2025 Peace & Justice Action Conference

Conference Tracks

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Organizing: A Science & An Art Track

Effective organizing requires both precision and creativity—it’s a science rooted in strategy and an art driven by passion. This track explores the skills, tools, and methodologies that empower organizers to mobilize communities, build sustainable movements, and drive meaningful change. Sessions will delve into data-driven strategies, relationship-building techniques, storytelling for impact, and adaptive leadership. Whether you’re a seasoned organizer or just beginning your journey, this track will provide actionable insights and innovative approaches to enhance your organizing toolkit.

Current Issues and Ways Forward Track

Understanding the past and how it relates to the present is instrumental to shaping our future. This track provides an in-depth look at the pressing social, political, and economic issues of our time, equipping participants with the knowledge and tools needed to take action. Experts and movement leaders will break down the current landscape, analyze systemic challenges, and offer strategies for organizing and advocacy. These sessions will help participants connect knowledge with action, transforming awareness into meaningful change.

Racial Justice: Dismantling Systems, Building Power Track

What does it look like to dismantle oppressive systems while building new structures rooted in equity and liberation? This track will explore the current state of racial justice, the historical context of systemic racism, and strategies for transformative change. Through discussions, workshops, and skill-building sessions, participants will gain tools for effective organizing, policy advocacy, and community empowerment. Whether you’re engaged in grassroots activism, institutional change, or personal growth in anti-racism work, this track offers a space to learn, connect, and take action toward a just and liberated future.

Sustaining Ourselves, Sustaining Our Movement Track

Movements can only thrive when the people within them are nourished. This track explores the vital connection between personal well-being and collective liberation, offering tools for avoiding burnout, fostering resilience, and creating sustainable organizing practices. Sessions will focus on community care, healing justice, and strategies for long-term movement building. Whether you’re an organizer, activist, or supporter, this track will provide space to reflect, recharge, and strengthen the foundations that keep both individuals and movements alive.

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Conference Schedule

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9:00 am – 9:30 am – Conference Opening Plenary

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9:30-9:45 Networking Break

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9:45-10:45 am (60 Min) – Session 1

• What is Happening in Palestine/Israel and How Do We Respond?

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Presenter(s): Alice Rothchild (she/her), MD, Jewish Voice for Peace

Sabrene Odeh (she/her) Co Founder of  Baladna

Track: Current Issues and Ways Forward-

A discussion on the realities on the ground in Palestine/Israel and strategies to advocate for just U.S. policies.

• Introduction to the Landscape of Organized Bigotry

Events A (First Floor)

Presenter(s): Joan Braune, Ph.D., and Kate Bitz

Track: Racial Justice: Dismantling Systems, Building Power

Bitz’s presentation discusses how anti-democracy movements are exploiting religion, prejudice, and fear and how we can organize to make sure our communities are not deterred from engaging in the democratic process, nonviolent civil protest, resisting authoritarianism and working toward a more inclusive democracy. Who are these groups of bigots, what are they after, and what are their tactics now, in our region and nationally? We’ll discuss key players and important patterns of the organized bigotry we are facing as well as proven strategies so that everyone can live, love, learn, work, and worship without fear.

Braune’s presentation discusses the increasingly open support for fascism by the Trump administration, and the administration’s ties to fascist and far-right think tanks and grassroots activists. She discusses how the Trump administration is bringing together hardcore defenders of the capitalist free market, anti-democracy thinkers and schemers, white nationalists, and far-right Christian movements. She will help participants explore how these national-level alliances are manifesting locally and how we can effectively counter-organize.

• Fallacies Around Immigrants and Refugees and the Muslim Perspective

Events B (First Floor)

Presenter(s): Karen Stromgren (she/her) Naghmana Ahmed-Sherazi (she/her)

Track: Racial Justice: Dismantling Systems, Building Power

This Workshop will address the Challenges Immigrants and Refugees face when trying to integrate into communities. We will also address the common  Assumptions and misconceptions surrounding immigrants’ and Refugees’ social views. The Muslim Perspective will touch on How Muslims are viewed in society in general and address the misconceptions about the Muslim Religion and culture.

