco-systems on which all lie depends. Panelists will exposethe corporate and government-backed alse solutions o carbon trading, carbon taxes, bio-energyand other schemes that enrich the 1%, and dangerously delay implementing a national renewableenergy policy. Recognizing current resource extraction, manuacturing, consumption and discard

patterns must change and that technical, market-based and simple lie-style changes can not

x the climate and ecological crises, its time we enact the new economy based on ecologicalprinciples these panelists describe.Conerence: EARTh DEMOCRACY, ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY

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Democratizin te Military Entitlement sytemMadison College Downtown, D331Speaker(s): Ann WrightMilitary Retirees have extraordinary entitlements o a retirement pension ater 20 years o

service. Enlisted personnel can retire as young as 38 years old, ofcers as young as 42 and receive50 % o their base pay or the rest o their lives. Working another 10 years will bring retirement to75% o base pay. Additionally, veterans and their amilies have health insurance called Tri-Carethat has benets that in reality should be available to all Americans. Military also have specialsubsidized grocery and merchandise stores, subsidized gasoline and travel opportunities. Are theseentitlements appropriate or should the military be asked to reduce its retirement benets as other

Americans have had to do?Conerence: DEMOCRATIZINg DEFENsE

Retinking Money: Te Quiet Evolution to a Divere, Reilient & sutainable Monetary sytem

Madison College Downtown, D333Speaker(s): Jacqui DunneFor the rst time in human history, it is possible to democratize the money creation process. We

will see that its not the structure o the economy or the hue o the political solution, per se, that arethe real problems but money and the monetary system itsel, and not in the way one might rstsuspect. Since money is a human invention, it can be changed. Not only is there another way but amultiplicity o ways to rethink money. A quiet evolution already is underway, in which people andtheir communities are helping themselves and each other through a new understanding o money.Conerence: ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY

A global strleMadison College Downtown, D332Speaker(s): Herlinda HernandezThis session will discuss the impact o globalization around the world and how it has helpedwealthy people at the expense o low-income, marginal communities.Conerence: RACE AND DEMOCRACY

handcontin paper ballot: andon demontration (eion 1)Madison College Downtown, D404Speaker(s): Mimi Kennedy, Judy Alter, Sally Castleman, Karen McKimLearn how to count paper ballots by hand in a real-world election simulation. Help maintain thecommunity culture o hand-counting, threatened with extinction by the use o electronic votingmachines, which remove the vote count rom public oversight.

Conerence: REPREsENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

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10:45 am 12:45 pm | sATuRDAY, AugusT 10

Eart Democracy Plenary on Powerin up or People, Peace, and te Planet:ReEnviionin te Climate Movement Bildin Reitance and Tranormation

Madison College Downtown, D229Speaker(s): Jill Stein, Sherri Mitchell, Victor Wallis, Lauren Regan, Stephanie Kimball, Daniel Lee,Richard Monje

A movement or democracy and justice is sweeping the globe rom democracy revolutions toanti-austerity uprisings, occupy protests, resistance to student debt and school-to-prison pipelines,walkouts or jobs and workers rights, and mass mobilizations against tar sands, racking, nuclear

power and GMOs. This movement responds to the growing crises o the corporate-politicalestablishment rom devastating economic insecurity, unprecedented inequality, acceleratingclimate collapse, expanding militarization, and violations o human rights and civil liberties.These converging crises call or transormative solutions. This plenary seeks to expand the climatemovement to create a uniying vision, action agenda, and unstoppable orce or emergency greeneconomic mobilization or people, peace and the planet.Conerence: EARTh DEMOCRACY

11:00 am 12:30 pm | sATuRDAY, AugusT 10

Enain state Leilator in Move To AmendMadison College Downtown, D429Speaker(s): Bill Hilty, Kaja Rebane, Lee KetelsonSo ar 16 states have passed resolutions calling or a constitutional amendment in the wake o the

Citizens United decision. Recently the Minnesota Senate passed the We the People Act, a Move toAmend sponsored resolution that calls or an end to both corporate personhood and the idea thatpolitical spending is speech under the First Amendment. Eorts are also underway in other states.Participants who want to launch their own state legislative resolutions campaigns will be o to agood start ater this workshop!Conerence: CONsTITuTIONAL REFORM

Bildin a MltiRacial Democracy MovementMadison College Downtown, D332Speaker(s): George Friday, Cheri Honkala, David Cobb

Amending the U.S. Constitution will require a broad, deep and educated social movementcommitted to social justice. This panel is designed to explore how to build that movement in anaccountable, productive and positive manner.