• Race-Class Analysis: Building a Collective Strategy (Introduction to BOLD)

Conference Room A (Second Floor)

Presenter(s):  Michaela Brown (she/her), Community Member

Track: Sustaining Ourselves, Sustaining Our Movement

This workshop introduces the Race-Class Analysis framework, which helps build cross-race and cross-class solidarity for meaningful policy change.

When we join together with a common understanding and analysis of oppression, the strength and power of our voices propels the movement for racial and economic justice forward. But what does it mean to build a collective analysis? How do we use that analysis to call more people into the movement and secure key policy wins? And how do we do this in the context of select politicians who continually try to divide us along racial lines through fear-based, coded racist messaging? Through the Building Organizing Leadership Development (BOLD) project at PJALS, we try to answer these questions by developing a shared Race-Class Analysis. The Race-Class Analysis is an intersectional framework of understanding that names both race- and class-based oppression in the context of current social issues (like mass incarceration). It relies on the understanding that, while select politicians want us to think we have more in common with wealthy elites than we do with our neighbors down the road, we know the only way to achieve racial and economic justice is through cross-race cross-class movement building. We use the Race-Class Analysis to create strategic and intentional messages that have been proven to reach larger audiences and advance progressive policy agendas. Join us for this abbreviated introduction to BOLD, the Race-Class Analysis, and how intentional and collective analysis can get us closer to the equitable and just communities we envision.

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10:45-11:00 am – Networking Break

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11:00-12:00 pm (60 Min) – Session 2

• Moving Beyond “Pro-Choice”: Redefining the Movement Post-Roe

Conference Room A (Second Floor)

Presenter(s): Sarah Dixit (she/her) Organizing Director, Pro-Choice Washington; Board President & Co Chair, Asians for Collective Liberation; Chair for the City of Spokane’s Equity Subcommittee

Track: Current Issues and Ways Forward

Since the Dobbs decision in 2022, the abortion care landscape in the U.S. has been a constantly shifting battleground. We are facing an unstable patchwork of laws between states and municipalities, with new restrictions and protections emerging every few months. As concerns grow over a possible Executive Order targeting abortion rights, fear and uncertainty amongst patients, providers, and advocates are at an all-time high.This workshop will explore Washington’s strategy for resisting these threats, and why this fight extends beyond the framework of “choice.” Join us to learn how we collectively push back against harmful policies and safeguard reproductive freedom.

• See the Light or Feel the Heat: Protests, Escalations, and Organizing in This Moment and Beyond

Events A (First Floor)

Presenter(s): Liz Moore (she/her), Executive Director, Peace & Justice Action League of Spokane

Track: Organizing: A Science & an Art

This workshop covers strategies for organizing protests and high-impact actions to mobilize communities and pressure decision-makers.

You want to organize a protest? You want to activate more people, pressure policy-makers, counter fascism, and build grassroots power for justice and peace? Everyday people have accomplished extraordinary things by organizing together. To win the changes we want requires people-powered campaigns of organized, planned tactics that put increasing pressure on decision-makers to take the action we want them to take. In this workshop we’ll discuss key strategies for kick-a** events to take action for shared goals and change the balance of power.

• The History of Racism in Immigration Policies and How We Fight the Divide-and-Conquer Strategies and Build Solidarity

Events B (First Floor)

Presenter(s): Pui-Yan Lam, Ph.D (she/her) PJALS Steering Committee Member, Shantell Jackson (She/Her) PJALS Community Organizer

Track: Racial Justice: Dismantling Systems, Building Power

In this workshop, we will get an overview of the past and present racialization of immigration policies in the United States. We will examine how racism was used to create divisions and preemptively undercut possibilities for solidarity among immigrant and racial groups. We will also examine cases of intergroup solidarity. With this understanding of history, we will brainstorm strategies to create counter narratives, build authentic and sustaining intergroup solidarity, and fight back current attacks on immigrants and refugees by the Trump Administration.

• We’re meant to Thrive, not Just Survive: A panel of varied experiences, wisdom, and resilience practices

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Presenter(s): Ayaka Dohi (she/her) (+ other panelists) Director, Payne Center for Leadership Development, former PJALS Steering Committee Member

Track: Sustaining Ourselves, Sustaining our Movement

Panel

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12:00-1:00 pm Lunch Break

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1:00-1:45 pm Keynote Plenary

• Keynote Plenary

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Aaron Scott (he/him) Gender Justice Staff Officer (The Episcopal Church), Freedom Church of the Poor (founding pastor), and author (“Bring Back Your People: Ten Ways Regular Folks Can Put a Dent in White Christian Nationalism”

Aaron Scott is a church worker, organizer, leader with the Poor People’s Campaign, and co-founder of both Chaplains on the Harbor and the Freedom Church of the Poor. He currently serves as the Gender Justice Officer for The Episcopal Church, supporting LGBTQ+ and women’s justice ministries. A second-generation preacher and third-generation organizer, he has been organizing with poor and working class communities for twenty years. Scott, who received his MA in Biblical Studies from Union Theological Seminary in 2009, is a contributing author to both “We Cry Justice: Reading the Bible with the Poor People’s Campaign” and “Jesus Led a Poor People’s Campaign: Sermons from the Movement to End Poverty.” He and his family live in Tacoma.

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1:45-2:00 pm Networking Break

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2:00-3:00 pm (60 Min) – Session 3

• Resisting Erasure: LGBTQ+ Rights & Collective Action Under a Trump Presidency

Events A (First Floor)

Presenter(s): KJ January  (she/her) Director of Advocacy at Spectrum Center Spokane

Track: Track: Current Issues and Ways Forward

This workshop explores the challenges LGBTQ+ communities face under a Trump presidency, including policy threats, increased discrimination, and the rollback of protections. We will discuss the power of collective organizing, community care, and how local efforts—like those led by the Spectrum Center—are making a difference. Participants will learn about ongoing initiatives, ways to get involved, and how to build stronger, more resilient networks of support to protect and advance LGBTQ+ rights.

• 10 Things Every Activist Should Know

Conference Room A (Second Floor)

Presenter(s): Nicolai Jaggar (he/him), PJALS Youth Organizer;  Foster Transue (he/they), PJALS Youth Organizer

Track: Organizing: A Science & an Art

Discover the ten most essential lessons for new and seasoned activists to navigate movement-building and organizing effectively.

The questions we ask as Organizers are essential to the process and a successful movement. What are those questions, why do they matter, and how do we answer them? In this workshop, we boil down the 10 most important things a new organizer should know, and how to obtain that knowledge in different situations. Learn the first steps of becoming a successful activist in this interactive workshop! This workshop is a great refresher for experienced activists too – it’s universal knowledge in learning to become an organizer!

• Countering White Christian Nationalism

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Presenter(s): Aaron Scott (he/him), Gender Justice Staff Officer, Freedom Church of the Poor

Track: Organizing: A Science & an Art 

Gain insight into the growing influence of White Christian Nationalism and learn how to build local and national resistance movements across generations. Join this workshop for a roadmap for building local and national power, across generations, to counter the explosive growth of White Christian Nationalism.

• Feeling Ourselves, Feeling Each Other: Introduction to Politicized Somatics

Events B (First Floor)

Presenter(s): Lex Gavin (they/them), Social Justice Facilitator; Liz Moore (she/her), Executive Director, Peace & Justice Action League of Spokane

Track: Sustaining Ourselves, Sustaining Our Movement

Explore somatic practices to deepen self-awareness and resilience, helping organizers maintain emotional well-being while resisting systemic oppression.