Conerence: CONsTITuTIONAL REFORM, RACE AND DEMOCRACY

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Militarim and Environmental DetrctionMakin te ConnectionMadison College Downtown, D331Speaker(s): Helen JaccardUXO, Chemical, Heavy Metal and Radioactive Contamination. Use o oil and other resources by the

military. Scarcity o Resources as an Excuse or War. A campaign calling or cleanup o current andormer military bases, prevention o urther military contamination o the planet. Close the bases,stop the wars, stop mining uranium and (re)manuacturing radioactive weapons, stop testingweapons, stop bombing paradise to practice or war, stop the war games.Conerence: DEMOCRATIZINg DEFENsE, EARTh DEMOCRACY

Monanto Will Not Rle te World: stop te TranPacic Partnerip and Corporate

Control o Food and AricltreMadison College Downtown, D229Speaker(s): David Newby, Daniel Lee, Jim Goodman, George Naylor, Ruth CaplanThe Trans-Pacic Partnership is a secret agreement being negotiated by over 600 corporaterepresentatives behind the backs o Congress and the American People. Its not just about trade, butinstead protects Big-Ag corporations so they can sue local, state and Federal governments claiming

laws that protect amily armers, ood saety, GMO-labelling and public health, and bees, butteriesand eco-systems - are all barriers to trade that harm their uture prots. Panelists will exposewhats at stake or the uture o ood and amily arms and describe the campaign to deeat the TPP.Conerence: EARTh DEMOCRACY

savin te People Pot OceMadison College Downtown, D333

Speaker(s): Jim SauberA presentation on the campaign to prevent the dismantling o the Postal Service and to reinvent itor 21st century to promote democracy, nancial inclusion and sustainable development.Conerence: ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY

Are Electronic Votin sytem Democratic?Madison College Downtown, D436

Speaker(s): John Washburn, Gerry Bello, Carl CarterGet the acts and decide or yoursel what is appropriate technology or democratic elections. Doelectronic voting machines support or subvert the democratic process? Technology experts discussthe pros, cons, and options or e-voting.Conerence: REPREsENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

11:00 am 2:00 pm | sATuRDAY, AugusT 10Awakenin te Dreamer sympoimMadison College Downtown, D227

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Presented by The Pachamama AllianceThe Pachamama Alliances Awakening the Dreamer Symposium is a transormational educationalworkshop that invites participants to explore where we are as a human amily, how we got hereand whats possible now. It was created in response to a call rom the Achuar people in Ecuadors

Amazon, urging us to change the dream o the modern world that threatens the wellbeing othe planet. The Symposium consists o a dynamic multimedia presentation, interactive groupexercises and guided personal reection, empowering, participants to investigate their unique rolein transorming humanitys uture.Conerence: EARTh DEMOCRACY

1:00 pm | sATuRDAY, AugusT 10

Rally to Derail Fat Track and stop te TranPacic Partnerip (TPP)No More Secret Trade Deals for the 1%!

Wisconsin State Capitol, Capitol Steps at the top o State StWell gather at the Madison College outdoor patio at 12:45pm and walk to Capitol at 12:55pmSpeaker(s): David Newby, Jill Stein, Shamako Noble, Jim Goodman, Margaret Flowers, Ruth

Caplan, Debra White Plume

2:00 pm 3:30 pm | sATuRDAY, AugusT 10

Te Role o Elder witin Move To AmendMadison College Downtown, D429Speaker(s): Margaret Koster

Elders have a unique perspective and gits to bring to the Move to Amend eort. This session ismeant to open a discussion about dening a role or ourselves as elders and how to apply ourgits and perspective in strategic and helpul ways. The discussion will be in a shbowl ormat with

participation by all encouraged. The goal is to emerge with a beginning outline o the role o eldersin Move to Amend and next steps.Conerence: CONsTITuTIONAL REFORM

Te Role o stdent/Yot witin Move To AmendMadison College Downtown, D433Speaker(s): Daniel Lee

An open discussion to assess the role o youth in bringing about real systematic change. How doesthis role dier? What do the youth need rom the elders in the movement? What steps can we taketo make sure that our movement is intergenerational?