Somatics or embodiment is based on the Greek word soma, meaning the body in its living wholeness. By building fluency in our bodies as a source of information, we can become aware of the ways we are physically shaped by the world around us. Somatic practices allow us to have greater choice under pressure so that we may take actions towards our longings. Feeling more allows us to organize from the inside out and offers a powerful strategy to combat rising fascism. “Somatics feels into how, in a collective or group, patterns of pain can indicate the mass, or intergenerational, trauma people are surviving. And how each of us has the power to help each feel more, heal, and move toward our longings for liberation and justice together.” – adrienne maree brown, Pleasure Activism

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3:15-3:30 pm – Networking Break

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3:30-4:30 pm (60 Min) – Session 4

• What is Fascism Then & Now: Strategies for Communal Resistance

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Presenters: Yasaman Naraghi (she/her), Steering Committee Co-Chair, PJALS; Sally Winkle (she/her), PJALS Steering Committee Co-Chair

Track: Current Issues and Ways Forward

Explore the history of fascism and its modern parallels. This workshop will provide tools for resistance, inspired by past movements.

This workshop traces the history of fascism by looking at parallels between European fascism in the 20th century and Trumpism of now. We’ll also talk about 20th century resistance movements and how we can adapt strategies for today.

• Engaging People to Act: Key Ingredients for Recruitment & Mobilization

Conference Room A (Second Floor)

Presenter(s): Blair David Tweedy Anundson (he/him), Lead Organizer, Service Employees International Union Healthcare Local 1199 NW

Track: Organizing: A Science & an Art 

Isolation weakens movements, but engagement strengthens them! Learn key skills to effectively recruit and mobilize people for change, using strategic conversations and proven organizing methods.

Isolation is like Kryptonite when you’re fighting against systemic oppression and exploitation. Come sharpen your skills at engaging people to get active to create change shoulder-to-shoulder! It all comes down to the art and science of “the organizing conversation.” Learn time-tested tools to help you put your time & efforts to the most effective use and make it more likely you’ll win!

• Unwavering Voices: Black Women Leading Activism and Advocacy

Events B (First Floor)

Presenter(s): Gloria Baynes, EdD (she/her) Adjunct Professor at Eastern Washington University and College in the High School Liaison,Community Activist, Co-chair person of the NAACP’s Education Committee

Track: Racial Justice: Dismantling Systems, Building Power

This workshop will highlight the stories Black women, their activism, how they defined their identities, the impact of Jim Crow, racism, sexism and other forms of oppression that have impacted Black women. We will discuss  microaggressions, colorism, misogynoir, etc.

• Know Your Rights

Events A (First Floor)

Presenter(s): Nicole C. Ruiz, Field Organizer, Nuestras Raíces Centro Comunitario

Track: Racial Justice: Dismantling Systems, Building Power

This Know Your Rights workshop focuses on providing participants with a strong foundational knowledge of people’s rights when interacting with law enforcement, including border and immigration enforcement. Particular attention will be paid to situational rights and what to do in the aftermath if someone witnesses an interaction or is detained. There will also be a discussion about how people can be strong allies and advocates during these difficult times while still considering their mental health.

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4:30-5:00 pm – Conference Closing Plenary

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Speaker Bios

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Aaron Scott (he/him) Gender Justice Staff Officer (The Episcopal Church), Freedom Church of the Poor (founding pastor), and author (“Bring Back Your People: Ten Ways Regular Folks Can Put a Dent in White Christian Nationalism”

Aaron Scott is a church worker, organizer, leader with the Poor People’s Campaign, and co-founder of both Chaplains on the Harbor and the Freedom Church of the Poor. He currently serves as the Gender Justice Officer for The Episcopal Church, supporting LGBTQ+ and women’s justice ministries. A second-generation preacher and third-generation organizer, he has been organizing with poor and working class communities for twenty years. Scott, who received his MA in Biblical Studies from Union Theological Seminary in 2009, is a contributing author to both “We Cry Justice: Reading the Bible with the Poor People’s Campaign” and “Jesus Led a Poor People’s Campaign: Sermons from the Movement to End Poverty.” He and his family live in Tacoma.

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Ayaka Dohi (she/her) (+ other panelists) Director, Payne Center for Leadership Development, former PJALS Steering Committee Member

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Blair David Tweedy Anundson he / him Lead Organizer

I’ve been an agitator of one kind or another for 25 years. I was initially involved in the fights against corporate globalization and war in the early 2000s. I was an organizer and advocate with the Public Interests Research Groups on climate change and healthcare issues from 2004 to 2010. I’ve been an organizer and chief negotiator with the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Local 1199 NW for fifteen years.