Declaration o War Wo decide?Madison College Downtown, D331

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Speaker(s): Leah Bolger Ben Manski


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Speaker(s): Leah Bolger, Ben ManskiThe U.S. has not ormally issued a declaration o war since WWII. Are Authorizations or the Use oMilitary Force (AUMFs) in compliance with the War Powers Act? With the Constitution? Is the AUMFwhich was passed in 2001 still valid? Has the Congress abdicated their responsibilities, and has the

President claimed them? What role does the peoples voice have in decisions about war?Conerence: DEMOCRATIZINg DEFENsE

Te Bolder Enery Ftre Mnicipalization ProjectMadison College Downtown, D333Speaker(s): Alison Burchell

A coalition o groups in Boulder, Colorado are working together to make a publicly-owned

green energy economy. Through rigorous research, community education, legislative and localgovernment involvement, they are leading the way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, transitionrom coal to renewables as a primary uel source, and maintain reliable and aordable energy ortheir city. Alison Burchell will review the history o the Boulder Energy Future (BEF) project, some othe obstacles regulated communities need to overcome and the lessons learned building a well-inormed coalition. She will also review the model developed by citizens and detailed by the cityand consultants to assess the nancial and technical easibility o the City to orm and manage amunicipal renewable-electric utility.Conerence: ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY, EARTh DEMOCRACY

Race under te Obama AdminitrationMadison College Downtown, D332Speaker(s): Richard Monje, Galen Tyler, Shamako Nobel, Kimberly King, John Gonzalez

A multiracial panel o activists will be speaking about their independent political work.Conerence: RACE AND DEMOCRACY

handcontin paper ballot: andon demontration (eion 2)Madison College Downtown, D404Speaker(s): Mimi Kennedy, Judy Alter, Sally Castleman, Karen McKimLearn how to count paper ballots by hand in a real-world election simulation. Help maintain the

community culture o hand-counting, threatened with extinction by the use o electronic votingmachines, which remove the vote count rom public oversight.Conerence: REPREsENTATIVE DEMOCRACY


Next stae: Bildin te Movement or People, Peace and te Planet From #Fearlesmmer to #Fearle YearMadison College Downtown, D229This acilitated group discussion builds on the content o the Earth Democracy Conerence as a

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whole and in particular on the Saturday Plenary Roundtable - Powering up or People Peace and


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whole and, in particular, on the Saturday Plenary Roundtable Powering up or People, Peace andthe Planet. We seek to initiate a conversation about how we can expand the climate movement bycreating a uniying vision, action agenda, and unstoppable orce or emergency green economicmobilization - or people, peace and the planet.

Conerence: EARTh DEMOCRACY


Repreentative Democracy Plenary: Te Fit o Or LiveMadison College Downtown, D436Speaker(s): Mike McCabe, Jill Stein, Cindy Sheehan, Greg Palast, Bob Fitrakis, Ben Ptashnik,

Jonathan SimonWe ace an unprecedented crisis in American democracy; attacks against community sel-government, undermining o government accountability, the reign o Big Money overrepresentative politics, total lack o transparency in how we process our own votes, and a choke-hold on the electoral system by two major parties increasingly under the control o neariouscorporate interests. How did we get here, and how do we get out? Leading democracy activists

discuss the need or a citizen-driven Democracy Movement to bring our society back rom the brink.Conerence: REPREsENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

Do We Need an Entirely New Contittion?Madison College Downtown, D429Speaker(s): George Friday, Egberto Wylies, M Adams, Richard HobbsThis panel will posit that the United States needs a new guiding document with the weight o law

that enshrines our responsibilities and rights as individuals and collectives within U.S. boundaries.Starting with with the premise that all human needs should be constitutionally enshrined intorights and responsibilities, the session will identiy those human needs, rights and responsibilities;gain guidance rom the Universal Declaration o Human Rights; integrate the international rameso political and civil vs. economic, social, and cultural rights; provide examples o revolutionaryconstitutional eorts; and show how the U.S. Supreme Court has so undermined our human needsthat a 28th amendment and new U.S. Constitution are inevitable.