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Foster Transue (he/they) PJALS Youth Organizer

Foster (he/they) was born in Kansas City, but has spent half their life in Spokane. They graduated in 2023 and are continuing their education. A child of advocates, they grew up believing that activism is the rent we pay towards society. With PJALS, Foster hopes to learn more about the experience of others, and how to equitably build community. In his free time, he loves music, gaming, the arts, and his cat Archimedes.

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Gloria Baynes,EdD (she/her) Adjunct Professor at Eastern Washington University and College in the High School Liaison,Community Activist, Co-chair person of the NAACP’s Education Committee

Gloria Baynes is an Adjunct Professor at Eastern Washington in the Africana Studies Program and the College in the High School Liaison. Retired from Spokane Public Schools, Gloria is actively involved in the Spokane community. She is on the Board of Operation Healthy Families and The Fig Tree. She is the Co-Chair of the NAACP’s Education Committee, DAC of Spokane Public Schools, and various organizations in the community.Gloria has two adult children and three grandchildren. Her goal is to spend quality time with her family traveling to visit them, and advocate for families and children.

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Joan Braune, Ph.D.

Joan Braune, Ph.D., teaches philosophy at Gonzaga University. Her research and community education focus on countering fascism and hate groups. She is author of Understanding and Countering Fascist Movements: From Void to Hope (Routledge 2024) and coeditor of The Ethics of Researching the Far Right (Manchester University Press 2024). She is currently finishing a coedited book on Christian nationalism and how faith communities and others can respond.

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Karen Stromgren (she/her) 

Karen is a Business owner Mother of six a grandmother of two. She is a Muslim revert of 28 years She serves as a board member for HRS . She is Executive Director of Muslims for community Action And Support. Administrative Network Coordinator for GSP/GSA. Her End goal is to have raised her children to be good humans and advocate for those who are in need.

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Kate Bitz, Senior Organizer, Momentum Program, Western States Center 

Kate Bitz is a Senior Organizer in Western States Center’s Momentum Program on countering white nationalism and anti-democracy movements, supporting communities and civic institutions across the country in pushing back on organized bigotry. Western States Center works nationwide to build a future where all people can live, love, worship, and work free from bigotry and fear. Their strategies include helping communities and civil society effectively respond to anti-democratic social movements. Kate joined WSC in 2018 as a Defending Democracy Fellow, and became a full-time staff member in 2019. Her work and commentary have been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered and in the Washington Post. Kate Bitz is a co-author of Western States Center’s 2023 publication “Protecting Pride: An Organizing Guide.”

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KJ January  (she/her) Director of Advocacy at Spectrum Center Spokane

KJ has a lifelong affinity for uplifting and empowering others within her hometown of Spokane. Using her Psychology Degree from EWU, she consistently looks to improve the lives and environment of those around her through her empathy and problem-solving skills. Her time working with students as an assistant High School Basketball Coach, and in the Mosaic multicultural center at Spokane Falls Community College facilitating cultural events and student outreach, as well as with families at the Martin Luther King Jr. Family Outreach Center allowed her to come up with creative ways to identify, and advocate for the needs of the community. In addition, as a caretaker, working with physically, intellectually, and emotionally disabled teens and the elderly has given her further insight into communities unheard. Being an organizer, working to get out the vote, for the WA State Democrats helped to solidify her desire to take action and fueled her passion for empowering those in her community to show up, speak out and get active! She now uses her position as the Director of Advocacy to advocate for the diverse intersectional communities within Spokane. Queer people are a part of every community, therefore every aspect of life is tied to Queer liberation. Because of that reason, KJ sits on a wide array of boards and social justice committees such as Avista’s Equity Advisory Group, Spokane City Council Sub-Equity Committee, Behavioral Health Together Executive Board as the Policy Chair, Spokane School District 81 Ombudsman, Northwest Fair Housing Alliance, and several other work groups that develop in response to various equity and equality infringements. When she isn’t working for an equitable future she can be found reading or helping her father teach at his Karate School.