Wy Corporation (Incldin NonProt) Dont Poe or Need Contittional RitMadison College Downtown, D433Speaker(s): David Cobb, Ben ManskiSome people want us to believe that non-prot corporations possess constitutional rights. Othersmistakenly say that Citizens United gave labor unions new constitutional rights. Attend thisworkshop to understand why corporations (whether or-prot or not) and other articial entitiesdont have, and dont need, constitutional rights.Conerence: CONsTITuTIONAL REFORM

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Nt and Bolt o Cooperative Binee: how to Empower Worker and Keep Wealt in


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Nt and Bolt o Co operative Binee: how to Empower Worker and Keep Wealt inte CommnityMadison College Downtown, D333Speaker(s): John Conowall

The number o cooperative businesses is growing in the U.S. as workers discover the benets andchallenges o running their businesses in a democratic way. John Conowall will discuss how andwhy cooperatives work, how to get started creating a cooperative business and will share hisexperiences o building Madison Worker Cooperatives and the Dane Cooperative Alliance. He willtalk about what some o the keys are to success and how to avoid common pitalls, as well as waysthat co-operatives can work together to create a thriving local economy.Conerence: ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY


Local Food Democracy ReceptionSample and purchase local produce rom South Central WisconsinMadison College Downtown Patio ~ Organized by Family Farm Deenders


Evenin social at Rigby Pub and Grill, 119 E Main St ~ Hosted by Earth Democracy Conerence

9:00 am 10:30 am | suNDAY, AugusT 11

Participatory Bdetin in te u.s. Local Democracy in ActionMadison College Downtown, D406Speaker(s): Maria HaddenParticipatory Budgeting is a democratic process through which community members directlydecide how to spend part o a public budget. Most examples involve city governments that haveopened up decisions around municipal budgets, such as overall priorities and choice o newinvestments, to citizen assemblies. This session will provide a brie overview o the basic principlesand impacts. PB has been adopted by hundreds o cities across the world and is slowly gaining

popularity in the U.S. with major projects in New York city, Chicago and Vallejo, CA.Conerence: LOCAL DEMOCRACY

Pblic Bankin Arond te World, Bildin Economic DemocracyMadison College Downtown, D333

Speaker(s): Dr. Kurt Von MettenheimWe will review movements to create public banks in communities and states across the U.S. andexplore paradigms o social banking and economic democracy rom abroad or these eorts.Participants are encouraged to explore materials in the Public Bank Course wikispace http://

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publicbankcourse.wikispaces.com/home. Case studies rom abroad emphasize 1) the competitive


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p p p ) padvantages o public banks over private banks 2) the policy capacities o public banks, especiallyin terms o providing counter-cyclical credit and as agents o social inclusion and 3) how savingsbanks in advanced and developing countries have sustained and accelerated social inclusion.

Conerence: ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY

9:00 am 12:30 pm | suNDAY, AugusT 11

Awakenin te Dreamer sympoimMadison College Downtown, D229Presented by The Pachamama Alliance

The Pachamama Alliances Awakening the Dreamer Symposium is a transormational educationalworkshop that invites participants to explore where we are as a human amily, how we got hereand whats possible now. It was created in response to a call rom the Achuar people in Ecuadors

Amazon, urging us to change the dream o the modern world that threatens the wellbeing othe planet. The Symposium consists o a dynamic multimedia presentation, interactive groupexercises and guided personal reection, empowering, participants to investigate their unique role

in transorming humanitys uture.Conerence: EARTh DEMOCRACY


Know Yor Rit Activit TraininMadison College Downtown, D315

Speaker(s): Lauren ReganThe Call: As the planet heats up on all ronts, time or a Know Your Rights workshop to instill youwith the condence to make decisions about how you will engage your activism - where is theline drawn between legal and potentially illegal protesting? What magic words should you sayto police to invoke your rights? Armed with knowledge, you and your ellow activists can makeinormed choices regarding interactions with government agents and can best protect your rightsshould you end up in handcus and in the legal system. Snacks will be provided

Conerence: EARTh DEMOCRACY


Commnity Action Toolkit or Eart DemocracyMadison College Downtown, D227

Speaker(s): Randa Solick, Carolyn RaenspergerWe cant wait or Federal and State action to protect our communities. We are not powerless andcan take action now. Carolyn Raensperger will discuss how Guardianship o Future Generationsand the Precautionary Principle can be adopted as local policy to prevent passing on a toxic

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environment to our children and to ensure that the ecosystems essential or all lie are protected


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yand thrive. Randa Solick, using Santa Cruz, CA as a possible model, will open the discussion onhow to use the Toolkit in workshop setting so that they can eectively advocate that their electedrepresentatives adopt Guardianship and the Precautionary Principle as local policy.