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Lex Gavin (they/them), Social Justice Facilitator

Lex Gavin (they/them) has spent over a decade designing and facilitating racial and social justice content in the youth development field, beginning with their own organizing and education work with Stonewall Youth’s Speaker’s Bureau and Queer Youth Space. Whether doing direct service crisis work with homeless youth or working with the K-12 system to deepen restorative justice and healing-centered practices, they are fueled by their conviction that a just, liberated world is possible. Lex is an artist, a consultant, and a volunteer mentor with the Service Board.

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Liz Moore (she/her), Executive Director, Peace & Justice Action League of Spokane

Liz Moore (she/her) has worked for racial justice, worker rights, and grassroots power for more than 25 years as an organizer, educator, leader, facilitator, and consultant. Liz works with unions and community-based organizations with a focus on organizational development, organizing skills, popular education, and racial equity. For more than 15 years, Liz has been the Executive Director of the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane (www.peacejustice.org). Liz began her activist life with PJALS as a high school student after looking up “peace” in the phone book. The Peace and Justice Action League engages everyday people to build a just and nonviolent world through community organizing, grassroots activist education, and supporting youth as leaders. In all that she does, Liz holds fast to the belief that everyday people have the power to build a just and nonviolent world.

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Michaela Brown (she/her), Community Member

Michaela (pronouns she/her; Spokane) is a deeply curious, over thinking, heart in hand lover of people and history. Her background in collective impact organizing and commitment to advancing a world where everyone belongs has led her to serve in many community capacities focused on advancing individual and collective learning around diversity, equity, and leadership. This includes her role as the director of community learning for Excelerate Success, an education equity partnership, and in her roles as a race equity facilitator. Michaela holds a bachelor’s degree in history and leadership studies from Gonzaga University and a master’s in administrative nonprofit leadership from Whitworth University. Her formal education combined with her passion for capacity building, identity development, and community healing keeps her grounded and ready to grow with and cheer on change makers across the Northwest.

As a multi-racial woman, Michaela finds power in the ability to hold the complexities of our interconnected lives and leans on the mantra by adrienne maree brown: “Where we are born into privilege we are charged to unlearn any myth of supremacy, where we are born into struggle, we are charged with claiming or dignity, joy and liberation.” Emboldened by the brilliance of our ancestors as well as modern revolutionaries, Michaela in her wholeness seeks to cultivate learning spaces that are relational and transformative.

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Nicolai Jaggar (he/him) Youth Organizer, PJALS

Nico is a high school graduate with a passion for youth involvement in social justice. He enjoys working within Spokane’s vibrant progressive community and learning from the best. He’s also got tons of pets, and would love to share pictures!

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Nicole C. Ruiz Field Organizer, Nuestras Raíces Centro Comunitario

Nicole C. Ruiz is the field organizer for Nuestras Raíces Centro Comunitario (Our Roots Community Center), an organization dedicated to providing holistic support and advocating for the Latine community of Spokane. Nicole earned both her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Master of Science in Intelligence and National Security Studies from the University of Texas at El Paso. Beyond her work as a field organizer, she teaches an introductory US government course for the University of South Florida, where she is a doctoral candidate in the Politics and International Affairs program. Growing up in El Paso, Texas strongly influenced her dissertation topic: the evolution of border enforcement along the US-Mexico border and the politics of belonging.

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Pui-Yan Lam, Ph.D (she/her)

Pui-Yan Lam is an immigrant from Hong Kong and has been a resident of Spokane for more than 20 years. She works as a professor of sociology at Eastern Washington University. She has served in community organizations such as Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane, Spokane Community Against Racism. Asians for Collective Liberation, Greater Spokane Progress, and Refugee and Immigrant Connections of Spokane. She is also an executive board member of the Spokane Regional Labor Council.

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Sally Winkle (she/her) PJALS steering committee co-chair

Sally Winkle (she/her) is a professor emerita in German and Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies from Eastern Washington University. She has lived in Spokane since 1983 and has been involved in social justice activities for many years. She is working with Ann Le Bar and Jody Stewart-Strobelt on a second edition of The Nazi Germany Sourcebook: An Anthology of Texts, which she and Roderick Stackelberg first published in 2002. Sally is currently co-chair with Yasi Naraghi of the PJALS steering committee.