Conerence: EARTh DEMOCRACY, LOCAL DEMOCRACY

Eential Inormation or startin a Pblic BankMadison College Downtown, D333Speaker(s): Mark ArmstrongThere are three alternative ways that people are taking to orm a public bank -- orming a coalition(grassroots), orcing the issue (surgical strike), and running candidates (throw the bums out!). A

review o each o these alternatives will be provided, along with the pros/cons and identication owhat makes the best sense in your community.Conerence: ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY

sttin te Camber in Wiconin Te t aaint WMCMadison College Downtown, D406Speaker(s): Carl Gibson, David Schwab, Omkar Sawardekar, Laura BrickmanWisconsin Manuacturers and Commerce (WMC) is the largest lobby group in the Wisconsin andspends millions o dollars each year to advance a platorm centered on cutting public services,dismantling workers rights, and weakening environmental protections. Learn how you can getinvolved in the Wisconsin Waves Shut the Chamber Campaign by taking part in days o actionwhere you live and by encouraging your neighborhood small businesses and local chambers ocommerce to divest rom WMC (and the U.S. Chamber) and instead join a business alliance that

supports strong communities. Please note that while this workshop will ocus on Wisconsin, theShut the Chamber Campaign is a national eort and all are welcome to attend!Conerence: LOCAL DEMOCRACY, ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY

Art + Activim + Oranization = social CaneMadison College Downtown, D401Speaker(s): Head-Roc

Conerence: MEDIA DEMOCRACY

2:00 pm 4:00 pm | suNDAY, AugusT 11

CONVENTION CLOsINg PLENARYInn on the Park, 22 S. Carroll, Wisconsin HallKEYNOTE: Debra Wite PlmeThe keynote address will be ollowed by a acilitated discussion to give each conerence a chanceto share the big ideas that came out o their event as well as the next steps everyone can take tourther the democracy movement in the months and years ahead.

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DEMOCRACY CONVENTION | ARTIsTs


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CALL FOR PEACE DRuM DANCE COMPANY: Art & Dawn Shegonee ounding members o Call ForPeace Drum & Dance Co. represent a multi ethnic internationally based Company in Madison WI, has

or over two decades been serving and giving a new hope or humanity. with a Circle Dance o We ThePeople Dancing the Dream o Peace or our childrens children, and sending a message that all thingsare interconnected, what eects one,eects all o us. Today in the present, in honoring the true meaningo our Democracy, Art Shegonee Menominee,Potawatomi, will bring to lie, Call For Peace moving usorward,towards what many are calling The Great Turning, in a new dance o Osh-ki-bi-ma-di-zeeg ANew People working together or the greater good or America and the Planet. www.anewpeople.netCall or Peace will be perorming at the Opening Ceremony.

hEADROC: For over the past ten years Head-Roc has been regarded as the best that DC Hip Hop hasto oer. Dubbed The Mayor o the DC Hip Hop, Head-Roc has come to embody the passions, hopesand dreams o a wonderully talented and all too oten overlooked DC music scene. His unparalleledability to reach music lovers o all tastes puts him on par with established national recording artists inboth music creation and live perormance. In 2004 Head-Roc released his solo debut The Return o BlackBroadway to rave reviews and top chart position on college and underground radio. In support o thisalbum, Head-Roc toured Europe and the U.S. West Coast, doing interviews, appearing on radio stations

and delivering lie changing perormances or thousands o ans. This grass roots movement helped toearn Head-Roc the 2005 Washington Area Music Association award or Hip Hop Album o the Year.Head-Roc will be perorming throughout the Convention including at the Opening Ceremony.

LOIs sABOsKELTON is a violinist, writer, activist and ounding member o the Democratic WomensCaucus o Bloomington, Indiana. Re-elected to a third term, she serves on the local school board andghts or a democratic public school education or all. As a perormer she requently combines the arts

and politics as a means to express the rights o the individual artist and citizen. As an actor she was lastseen in the Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler in Bloomington this past April, and is currently writinga biography and researching the lives o artists who make a (political) dierence. She is a member oMove to Amend-South Central Indiana.Lois will be perorming Justice Stephens Dissent: A Theatrical Monologue

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DEMOCRACY CONVENTION | PREsENTERs


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DEEQ ABDI is a ormer student o the Lawing Nickel Alternative School in Saint Paul Minnesota. Deeq helpedorganize the March or Our Lives in Saint Paul Minnesota during the Republican Convention in 2008. Deeq is a

member o the Minnesota Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC). Deeq has been active inimproving the lives o young people and homeless people. He has been active in the ght against oreclosure anda member o the Underground Railroad which helps homeless amilies obtain housing in Twin Cities, Minnesota.Deeq helped set up the rst Healthcare as a Human Right Conerence in Minneapolis. Because o this immigrantbackground Deeq has been at the oreront o the immigrant rights movement.