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Sabrene Odeh (she/her) Co Founder of  Baladna

Sabrene Odeh is a Palestinian-American advocate based in Seattle, with deep roots both locally and in Palestine. The daughter of Palestinian refugees and long-time community activists, Sabrene has been engaged in advocacy from a young age, carrying forward a lifetime commitment to justice and liberation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Society, Ethics, and Human Behavior with a minor in Human Rights, and a master’s in Cultural Studies from the University of Washington Bothell.

Previously, Sabrene worked as an advocate for survivors of human trafficking, providing support and guidance through intensive case management. She recently started her new role as a Community Legal Advocate with CAIR Washington, where she focuses on advocating for clients, community engagement, and trainings and workshops on Islamophobia, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian hate and discrimination.

In addition to her work at CAIR, Sabrene co-founded Baladna, a Palestinian-led organization dedicated to advocating for Palestinian human rights and uniting the Palestinian community across Washington state. Deeply committed to social justice, Sabrene’s advocacy spans across all marginalized communities, with a resolute focus on the ongoing struggle for Palestinian liberation. She will continue to fight for justice and equality until the occupation ends and liberation is achieved, not only for Palestine, but for all people around the world.

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Sarah Dixit (she/her) Organizing Director, Pro-Choice Washington ; Board President & Cochair, Asians for Collective Liberation ; Chair for the City of Spokane’s Equity Subcommittee

Sarah Dixit (she/her) joined Pro-Choice Washington in June of 2023, eager to continue her commitment to organizing and advocacy for reproductive freedom and systemic change in Washington state and beyond. She comes to the organization with 5+ years of experience organizing in Eastern Washington and North Idaho, and she is particularly passionate about expanding Pro-Choice WA’s impact east of the Cascades. Sarah believes in collective liberation and the power of multiracial, intergenerational solidarity to create change, reflected by her work in reproductive freedom in addition to her roles as Board President for Asians for Collective Liberation Spokane and Chair of the City of Spokane’s Equity Subcommittee.

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Shantell Jackson (she/her) PJALS Community Organizer

Shantell (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist residing in Spokane, WA, originally from Buffalo, NY. Her creative process is deeply internal, emerging outward into colorful, rhythmic, and textural works. In addition to being an artist, Shantell is a poet, writer, speaker, and educator. She has two pieces of prose/poetry published in the anthology “Evergreen: Grim Tales & Verses from the Gloomy Northwest.” With over 20 years of experience in higher education and arts administration, she has served 17 years in higher education with a focus on academic and multicultural programming and was the Activist in Residence at Eastern Washington University in 2022.Shantell’s work, both in the community and as a visual artist and writer, aspires to merge her disciplines into installations and performance art that explore the human condition from contemporary and historical perspectives, fostering dialogue across differences to build bridges, promote acceptance, and encourage healing.

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Yasaman Naraghi (she/her) Steering Committee Member, PJALS

Yasi received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature (Theory and Criticism) from the University of Washington in 2018. Titled A Natural History of Genius: Aesthetics, Ethics, and Totalitarianism, her project thinks through the concept of the genius as an ambivalent figure that is revised in the late 18th to denote a singular man; arguing that this re-conceptualization of genius sets up systems of knowledge whose logic inevitably promotes a movement towards nationalism and further into totalitarianism. She is currently expanding this project with a particular focus on how genius in this manner functions in the rise of contemporary far-right movements worldwide.

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Event Sponsors

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• ACLU of Washington
• Asians for Collective Liberation Spokane (ACL Spokane)
• Faith Action Network
• Greater Spokane Progress
• Inland NW Unitarian Universalist Community (INUUC)
• Odyssey Youth Movement
• Pro-Choice Washington
• SEIU 1199NW
• Spectrum Center Spokane
• Spokane Education Association (SEA)
• Spokane Regional Labor Council AFL-CIO
• The Fig Tree
• Veterans for Peace Spokane Chapter 35
• Western States Center

Learn more and become a sponsor today!

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