M ADAMs is a Black Working-Poor- Gay-Gender Non-Conorming-Wimmin born and raised in Milwaukee, WI andnow living in Madison, WI. She is a community organizer with Freedom, Inc and Take Back the Land-Madison and

a core member o Take Back the Land-National Leadership. Her work is to organize low income communities ocolor or collective sel-determination as well as gain community control over land and elevate housing and ood ahuman rights.

JAMEs ALLIsON is Proessor Emeritus o Psychology, Indiana University. His present research concerns thealarming exaggeration o corporate power through questionable rulings by the Supreme Court o the UnitedStates. The research has provided the oundation or several dramatizations designed to acquaint the public withthis oten shady side o American jurisprudence. The best known piece, a one-act play perormed at the Democracy

Convention in 2011, The Prosecution o Judge Waite, has appeared live around the country and can be seen onYouTube. He and his wie co-ounded Move to Amend-South Central Indiana in 2012.

gAR ALPEROVITZ, the author most recently o What Then Must We Do? Straight Talk about the Next AmericanRevolution, and America Beyond Capitalism, has had a distinguished career as a historian, political economist,activist, writer, and government ocial. He is currently the Lionel R. Bauman Proessor o Political Economy at theUniversity o Maryland and is a ormer Fellow o Kings College, Cambridge University; Harvards Institute o Politics;the Institute or Policy Studies; and a Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution.

He is also the author o critically acclaimed books on the atomic bomb and atomic diplomacy and his articles haveappeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, the New Republic, The Nation, andthe Atlantic among other popular and academic publications. He has been proled by the New York Times, theAssociated Press, People, UPI and Mother Jones and has been a guest on numerous network TV and cable newsprograms. As a well known policy expert, he has testied beore numerous Congressional committees and lectureswidely around the country. Alperovitz received a bachelor o science degree rom the University o Wisconsin; amasters degree rom the University o Caliornia at Berkeley; and his Ph.D. in political economy as a Marshall Scholarat Cambridge University. Ater completing his studies he served as a legislative director in both houses o Congress

and as a special assistant in the State Department.Among his many achievements is having been the architect o the rst modern steel industry attempt at workerownership in Youngstown, Ohio. In addition, he was nominated to be a member o the Council o EconomicAdvisers by leading national consumer, labor, and environmental organizations. He is also the president o theNational Center or Economic and Security Alternatives and is co-ounder o the University o Maryland-basedDemocracy Collaborative, a research institution developing practical, policy-ocused, and systematic paths towardsecologically sustainable, community-oriented change and the democratization o wealth.

Alperovitz will be the keynote speaker at the Opening Plenary.

JuDY ALTER (Judith B. Alter Ed.D.), emeritus UCLA Proessor, with years o research experience, has given over120 talks about election justice issues. In 2004 Judy analyzed the thwarted Recount New Mexico eort, andound solid evidence o how the straight party option probably created big under-votes in 16 states. She started

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ProtectCaliorniaBallots.org and signed up volunteers in 16 CA counties to work on election justice actions such ascitizens written exit polls and gathering signatures demanding the end o privatized, computerized secret voting


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citizens written exit polls and gathering signatures demanding the end o privatized, computerized secret votingcounting. Judy analyzes the 1% manual tally, the audit o LA County election results, speaks at the LA CountySupervisors meetings on election related issues, and lobbies CA legislators to correct serious problems withelection laws.

PETER ANDERsON is President o RecycleWorlds Consulting; Executive Director, Center or a Competitive WasteIndustry; and Project Director or the multi-state Plastic Redesign Project. Hes been Senior Lecturer on recyclingsystems, Dept. o Applied Economics, Univ. o Wisconsin; Chairperson, National Recycling Coalition PolicyWorkgroup/Landll Subcommittee; landll consultant, Grassroots Recycling Network. For his granddaughterand uture generations, he conronts the existential threat o global warming through peaceul, non-violent civildisobedience. Arrested protesting against the Tar Sands Pipeline at the White House, August 2011, he spent threedays in the District o Columbia Central Cellblock with Bill McKibben and Gus Speth.

MARC ARMsTRONg, a business development and communications consultant, is the Executive Directoro the Public Banking Institute in Caliornia. With extensive experience in the sotware industry, he also hasspecic experience in providing technical consulting or nonprots and small to medium-sized businesses. Hiseducational background includes a MBA rom the Anderson School o Business at UCLA in Inormation Systems andOrganizational Behavior. Armstrongs proessional work experience includes a series o sales, business development,and operations management positions, rst with IBM Finance, and then with SAP Technical Development partnersheadquartered in Europe. Hometown: Sonoma, CA

JIM ARMsTRONg is ounder and creative director o Good or Business, a certied B-Corp communicationscompany dedicated to helping businesses and organizations unearth, capture and communicate their noblepurpose. Jim has developed nearly one hundred communication strategies based on the inside-out MAP:Messageand Purpose messaging guide or clients around the world. He is the author o BEYOND THE MISSION STATEMENT:Why Cause-Based Communications Lead to True Success (MacMIllan India).

gERRY BELLO is a journalist and researcher or the Columbus Free Press. He covers Human Rights, Technology,National Security and Election Issues. He is a Graduate o Antioch College with a degree in Computer Security. In

industry he specialized in networked industrial control systems, malware detection and interception, user accesscontrol and data thet detection including work or Fortune 500 companies. He doesnt work or those peopleanymore. He has also been a street level anti-ascist activist or more than 20 years.

MEDEA BENJAMIN is a co-ounder o both CODEPINK and the international human rights organization GlobalExchange. Benjamin is the author o eight books. Her latest book is Drone Warare: Killing by Remote Control, andshe has been campaigning to stop the use o killer drones. Her direct questioning o President Obama during his2013 oreign policy address, as well as her recent trips to Pakistan and Yemen, helped shine a light on the innocent

people killed by U.S. drone strikes. Benjamin has been an advocate or social justice or more than 30 years.Described as one o Americas most committed -- and most eective -- ghters or human rights by New YorkNewsday, and one o the high prole leaders o the peace movement by the Los Angeles Times, she was one o1,000 exemplary women rom 140 countries nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize on behal o the millions owomen who do the essential work o peace worldwide. In 2010 she received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Prizerom the Fellowship o Reconciliation and the 2012 Peace Prize by the U.S. Peace Memorial.

Since the September 11, 2001 tragedy, Medea has been working to promote a U.S. oreign policy that would respecthuman rights and gain us allies instead o contributing to violence and undermining our international reputation.

In 2000, she was a Green Party candidate or the Caliornia Senate. During the 1990s, Medea ocused her eorts ontackling the problem o unair trade as promoted by the World Trade Organization. Widely credited as the womanwho brought Nike to its knees and helped place the issue o sweatshops on the national agenda, Medea was a keyplayer in the campaign that won a $20 million settlement rom 27 U.S. clothing retailers or the use o sweatshop

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labor in Saipan. She also pushed Starbucks and other companies to start carrying air trade coee.

Her work or justice in Israel/Palestine includes taking numerous delegations to Gaza ater the 2008 Israeli invasion


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Her work or justice in Israel/Palestine includes taking numerous delegations to Gaza ater the 2008 Israeli invasion,organizing the Gaza Freedom March in 2010, participating in the Freedom Flotillas and opposing the policies o theIsrael lobby group AIPAC. In 2011 she was in Tahrir Square during the Egyptian uprising and In 2012 she was part oa human rights delegation to Bahrain in support o democracy activists; she was tear-gassed, arrested and deported

by the Bahraini government. A ormer economist and nutritionist with the United Nations and World HealthOrganization, her articles appear regularly in many online media outlets.

Benjamin will serve as honorary chair o the 2013 Democracy Convention.

KAYLA BLADO is a co-producer at The Peoples Mic with Doug Cunningham and Media Coordinator & AliateRelations at Diversied Media Enterprises.

ROshAN BLIss is a student organizer with the Colorado Student Power Alliance, a student-run organization in

the process o orming a statewide student union in CO. Having been pushed out o graduate school by excessivestudent debt, he has a passion or empowering young people to deend their utures and democratize theircampuses. He was a central organizer or Occupy Denver, is an anti-

2013 democracy convention, madison wi

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